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Quick Links
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Contact Us:
2nd Floor, Centre 2000
200, 11330-106 St.
Grande Prairie AB
T8V 7X9
Phone: 780.538.2820
Fax: 780.532.0672
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Demonstrating Corporate Leadership In Our Community
We thank the following companies for their support of the Community Foundation as they have made giving part of their mission. Please support those who support us!
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Greetings!
Once again the holiday season seems to have caught us by surprise. And even with the abundance of snow hinting that time is moving forward, we have been so busy in the office that December still seems to have come more quickly than we expected.
It has been a very rewarding year at the Community Foundation. We welcomed new members to the board, hosted a very successful gala, joined the Smart & Caring Communities call to action and introduced Random Act of Kindness DayŽ. We are in the midst of producing the Youth and Young Adult VitalSigns report which is a follow-up to the 2011 VitalSigns report, which we are also updating. And perhaps the most satisfying event for us was our Community Impact and Student Award grants which were held this week.
In the midst of all this activity, we have taken the time to recognize how blessed we are to have the strong support and incredible commitment of so many people from our region. Your faith and belief in us has provided the strength and means to continue to build the long-term community savings account dedicated to philanthropy. It is this work which is truly in support of our future generations and we are doing it, together. Thank you.
Over this holiday season I hope you have the opportunity to get together with your family and friends. Personally, I am looking forward to family members coming home and time to appreciate the many important people in my life as well as be grateful for all the opportunities and experiences that have come my way.
I encourage all of us to remember that the holiday season also provides us with opportunities to help others in our community through acts of charity and everyday kindness.
What cannot be achieved in one lifetime will happen when one lifetime is joined to another.
~ Harold Kushner
From my heart to yours, thank you for your support of the Community Foundation. Warmest wishes to you and your family for a wonderful holiday season.
Tracey Vavrek
Executive Director
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Holiday Giving Touches Community
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Holiday charitable gifts are a wonderful way to support the community that is important to you.
Christmas donations provide tax benefits and can be made in your name, as a family or with a group of friends or colleagues. At the Community Foundation they provide you with the additional benefit of being able to make a difference in your community, forever. Please contact me if you would like more information. My contact information is provided below.
Also, there is time to take advantage of the 2012 tax savings if you donate before year-end. To make your gift you can:
- visit our website at buildingtomorrowtoday.com and click "Donate Now"
- telephone us at 780-538-2820 if using a credit card
- visit us in person before December 21, 2012. You will find us on the second floor of Centre 2000
If you mail a cheque, we will be able to issue a 2012 taxable receipt provided the envelope has a December 2012 postmark stamped by Canada Post. Please make your cheque payable to Community Foundation of Greater Grande Prairie.
In the event you are considering a gift of publicly traded securities, please be aware that special tax rules apply to these gifts and the transaction must be "in the works" to ensure completion in 2012.
I would be very happy to discuss any of this information with you. You can send me an e-mail, or give me a call at (780) 538-2820.
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Play It Forward
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We are very proud to have worked in partnership with Tenille as part of her "Play it Forward" tour earlier this fall. Performing 50-minutes shows at various schools, she encouraged our youngest residents to find ways to show charity and compassion to others.
During the show, Tenille, with the help of school staff, took the opportunity to recognize outstanding student leaders. Each leader received $75 to pay forward to their school in any way they chose. They were also entered in a draw to win a $10,000 prize package. Half the prize will be donated to a charity of the leader's choice with the other half going towards the school as part of a program that continues to play it forward through their hallways.
To date, the Community Foundation has released just over $6,100 to Alberta's young leaders on behalf of Tenille's "Play It Forward" fund.
Follow are stories told by Tenille's young followers.
