Winnipeg is a place for community building. Here are four upcoming events where you can make a difference just by being there.
Winnipeg documentary filmmaker Kirby Hammond has contributed to the refugee dialogue with his film, The Refugee Conversation, which will be shown Fri. Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, 603 Wellington Crescent.
Free admission with silver collection towards supporting Syrians new to Winnipeg.
Noelle DePape who is in charge of the Syrian file for the provincial government and Marta Kalita, Director of Settlement Services for Welcome Place will speak after the film and answer questions from the audience.
Community of seniors is growing
Third Quarter (thirdquarter.ca) invites those 50 and over to add their voice by participating in an on-line research project in order to help other seniors who are working or looking for work. The Canadian Education and Research Institute for Counselling (CERIC) is funding a new study to examine how Canadian seniors are rejecting traditional notions of ‘retirement’ to seek new employment.
Social gerontologist, Dr. Suzanne Cook, an adjunct professor at York University, Department of Sociology and the Centre for Aging Research and Education says “there is a radical shift taking place with an expansion of our working lives and re-imagining of retirement, combined with a demographic shift to an aging society.”
Automatic retirement by age 65 is becoming passé as more seniors need or want to work longer and longevity is playing a key factor in the re-imagining of what retirement means.
“Older workers are an invaluable human capital resource, yet they tend to be neglected,” Cook says.
“It is imperative that we gain a greater understanding of how later life career unfolds in order to provide better services, resources and tools for the unprecedented large number of older adults currently in or entering this stage of life.”
The Redirection: Work and Later Life Career Development Project will examine this new phase of later life career that is emerging.
Cook has coined the term “redirection” to refer to the process of finding new pursuits during later life. Redirection occurs as older adults increasingly seek the rewards of work and of staying engaged.
For more information, please email redirect@yorku.ca or to participate in this project e-mail: info@thirdquarter.ca
Community support for sick children
We are a community of readers and Children’s Hospital of Winnipeg offers two ways folks can help the most vulnerable.
One is to donate books by taking them to any Winnipeg Fire Hall or any Dufresne store in Manitoba. The other is to visit the Book Mart at St. Vital Mall, Feb. 4-6.
All proceeds from the book sale help fund equipment and programs at Children’s Hospital and pediatric research at the Manitoba Institute of Child Health. To learn more visit: www.goodbear.mb.ca
Life Is What You Make It
Along with Women Healing for Change Inc. and The Phoenix Sinclair Foundation, a permanent home for children at the North End Stay and Play is becoming a reality. The Phoenix Sinclair Little Stars Playhouse, 681-3 Selkirk Ave. will offer children a safe place to access toys and books, as well as a child-friendly kitchen and evening music workshops.
The project aims to reduce the 1 in 5 apprehension rate of north-end children by Child and Family Services.
Thanks to donors who have donated 60% of the $1.2 million project, there is just $400,000 left to raise. Donations can be made at phoenixsinclairplayhouse.com.
An Evening in Support of the Phoenix Sinclair Little Stars Play House happens 6:30 p.m., Apr. 4 at a concert at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. This is a multi-media performance featuring Emmy award winner Peter Buffet on piano and Michael Kott on cello.
Buffet will share his personal journey of overcoming the challenge of being a billionaire’s son and how he came to know that giving back shapes us as individuals.
Readings from his book, Life Is What You Make It, and discussion of his philanthropic work with the NoVo Foundation will be shared in a an interactive format which welcomes questions from the audience.
Ticket information will be posted at: http://phoenixsinclairplayhouse.com
Check out this recent video by Paul S. Graham on the project to build Phoenix Sinclair Little Stars Play House: