Tech shows its fun side at YoCWR’s opening week
Year of Code Waterloo Region drew 1,300 people to its launch and tech showcase July 4 at Kitchener City Hall. That wrapped up a strong opening week for the project, which seeks to help more people in Waterloo Region understand the technology they use to manage their lives. YoCWR set the timer July 1 at Canada […]
Year of Code all about digital literacy
KITCHENER — Volunteers will show senior citizens how to use Skype so they can easily stay in touch with their children and grandchildren around the world. Small children will learn how to create their own computer games. There will be monthly gatherings called “wine, women and code.” And anyone who wants to learn how to […]
Capacity program lets the sun shine on evaluation
You could almost hear the neurons firing as she paused for thought: What’s a common analogy that might help people get their heads around evaluation? “Checking the weather,” Julia Coburn said confidently. Yup, it seems to work. People check the weather all the time. It takes only a minute, but can make the difference between arriving […]
Trillium’s new investment strategy: Less fuss, more focus
Change keeps Mary-Jo Sullivan on the road these days. Big change. Sullivan is racking up the kilometres on her car, crisscrossing Wellington and Dufferin counties, and the Region of Waterloo, to talk about the Ontario Trillium Foundation’s new investment strategy. It’s the thinking behind who and what gets a share of the $110 million Trillium […]
A bit of storytelling that will make you think
The following video stopped us in our tracks when it arrived via email this week. It’s from Raising The Roof, the Canadian organization that seeks permanent, strong solutions to homelessness. Raising the Roof’s Humans For Humans campaign encourages Canadians to examine homelessness by way of a meaningful conversation instead of “mean Tweets.” You’ll see why right here. […]
Farm program good for the soul of urban volunteer
What is it they say about relationships? Opposites attract? It seems to make for good chemistry in the volunteer work Tony Schall does. “I grew up in the suburbs,” he says in a kitchen classroom set up in an old barn. “I don’t know anything about farms.” And yet he volunteers as a board director for Steckle Heritage Farm, a […]
Capacity Canada report sees opportunity in county’s rural character
Renfrew County just west of Ottawa is a vast chunk of land, with a lot of rocks and trees, farms and small towns. And, somewhere in all that space – untapped economic energy. Sound familiar? “It’s a microcosm of Canada,” says Glenn Smith, who helped Capacity Canada with a study in Renfrew in 2014. “There is a variety of industry and some interesting — […]
Storytelling
Show, don’t tell. It’s a mantra journalists know well and one that we, as charities, can learn from. If you would like to learn more about implementing storytelling into your organization, please contact Christian Aagaard by clicking here. Direct download the guide by clicking here.
MatchBoard leads Manulife employee to opportunity with community group
When the board of the YWCA Kitchener Waterloo held a retreat in January, Beth Lautenslager came away with a sense of accomplishment, not to mention relief. Planning the program, backing it up with research, had been her ball to carry. (Disclosure: The day also included a workshop on storytelling provided by the writer, on behalf of Capacity Canada.) […]
Confronting the undead: What zombies, resilience and strategic learning have to do with the non-profit sector
Tanya Darisi, executive-in-residence, Capacity Canada OK, so maybe I’ve read too many graphic novels, but zombies are definitely on my mind. The image of the undead mindlessly plodding along, spurring futile efforts and fixations, is surfacing as a metaphor wherever I look. I see them hoarding at the very top of the resiliency cycle, where […]
