March 15: The DDRC Celebrates Diversity!

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Celebrating Equity and Diversity Week

Kim McCullough at the Around the World Food Fair.

Here at the DDRC, we have our fingers on the pulse of both Calgary's cultural legacy and its diversity. In May we will be looking back to the past with our 60th Anniversary Celebrations, and we are continually looking to where we are headed and how we can continue to provide the best service possible in an increasingly globalized Calgary. At the end of February, the DDRC celebrated its cultural diversity with Equity and Diversity Awareness Week.

In preparation for the week, the committee distributed a "Diversity Census" to get a better idea of the equity and diversity issues that DDRC staff face at work and in the community. This information was used to create a visual display of the DDRC's diversity exhibited in the upstairs foyer.

Starting out the week, several seminars for clients and staff discussed equity and diversity issues. The next day Zenya Horricks of World Tree Studio donated her time to instruct a group belly dancing class organized by the staff social committee. Staff and clients then indulged in the Around the World Food Fair with dishes from a diverse range of cultures brought by staff volunteers. On Thursday, "Everyone Belongs Day," included an activity package to help staff talk with clients about what our brand everyone belongs really means. For our final day, two guest speakers from the Calgary Urban Aboriginal Initiative enlightened the audience about their organization's mission.

The DDRC is proud to hold events like Equity and Diversity Awareness Week that remind us all that inclusion and fairness should be celebrated.

Kate Kelly's Community Spirit Shines at the

Picture This...Film Festival

The Picture This...Film Festival started in 2001 as an initiative of the Calgary SCOPE Society, and has been a great success every year since then. Attracting filmmakers from all around the world, the festival features an array of films that are about disability, and films on any subject that were produced, directed, and/or written by people with disabilities. Among the growing fan base who come out every year to appreciate the artistic excellence of these films, DDRC client Kate Kelly expresses her passion for the Picture This...Film Festival through her love of volunteering.

Kate Kelly after recieving her volunteering award at the Picture This...Film Festival awards gala.

On the evening of February 12, 2012, the gala awards for the eleventh annual festival took place at the Blackfoot Inn, and Kate's parents watched proudly as their daughter received her award for volunteering with the film festival for the last five years. When asked about her experiences at the festival, Kate exclaims that she is "happy to hand out programs" while getting the chance to "meet new people."

Not only does Kate volunteer with the Picture This...Film Festival every year, she is also an active volunteer at the Cochrane Library and the Calgary Food Bank every week. When asked why she enjoys volunteering within the community, Kate explains "I get to learn new tasks, and feel happy when I get to help out," adding that "it's so positive!" Kate's dedication to community spirit through volunteerism is an outstanding achievement!

For more information about the Picture This...Film Festival visit http://www.ptff.org.

We did it! 1,279 Hours in One Month!

The PACE team recieves their exercise challenge award.

The PACE Team receives the group award for the February Fitness Challenge.

Last month, the DDRC challenged clients and staff to increase their daily physical activity. If we could encourage 100 people to log 2.5 hours of exercise a week for four weeks, we would reach 1,000 hours by the end of the month.

Not only did we reach our goal of 1,000 hours, we surpassed it, logging an incredible 1279 hours total! Approximately 100 people participated, including teams and individuals from all over the DDRC. Staff encouraged clients to log their fitness hours and coworkers motivated each other with some friendly competition.

Zofia Zgolak of the PACE Team was awarded first place in the competition for individual with the most hours logged,

completing an incredible 90 hours of exercise over the course of the month!

Zofia is not only self-motivated, she also encourages her clients to keep moving! She supported two of her clients to log their hours, one of whom was the runner up for the individual category of the competition. This was a big help for the PACE Team who placed first in the team category. Together PACE logged 311 hours, and each person averaged a total of 34 hours for the month!

The participation in the February exercise challenge by staff and clients was more than organizers had hoped for! What do you think could be the next DDRC challenge for staff and clients?

Email us with your suggestions!

This year the DDRC celebrates

60 years of service!