Weekly News Recap: January 8, 2021

Weekly News Recap: January 8, 2021

Yamen Bai is on the ice this season after people rallied last year to get equipment for him to play hockey. The 11-year-old boy was born in Aleppo, Syria, and came to Canada in 2019. (Ryan Cooke/CBC)

No one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land. -- Warsan Shire

Braintrust Philanthropy Podcast

We posted our most recent podcast yesterday. Episode 45: "Is all philanthropy good philanthropy? Fundraising ethics in life, in work, and in our sector" featured ViTreo's Andrea McManus, Fresh Start Recovery's Wayne Steer, and AFP Global's Michael Nilsen can be found on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify and our right here on our website. It's a really great episode. I hope you will give it a listen and subscribe.

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • Syrian-Canadian boy excelling on ice, 1 year after community rallied to put him in hockey (CBC) ST. JOHN'S STORY This is what Canada is about. "Long after his teammates left the ice on a line change, one boy continued to chase the puck with dogged determination and a beaming glow across his face. 'Yamen, Yamen!' his coach called out. 'Change up!' The boy, caught up in childlike glee over the game, turned his attention to the bench, heard his coach and skated off."

  • Porch pirate foiled by the most Canadian of anti-theft devices: A snowbank (CBC) MISSISSAUGA STORY This is awesome. "A would-be porch pirate is facing charges after getting caught on camera allegedly trying to swipe a package from someone's doorstep in Mississauga, only to have his car get stuck in a snowbank while trying to get away." WARNING: This story features a video that contains strong language

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. Massive World Juniors 50/50 jackpot claimed (CTV) ALBERTA STORY Woot! Congrats to all. "The Albertan who won more than $8.7 million [...] has claimed their prize. Hayley McNeil had the winning World Juniors 50/50 ticket for the jackpot of nearly $17.5 million, netting herself $8.7 million."

  2. AFP Canada Chair Ken Mayhew: A Facilitator of the Goals and Vision of Others (AFP Global) CANADIAN STORY A great read. Thanks Ken. "Ken Mayhew is one of the best-known fund development professionals in Canada [...]. Throughout his career, he has been actively engaged in AFP. He is a past president of the AFP Greater Toronto chapter, a founding director of AFP Canada and, for the past three years, and served as chair of the communications committee of AFP Canada. In January 2021, he began a two-year term as chair of the AFP Canada board of directors. We caught up with him to find out what he’s thinking about the year ahead."

  3. Byron Chan and Jessica Cope Williams now Permanent Co-CEOs (Calgary Family Services) CALGARY STORY So smart! "We recognize that the co-leadership model is not typical in Calgary’s non-profit sector. Over the past several months, Jessica, Byron, and the Board of Directors committed to assessing this shared leadership approach as an interim strategy to determine the most effective leadership structure for the agency going forward. After seeing the evaluation results and having conducted our own thorough performance evaluation, the Board of Directors moved to make the positions permanent."

  4. Why Canada's vaccine rollout is slower than other countries' — and what can be done to fix it (CBC) CANADIAN STORY This is more than disappointing. #GetAMoveOn "Canada is falling behind in its initial rollout of COVID-19 vaccines at a critical time in the pandemic, and experts say our most vulnerable populations are being left at risk. Despite having months to prepare for the deployment of the initial shipment of vaccines to those most threatened by COVID-19 in long-term care facilities, a consistent rollout plan has yet to fully materialize on the ground. 'It just seems to be chaos right now,' said Alyson Kelvin, an assistant professor at Dalhousie University and a virologist at the Canadian Centre for Vaccinology evaluating Canadian vaccines with the VIDO-InterVac lab in Saskatoon."

  5. CEO of Niagara Health dropped from role after 'regrettable' Dominican holiday (CBC) HAMILTON STORY "An Ontario hospital executive who vacationed in the Caribbean over the holidays is no longer CEO of Niagara [Health]."

  6. Jewish philanthropists have increased their giving during the pandemic — but prioritizing causes has never been harder (JWeekly) "Lisa Greer used to devote a significant share of her time and money to long-term philanthropic projects [...]. But when the pandemic started, her thinking shifted to what was closer to home, and in some cases to what was happening right in her own city. 'I’d much rather get some hospital people PPE, so people can live,' she said from her home in Los Angeles, where hospitals are again filling to capacity and another lockdown has been put into place. 'It’s sort of like life or death became more important.'"

