around town!

Hello again everyone!
I haven't updated for a while but it has been the same as always, gotten into a good routine!

Last weekend was absolutely beautiful weather (up to 27!) so I went out and explored the city a little bit! I went to the Glenbow Museum, some outdoor shopping at Stephen Avenue, and explored Prince's Island Park.
I only have one week left and am really excited to get home again, see my friends, and get back to work! :)

Friday was officially the last day of classes for my program, which I unfortunately missed, but I have been blessed with some wonderful friends who Skyped me into class that morning and many many people who spoke to me on the phone during the grad party and let me know how much they missed me! I miss you guys too and I can't wait to see you all again! Thank you for the wonderful phone call :)

Here are some pictures of my last weekend!

Stephen Avenue shops

The Calgary Tower

 At the Glenbow Museum

Prince's Island Park

Thank goodness for random strangers or you wouldn't know I was actually there ;)

oh also thank goodness for self timers!

I will have a few more updates this week as I begin to wrap things up and I cannot wait to see everyone again! :)

Faythe

26 days and counting (beware, the LONG blog post)

Hi everyone!
I am almost at the halfway mark of my time here (on Thursday) and time definitely flies when you're having fun! I've gotten settled really easily, figured out the transit system, found grocery stores, and joined the gym here :)
Placement is still going great and busy! I have been able to get to know everyone even better and it is great!
I am doing a huge range of  things with them, and although it isn't necessarily related to my schooling, it is still really interesting and I'm learning a lot! I have been mainly helping with event related tasks like making slideshows, collecting logos from sponsors and making signs for sponsored tables. I also have been rolling change from their collection boxes (yay, not so much haha) and administrative stuff! I have finally been trained on Raisers Edge which is a database of donors, sponsors etc. that non profits use, so I have been inputting information into there as well!
Many non profits run casino events, and get to keep a certain amount of profit from the casino, so I spent a day at the Stampede Casino (on the Calgary Stampede grounds) and met a lot of amazing volunteers and a mom of a wish child who was really inspiring!


I spent Saturday in Banff this long weekend and it was amazing! I went down with one of my friends and we went for a beautiful hike in Johnston Canyon/Falls, wandered around the shops (and Lululemon! :O) of downtown Banff, went to a Native History Museum, explored the amazing Banff Springs Hotel, and relaxed in the Banff Hot Springs. Here's some pictures I took while we were there :)

The hike to the falls, all on a walkway built into the side of the canyon. Also covered in 6 inches of SOLID packed snow which was super slippery!

Me and my long time friend Michelle :)

The frozen and pretty Johnston Lower Falls.

Can't get enough, I decided I should just live there ;)

(I didn't take this photo, but didn't get a good shot of the whole hotel)

An amazing castle in the mountains!

Last picture, the hotsprings!



 Sorry for the very large post, but that is all I will have for a while!
Thanks for reading everyone!
I miss you all! Keep the texts, emails, and skype conversations coming :)

Faythe

Hitting the slopes!

Hello everyone!
I went skiing over the weekend with my uncle and his kids and I thought I'd share some pictures that I took!
For anyone familiar with the area we were at Nikiska in Kananaskis! (for all the reckies, it was right by the Tim Horton's Ranch, which looked fantastic!)

 Haven't skiied in 3 years, but I skiied like a pro ;)

amazing! The view was absolutely fantastic and the weather was great! It was such a great day and it made me remember why I loved the mountains so much!


faythe

Week One!

Hello again everyone!
I am at the end of my first week and it has been great so far! Everyone at the office is awesome and I have been able to sit and chat with everyone to learn more about their job and what they do! It is interesting that with my background and the Rec & Leisure course I would have the knowledge to fall into several of the positions! They all kind of blend together, which does seem to happen in the world of non profits. I am going to be mainly working with the event coordinator on a few events that she has going. The first week has been pretty slow, but busyness ahead!
I have learned a lot about the wishes they have granted and my favourite one is granting a little girl the wish to meet a princess.. She was able to meet William and Kate when they toured Canada, and it is so special! You can read the story here!
While you are all in Ontario enjoying the sun and getting a nice tan, I'm pretty chilly out here. We had snow yesterday! Which then promptly melted in the afternoon when it got warmer! Typical Alberta weather!

I spent the last few days trying to figure out the bus, with a few bumps I think I finally got it!

I am hopefully going skiing on the weekend with my relatives so hopefully I'll get some pictures from that!

I'll leave with a picture of the Calgary tower/skyline :)

Faythe

and so it begins..

Hello from Calgary everyone!

I arrived safely on Saturday morning, before all the craziness and cancellations going on with Air Canada!
My flight was slightly delayed due to a large amount of fog in the Hamilton early but we made up the time and I landed in Calgary only15 minutes late.
I got to find my new house, meet who I am living with (who are super nice!), get some groceries and reunite with old friends who I haven't seen since I was probably 12! We spent the afternoon/evening shopping (good start to any trip ;) ) and going to the cutest place for coffee in the evening!
Sunday I went to the church I used to go to out here and see my old elementary school!

The favorite so far has been seeing the mountains way out there in the distance all the time, so beautiful :)
plans for trips to Banff, snowshoeing and skiing are already being made!

Tomorrow my placement begins and I can't wait to meet everyone I will be working with and get started! Wish me luck as I attempt to navigate the Calgary transit system! *fingers crossed*

I will continue to keep you updated (hopefully with pictures soon)! Miss you all!

Faythe

Alberta Bound!

Welcome back to my blog everyone!

I am starting back up again, not because I have to this time, but because I am about to go off on an amazing 7 week placement adventure and want to keep everyone up to date!

In 6 short days I am going to Calgary to do my final placement in my Recreation & Leisure Services program with the Children's Wish Foundation. During my time there I will be helping them mainly with running/planning their publicity, sponsorship, and fundraising events, and probably a lot more surprises as well!

I feel so blessed to have found a placement in such a well known and amazing organization as they are and I can't wait to see more of the work they do!

If you didn't know this about me already, I lived in Calgary for almost 8 years of my life, and am so SO excited to return! I am really excited to see the city, the friends and relatives, and the mountains again!

Who wouldn't want to see this!

I'll keep you all updated with blogs and photos as my time progresses there!

fh

..one child at a time

During the last week, several of us have had the amazing opportunity to collaborate with Tim Horton's Children Foundation and work with the Ted Nolan Foundation. This foundation promotes healthy lifestyles and supports aboriginal youth. For the third year in a row they have had a youth leadership camp take place at Tim Horton's Onondaga Farms. As a class we had the opportunity to work as counselors with the youth there. Personally I only had the opportunity to have 2 days there with everyone, but even in two days, it is incredible the amount you can learn. Meeting the youth who have already been through so much and deal with so many things is very powerful. They strength and loyalty they demonstrate is amazing for their age. I always come away from any camp experience feeling very very blessed.
As a college program we also were involved in camp in March 2011. Again we were able to be counselors for kids age 8-12 that were sponsored through camp day and all of the Tim Horton's store locations. All of this experiences have been incredible and really show how camp can make a difference in child's lives. Tim Horton's Children Foundation really does try to better the lives of children everywhere so that they learn leadership skills and take all of the abilities home with them and carry it with them for the rest of their lives. Camp has become something really close to me and a place where I always feel at home.
Buy your camp day coffees! It makes a difference :)
These videos really show the impact that camp has to the lives of young people.

enjoy!
dory (fh)