Weekly News Recap: November 19, 2021

A rendering of the Centre for Excellence in the Sciences at The King's University in Edmonton. Thanks to a $20-million donation, the school has raised enough money to build the centre. (Submitted by Nikolas Vander Kooy)

A gift is pure when it is given from the heart to the right person at the right time and at the right place, and when we expect nothing in return. -- Anonymous

SOME GOOD NEWS

Girl, teddy bear reunited a year after loss in Glacier park (AP News) My heart melts. "A little girl who lost a special teddy bear she’d had since being adopted from an Ethiopian orphanage thought it was gone forever when she forgot it along a trail in Glacier National Park last year. Her parents and family friends still held onto a glimmer of hope. Hope won out."
Lehi boy thinks big with blanket service project for hospital (KSLTV) #FutureSocialEntrepreneur. Love this kid. "It was supposed to be a simple student council service project. But when 12-year-old Caleb Konopka learned the eight blankets he’d crafted for a donation to Primary Children’s Hospital wasn’t nearly what was needed, he grew even more determined to meet the demand."
Steelers' Najee Harris Helps Renovate Homeless Shelter Where His Family Once Lived (Bleacher Report) #WhatGoesAround. What a wonderful story. "Pittsburgh Steelers rookie running back Najee Harris has burst onto the scene this year, but what he's done off the field has been even more impressive. Harris has been helping renovate a homeless shelter he and his family spent time in during his childhood. The first thing he wanted to replace at the Greater Richmond Interfaith Program (GRIP) in California was the carpet, something he noticed had been worn down over the course of more than 20 years."
13-year-old boy granted a "Make-A-Wish" uses it to feed the homeless every month for a year (CBS) OMG. #ThisKid "Last year, 13-year-old Abraham Olagbegi found out he was born with a rare blood disorder and needed a bone marrow transplant. About a year later, he found out better news: His transplant was successful, and he qualified for Make-A-Wish, an organization that grants wishes to children will serious illnesses. Abraham wanted a long-lasting wish, and he had an idea that he shared with his mom. 'I remember we were coming home from one of his doctor appointments and he said, 'Mom, I thought about it, and I really want to feed the homeless,' Abraham's mom, Miriam Olagbegi, told CBS News. 'I said, 'Are you sure Abraham? You could do a lot ... You sure you don't want a PlayStation?'"
5 women share their stories about life and dating with a disability (CBC) CALGARY STORY I heart these stories. "Dating as a young woman with a disability comes with its own challenges. There are as many different experiences as there are people living with disabilities. Some good, some bad. But within the community, between friends, and now, even within larger groups, conversations about romance and sexuality are happening."
Alberta teen solves Rubik's cube 300 times while riding unicycle, beats Guinness World Record (CBC) ALBERTA STORY #Wow "A 17-year-old teen from Brooks, Alta., just multi-tasked his way into the Guinness World Records. Jesse Bradford now holds the record for solving the most Rubik's cubes — 300 of them — on a unicycle. He learned to ride in the summer of 2020, and decided to pair it with the puzzle he'd learned to solve in Grade 3."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