  7. The DAF Dilemma: Will the Pressures Created by COVID-19 Force the Federal Government to Revisit the Rules for Controversial Donor-Advised Funds? (The Philanthropist) "This impressive growth has attracted both more scrutiny and debate. Proponents of DAFs say they democratize philanthropy, giving average people tools typically reserved for those wealthy enough to establish non-profit foundations. Critics view them as sops to the rich – tax shelters disguised as philanthropy that reduce, or at least delay, donations that would otherwise be made directly to charities."

  8. Mark Zuckerberg gave $75 million to a San Francisco hospital. The city has condemned him anyway. (Vox) "Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s adopted hometown of San Francisco [...] formally condemned the naming of a major hospital after him and his wife, the latest flashpoint in the debate over the proper role for billionaire philanthropy [...]. Five years ago, Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, gave $75 million to San Francisco General Hospital, the city’s sole public hospital, where Chan was a pediatrician at the time. As part of the donation, the hospital was formally renamed the Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center." RELATED: Billionaires Made Record Profit, Donated Record Lows in 2020—$0 From Elon Musk.

  9. Influential Edmonton artist Alice Switzer dies from COVID-19 (CBC) EDMONTON STORY RIP Ms. Switzer. "An influential Edmonton artist known for creating public art has died from COVID-19. Alice Switzer marked her 90th birthday on Dec. 28 — and died Sunday in hospital [...]. Switzer spent 30 years as an art instructor at Grant MacEwan [...] involved in the early days of the fine arts program when it was still run out of a repurposed elementary school building. When the then-college built its former west-end campus, which opened in 1981, Switzer had a hand in deciding its distinctive orange colour."

  10. Death of Greenpeace pioneer Terry Simmons in November went largely 'unremarked,' says Vancouver friend (CBC) VANCOUVER STORY One of the pioneers of the environmental movement. RIP Mr. Simmons. We will not see your like again. "Death of Greenpeace pioneer Terry Simmons in November went largely 'unremarked,' says Vancouver friend [...]. Nearly 50 years ago, in September 1971, Simmons was one of 12 hippies who sailed out of Vancouver's False Creek aboard the somewhat decrepit fishing boat Phyllis Cormack — renamed Greenpeace for the voyage."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. Can you change your metabolism? We asked an expert (The Peterborough Examiner) I won't spoil it for you but it is worth reading. And, really, it should be no surprise.

  2. I Found the Best Hour for Breakfast. Science Agrees (The Ascent) I did too! And it's the same one.

  3. 5 Books Bill Gates Thinks You Should Read in 2021 (Curious) I can't pick a favourite! These are all great. But, I if had to pick one to read first, it would be: "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration In The Age Of Colorblindness", by Michelle Alexander. #HappyReading

  4. How Calisthenics Is Changing My Body And My Life (The Ascent) Yes, somewhat unsurprisingly you can get very fit with no equipment. #WAHSilverLinings

  5. A Complete Guide to Planning Your 2021 Goals (Better Humans) If you are like me this year, I am behind in doing some deep goal-setting for 2021. But, it's not too late and this is an excellent resource. #Goals

  6. To Run My Best Marathon at Age 44, I Had to Outrun My Past (Wired) #RunningNerds. This is a long and worthwhile article and, surprise, it is not actually about running.

  7. Give People the Gift of Not Saying These 10 Phrases in 2021 (Personal Growth) I have nixed most of these from my stock phrases but I still find myself regularly using #1 and #2 and occasionally #6 and #8. All of them are bad form and not using them is truly a gift.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. Couple sells farm, donates $1 million to Ontario hospital (The Chronicle Herald) WINCHESTER STORY So lovely. Dale and Lois Keyes have made a significant gift to the Winchester District Memorial Hospital, a rural teaching hospital located in Winchester, Ontario. "Dale Keyes remembers his month-and-a-half stay at the Winchester District Memorial Hospital in 1957 with great fondness [...]. The couple are grateful to have a hospital in their rural area."

  2. PHILANTHROPY AT THE HEART OF COMMUNITY – YMCA RECEIVES $1 MILLION TRANSFORMATIVE GIFT (YMCA of Greater Halifax/Dartmouth) HALIFAX STORY "The Lavers who are members of the YMCA of Greater Halifax/Dartmouth, decided to invest in their community through this gift for [its] operations."

  3. Good Will Easter Seals Miami Valley Receives $10 Million Donation (WOSU Public Media) "Author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott donated the funds, as part of her campaign of making transformative gifts to local nonprofits. Scott has donated to more than 380 organizations nationwide." RELATED: Mountaineer Food Bank receives $9 million donation.

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

Vincent DuckworthComment