Weekly News Recap: October 4, 2019

Weekly News Recap: October 4, 2019

The city says the Arts Commons Transformation (ACT) project will both 'expand capacity in an adjoining new building and renew the existing facility to bring it up to today’s standards.' (calgary.ca)

We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie. -- David Mamet, Boston Marriage

This week's highlights

  • A Calgary K9 calendar #Heroes
  • Arts Commons is a go, a wish for every child, and Car2Go is leaving Calgary #News
  • Ken Mayhew is Toronto's outstanding fundraiser #Congrats!
  • Scrabble gets translated into Cree and the Sakimay First Nation gets its name back #ZagimeAnishinabek
  • Secrets of a tidy house, Keanu-style humility, and 57 ways to sign an email #Hacks
  • University of Alberta makes a climate change misstep #BillboardGate
  • Fiji water owner invests $750 million in climate change research #HeGetsIt
  • UCLA gets $20 million to study kindness #Amazing
  • And so much more...

News

  • Calgary police let the dogs out, releasing annual K9 Heroes calendar (CBC) CALGARY STORY Amazing animals. "Calgary police have let the dogs out, officially releasing their 13-month K9 Heroes calendar, showcasing the hard-working dogs of the CPS canine unit." 10/1/19

  • Funding for Arts Commons expansion approved by city council (CBC) CALGARY STORY Woot! Great news. "After a decade-long conversation, city council has approved $22.5 million in funding for work on a major expansion of Arts Commons." 10/1/19

  • Together, we can grant more wishes and change more lives (The Power of One Wish) CANADIAN STORY Boom! What a great merger. Congrats to all. "We are very pleased to share that in a milestone moment, Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada and Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Canada are joining forces with the goal of granting the wish of every eligible child across the country." October 2019

  • 'What a role model:' Paralyzed Bronco makes Adidas ad, hall of fame nominee list (CBC) SASKATCHEWAN STORY He is a role model to me. "'As a kid I always dreamed of playing for Team Canada ... and I still do,' Straschnitzki narrates in the commercial. 'You know, when one door closes, another one opens.' The 20-year-old from Airdrie, Alta., was paralyzed from the chest down after a bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team crashed into a semi truck that ran a stop sign in April 2018." 9/30/19

  • Calgary's fentanyl-related death toll far surpasses anywhere else in Alberta (CBC) CALGARY STORY This is a terrifying statistic. "The latest report on Alberta's opioid crisis shows Calgary had by far the most accidental deaths related to fentanyl in the province in the first half of 2019. The report issued by Alberta Health says there were 116 fentanyl-related deaths in Calgary in the first six months of the year. Edmonton recorded 80 and Grande Prairie had 19. Lethbridge reported 11 accidental deaths related to fentanyl." 9/30/19

  • Pelletier excited to carry torch as RDC Board Chair (Red Deer News Now) RED DEER STORY "The new Chair for the Red Deer College Board of Governors says he’s looking forward to continuing the institution’s transition to university status, and steering RDC through times of anticipated fiscal restraint from the province. Guy Pelletier, who also serves as Chair of the RDC President Transition Team, says he feels good about his recent appointment, adding he has a deep connection to the college going back to his days as an RDC student during the 80s. 'I’m a big supporter of education and a big supporter of RDC, so I’m proud to take on this role,' says Pelletier." 9/27/19

  • Car2Go to pull out of Calgary and 4 U.S. cities before year's end (CBC) CALGARY STORY I am personally very disappointed. I hope they will be able to reconsider at a future date. "The vehicle-sharing service Car2Go says it's pulling out of Calgary and four U.S. cities before the end of the year. The company announced Friday that its service would end in Calgary, Denver, and Portland, Ore., and Austin, Tex., on Oct. 31. Its service in Chicago will end on Dec. 31." 9/27/19