DOM PÉRIGNON ANNOUNCES DONATION OF OVER HALF A MILLION TO LADY GAGA’S BORN THIS WAY FOUNDATION AT WORLD KINDNESS DAY DINNER IN NEW YORK CITY (Yahoo Finance) Another reason to love Dom. "[Dom Pérignon] came together with Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation, to reveal a total donation of $570,000 to the organization. For the occasion, guests from all walks of life came together to celebrate kindness at the Museum of Modern Art in [NYC.]"
Trudeau, Kenney promise $10-a-day child care across Alberta within next 5 years (Global News) ALBERTA STORY Hallelujah! "Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney revealed details of child-care agreement that will see the cost drop in 2022 and $10-a-day child care available across Alberta within the next five years. Kenney said child-care fees will drop by an average of 50 per cent by early 2022 and families will pay an average of $10 a day by 2025/26. He added the agreement covers a variety of licensed child-care options, including pre-school and day homes."
This Calgary area hit 99% vaccination among those eligible (CBC) CALGARY STORY #Proud. Go Calgary! "One Calgary area is bucking provincial trends for vaccination rates with a whopping 99 per cent of residents vaccinated. Calgary's upper northeast zone has 99 per cent of eligible residents vaccinated with at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to figures from Alberta Health Services. Residents of that area between the ages of 60 and 74 are 100 per cent vaccinated with at least one dose. Provincially, of those eligible — people older than 12 years old — 88 per cent have one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 82 per cent of eligible people are fully vaccinated."
Reconciliation 'overarching' issue for Gov. Gen. Mary Simon (CBC) CANADIAN STORY Go GG! Tell us how we can help. "Gov. Gen. Mary Simon says Canadians have sent her a clear message that reconciliation is at the top of a 'chain' of issues she should address during her term as the Queen's representative in Canada. In an interview that aired Sunday on Rosemary Barton Live, the recently installed Governor General said she saw the issues of reconciliation, mental health, climate change, youth issues and education as linked, and they would be her focus over the next five years. Addressing reconciliation specifically, she said there had been a shift in Canadian society such that 'we're willing to look at the truth' when it comes to Canada's history with residential schools. She said that was reflected in countless messages she received following her appointment."
St. Jude Hoards Billions While Many of Its Families Drain Their Savings (ProPublica) This is just not right. "St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital promises not to bill families. But the cost of having a child at the hospital for cancer care leaves some families so strapped for money that parents share tips on spending nights in the parking lot."
Lethbridge College applying to become a polytechnic, U of L open to playing greater role in health training (Lethbridge News Now) LETHBRIDGE STORY "Lethbridge College [...] has asked the Ministry of Advanced Education to consider changing its designation from a Comprehensive Community College to a Polytechnic. Polytechnics Canada defines a polytechnic as an institution of higher education, providing technical, applied, hands-on learning. These schools offer applied degrees, diplomas, certificates, and apprenticeship training, fueling business innovation with applied research expertise."
Analysis: Musk's $6 billion Tesla stock haul has charity circuit buzzing (Reuters) Where do you think he might spend it? "The world's richest man suddenly has more cash than most people can spend in their lifetime. What will he do with it? Elon Musk, whose net worth is pegged by Forbes at $270 billion, had traditionally kept his wealth tied up in his stake in Tesla [...], the electric car maker founded in 2003. He borrowed against his stock when he needed more cash and sold stock mostly to cover tax obligations."
Dictionary update shows how changing climate changes everything, including language (CBC) Language is culture. "Climate change really does change everything, including language. New words and new word compounds have been invented at the same time as new meanings, or senses, have been added to old words. To keep up, the Oxford English Dictionary has released an update on the language of climate change and environmental sustainability. Reading it as the world leaves Glasgow after the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) is fascinating, depressing, and yet strangely hopeful."
Rising sea level prompts city to build St. Paul's Hospital to withstand future floods (CBC) VANCOUVER STORY This is going to happen everywhere. "The construction of the new St. Paul's Hospital and Health Campus in East Vancouver's False Creek is in progress, but the project won't be completed anytime soon as the facility needs to withstand future floods that could come with rising sea levels. According to the senior sustainability specialist with the City of Vancouver, infrastructures around the municipality were built at a time when water levels were predictable and there were no concerns for rising sea levels — so the city is not prepared for what might come in the next 30 years."
LaSalle College unveils its new generation of FLEX classrooms (LaSalle College) More please. "After more than a year of online classes, a number of students have developed a taste for—if not a sense of well-being from—learning in the comfort of their own homes. This teaching method certainly offers flexibility and makes it easier to balance school, work and family."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

5 Steps to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile for Lead Generation (Start It Up) I really want to do better at this on LinkedIn. This is an excellent set of tips.
I Quit Daily Routines and Moved to a 168 Hour Cycle and My Productivity Increased (Better Humans) Very interesting concept...what are you going to do with a week-long cycle? Cool actually.
The Zero Energy Principle Will Change Your Life Forever (Siddharth Chatterjee) Whenever you reduce friction, things get easier.
Your Biggest Problem Is You Think You Have Time (Forge) Ugh, now in my second half of my rapidly diminishing lifeline, this is even more important.
Super Slow Running Completely Transformed My Body and Mind (Alyssa Atkinson) Ha, I knew being a slow runner would matter on day.
7 Things I Avoid to Boost My Mental Strength (Mind Cafe) A very cool list. If only for #3 and #5 (the rest are great too).
9 Little Things I Stopped Doing That Gave Me Big Results (Mind Cafe) Yes, lets all please stop publishing our altruism.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

The King's University receives $20M donation — biggest in Edmonton school's history (CBC) EDMONTON STORY #Boom! Great move KingsU! "An unexpected $20-million donation — the largest gift ever for The King's University — will go toward the construction of a new science centre. The donation came from a donor the school had approached, said marketing director Nikolas Vander Kooy. But the 'relatively unexpected' gift, confirmed in September, 'completely exceeded our expectations,' Vander Kooy said. The donor, who wants to remain anonymous, is neither an alumnus of the university nor the parent of one."
A $1M gift to the Red Deer & District Community Foundation provides gratuitous scholarship opportunities for local students (Education News Canada) RED DEER STORY Beautiful. "The Red Deer & District Community Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of a new scholarship opportunity created in honour of William Arthur Bower, an early Red Deer resident who lost his life in World War I. The scholarship, which was made possible through a $1M donation from Arthur's nieces, Ruth and Dorothy Bower, will not only support local students to further their education, but also perpetuate the memory of one of the many Canadians who died in the name of their country."
$10 million project to address public health mis- and disinformation (Philanthropy News Digest) This is why these big foundations matter. More please. "The Social Science Research Council in Brooklyn, New York, has announced the launch of the Mercury Project, a three-year, $10 million investment in efforts to address the growing threat of mis- and disinformation on public health in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. With $7.5 million in seed funding from the Rockefeller Foundation and additional funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Craig Newmark Philanthropies, the project will fund efforts to quantify the scope of the problem and its impact on society, as well as identify tools, methods, and interventions that better support people’s health across nations. To that end, the initiative will fund projects in the United States, Africa, Asia, and Latin America for up to three years, with a focus on solutions that create equity in access to health information, interventions that remove obstacles people face when trying to access reliable health information, and effective approaches to increasing COVID-19 vaccination efforts that will inform future vaccine uptake efforts."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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Vincent DuckworthNovember 19, 2021Comment