  • Outstanding Fundraising Professional: Ken Mayhew (AFP Toronto) TORONTO STORY Congrats Ken. So deserving. "Ken deeply believes that fundraisers can and do make the world a better place. Ken’s tireless volunteerism, mentorship and leadership make him an inspiring and influential change-maker and an outstanding fundraising professional." 9/27/19

  • Habitat for Humanity recently celebrated the addition of affordable homes in Calgary’s northwest with donors, volunteers, community partners and the 10 new homeowners. (Calgary Herald) CALGARY STORY Congrats to all. "Habitat for Humanity recently celebrated the addition of affordable homes in Calgary’s northwest with donors, volunteers, community partners and the 10 new homeowners." 9/26/19

  • Calgary parks awarded $50,000 at ParksFest first-ever Energize Awards (LiveWire Calgary) Congrats to all!. "More than a thousand Calgarians gathered at Haultain Park in the southwest [...] to re-imagine the future of Calgary parks at the annual ParksFest. Visitors cast their ballots and a total of $50,000 was awarded to three local projects for the first-ever Energize Awards." 9/25/19

First Peoples of Canada

  • New documentary profiles renowned Haida artist Robert Davidson (CBC) BRITISH COLUMBIA STORY I love Haida art. "Anyone who has visited or lives on Canada's West Coast has likely come across Haida art; it's often found in gift and souvenir shops, on the ferry between Vancouver and Vancouver Island, and at festivals up and down the coast. Seeing Indigenous art was not always so easy, and documentary filmmaker Charles Wilkinson endeavoured to find out why in his latest film Haida Modern. The film chronicles Haida artist Robert Davidson's life, and looks at the impact Davidson and his work have had on the country." 10/1/19

  • Academic at First Nations University turning Scrabble into Cree language game (CBC) SASKATCHEWAN STORY How cool is this! "At first glance, the Scrabble board that Edward Doolittle uses looks just like any other. Look a little closer, and you'll see that some of the letters on the tiles have little accents above them. Compare the scoring numbers of each tile to a traditional Scrabble game, or how the A, K and I tiles in Doolittle's cache vastly outnumber other letters, and it becomes clear that he's put a twist on the traditional board game." 9/26/19

  • 'Vindication for our ancestors': Sask. First Nation reclaims original name (CBC) As it should be. Nice work Saskatchewan! "It's an error that took more than a century to correct. The Sakimay First Nation near Grenfell, Sask., will again be known as Zagime Anishinabek. Zagime, which means 'mosquito' in the Anishinabe language, is the community's original name, Chief Lynn Acoose said. 'Sakimay' is the word erroneously applied to the band by federal officials following the treaty signing in the 1880s." 9/25/19

  • Building Medicine Hat's massive Sammis Tepee was an engineering challenge to rival the Eiffel Tower (CBC) MEDICINE HAT STORY We drive by the world's largest Tepee often. It is impressive. "In this episode of Big Things Small Towns, Tamarra revisits a giant landmark that left quite an impact on her as a child and it's just as impressive and towering to her today, even though she's grown a bit since then: Medicine Hat's massive Sammis Tepee." 9/24/19

Seven life and career hacks -- one for each day of the week

  1. How To Keep Your House Tidy (Better Humans) I could have written this article but Raina did it WAY better. This is a huge gift. I hope you enjoy. 9/24/19

  2. How to Live the Keanu Reeves Way of Life and Produce His Extraordinary Results in the Process (P.S. I Love You) I am a big Keanu fanboy. This is only one of the reasons why. 8/19/19

  3. The Science-Backed Benefits of Massage (elemental+) When in doubt...get a massage. 6/6/19

  4. The Power of Not Letting Your Ego Do the Talking (The Startup) Seems obvious. When you read it. Putting this into practice is hard. And powerful. 5/29/19

  5. Here’s How To Get It Done On Time (The Startup) Ah yes...the planning fallacy. Dang it! 5/27/19

  6. The Secret Life of a Highly Sensitive Person (Psychology) I have most (but not all) of these traits. How about you? 2/21/18

  7. 57 Ways To Sign Off On An Email (Forbes) Yes, this article is more than six years old. It is still terrific advice. Thanks to my friend and colleague, Gina Wheatcroft for sharing this article. 9/27/13

Philanthropic controversy

Trends and shifts

Large gifts

  • Dartmouth business school's global program gets $25 million donation (New Hampshire Union Leader) "An alum of Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business is behind the largest donation in the graduate program’s history, giving $25 million to support Tuck’s global education program." 9/30/19

  • Donation and matching funds total $16.3M gift to Curry School (The Daily Progress) "The University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education and Human Development has received a $10 million gift from local philanthropist Jane Batten to support professorships and fellowships in early childhood education." 9/30/19

  • Anonymous $6 Million Donation Will Fund Students’ ‘Pathway Through The Humanities’ (The Cornell Daily Sun) "A $6 million anonymous alumni donation will fund an undergraduate program targeting humanities research, Dean Ray Jayawardhana told The Sun [...]. The program — a 'curated pathway through the humanities,' Jayawardhana said — will aim to highlight the humanities for students across the University." 9/30/19

  • Billionaire Explains Record $750 Million Donation to Caltech for Climate Change Research (KTLA) A climate hero. And also...WOW! "It did not escape Stewart Resnick’s attention that, after some unusual winter weather in 2015, his pistachio crop took a 70% hit. He couldn’t miss it when, for several years, his heat-blasted oranges came in smaller and less prodigiously than in the past. California’s persistent drought could not be ignored, either, by the man reputed to be the biggest farmer in America. Those events influenced the Resnicks’ decision [...] to give $750 million to Caltech for research into climate change and sustainability. And there was another inspiration. 'My grandkids … they would yell at me all the time, ‘How can you help with this? What are you doing about it?’ Resnick said after announcing the gift. 'A lot of the adults are not concerned, but the kids are concerned. And rightfully so.'" 9/29/19

  • Giants co-owner gave $5M to NJPAC. Here’s what the huge donation will do. (NJ.com) "Jonathan Tisch, co-owner of the New York Giants, is on the Victoria Theater stage at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. It will be renamed the Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch stage in recognition of couples' $5 million gift to NJPAC to support the arts." 9/29/19

  • UCLA receives $20 million donation to find ‘antidote’ to unkind modern world (New York Post) How amazing is this! "The world needs more kindness, especially now, and researchers at the University of California-Los Angeles are going to investigate how to bring out more of it — thanks to a new multimillion-dollar grant. The Bedari Foundation, which was established by philanthropists Jennifer and Matthew C. Harris, gave $20 million to establish the UCLA Bedari Kindness Institute, which will support research on kindness, produce opportunities to translate the research into practices and have a chief goal of empowering citizens and leaders to build more humane societies." 9/27/19

  • ‘Sea The Future’: €272m committed to end plastic waste (SciTech Europa) Wow! What a great gift! "Minderoo Foundation, a global philanthropic organisation, today announced a USD $300m (~€272m) commitment to a new industry-focused initiative to end worldwide plastic waste," 9/25/19

  • Precision Public Health initiative launches with $100M from Rockefeller Foundation, UNICEF & more (Beckers Hospital Review) "A group of humanitarian organizations unveiled the Precision Public Health initiative on the sidelines of the General Assembly of the United Nations on Sept. 25, with a goal of using artificial intelligence and data science to improve global health." 9/25/19

  • $5M donation to University of Michigan will be used for Detroit youth fund, Ford School scholarships (MLive) "Half of a $5 million donation to University of Michigan’s public policy school will be used to enhance educational opportunities for Detroit students, UM announced [...]. Part of the Joan and Sanford Weill Family Foundation gift to the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy will create a Youth Fund, which will be used to support collaborations with national career education nonprofit NAF." 10/3/19

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