Tenille was at my school on November 15. I also saw her at the Festival Of Trees and was able to play the air guitar competition. That is when I got my Play It Forward Tim Card. My mom and I had an idea to go to the Rotary House in Grande Prairie and decided to take the $2 tim card and added 5 more cards to give away as well as some coffee and doughnots. It was a very cold day and it was a good time to share some warm drinks. I felt really good giving, even though it was just coffee and timbits, the people that are staying there were very appreciative. I hope that everyone in the world does the same. My mom asked me if it felt better to give or to receive, and I said "To Give" Thank you Tenille.
Hey Tenille! So for my certificate of leadership I decided to to get everyone in my class to pick out two books from the book order under the budget of ten dollars then when the book orders come in they get to read both the books. When they have finished reading and enjoying the books they will then hand them into me and then 1 of book that one person ordered will be donated to our school library and the othe book to library. This doesn't just make me really happy it will also make others happy to!
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Community Impact Grants and Student Awards Celebration
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Pictured (l-r): Pete and Lori Merlo - fund holders, Sherry Dennis of Seniors Outreach, Trudy Hodges of Fiends of the Beaverlodge Public Library Society, Lorraine Gabriel - fund holder representative, Clyde Blackburn - fund holder, Dawn Marie Crouse - fund holder and Leonard Scharbach Chair of the Community Foundation Board of Directors.
Fund holders helped present Community Impact Grants to Friends of the Beaverlodge Public Library Society, Elders Caring Shelter, and Grande Prairie And Area Council on Aging - Seniors Outreach.
The day we present our Community Impact Grants and Student Awards is always a very special time for everyone at the Community Foundation. Our Community Impact Grants and Student Awards contribute immensely to the many sectors of our community, a feature that is unique to Community Foundations.
We are very thankful to our generous supporters who are dedicated to our work and the causes that are important to them. Together, we are enhancing strong ties within our communities and assisting our community non-profit and charitable organizations to ensure they remain strong and viable.
Over the past year we have grown the philanthropic asset base to $4.5 million. In 2012, we administered almost $163,000 to our charitable communities and students. Bringing our total community contributions to $3.7 million in support of over 580 projects since 1996.
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Wrap It Up for Christmas
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 Sabrina of Wonderland Toys and Hobby in Grande Prairie stands in front of the sign inviting customers to allow store staff to wrap their Christmas presents.
For a small fee, Wonderland Toy and Gift staff will help you with those extra's during the holiday season by wrapping those special gifts you purchased from their store. Jason Richards, one of the owners and General Manager, is happy to report that the service has been very popular, and is becoming increasingly so the closer we get to Christmas. The funds collected are directly to the Community Foundation.
Jason always wanted to do more for our community so his decision to direct the proceeds to the Community Foundation was a simple one. "The Community Foundation is very active in the community and knows where the funds need to go," he said. "I could make a donation to a group, but maybe another group needs it more and that's where the Foundation comes in."
Thank you to Wonderland Toy and Hobby for your dedication to our community, and thank you to all those generous people supporting Jason and his staff.
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Slave Lake Update
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It was a pleasure to receive pictures from the community of Slave Lake who received $109,000 in Community Impact Grants from the Community Foundation to assist the community in its rebuilding efforts following the forest fires in 2011. The purpose of the funding was to rebuild community parks, indoor recreational facilities and walking trails. These grants were made possible through the generosity of the many kind-hearted people of the Peace region. We thought you would enjoy seeing what your thoughtfulness has helped accomplish.
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| Meet Our Board - Corey Sawchuk |
 Recently Corey Sawchuk stepped forward to volunteered for the Community Foundation Board of Directors where he has been putting his business acumen and excellent marketing and sales skills to work on behalf of Peace region residents.
Known in the Peace country as the "GP Car Guy," Corey was a successful entrepreneur in both the floral and travel industries before joining the world of automobiles. Corey strongly believes in community spirit and in his own words, "has been honored to sit on the board of the Community Foundation" since 2011.
Volunteering for the Peace region brings great pride to Corey who, along with his wife Amanda, have called Grande Prairie home for almost a decade. Grande Prairie has welcomed them as friends, neighbors and business owners and they cannot imagine building their life anywhere else.
"It is with the same spirit we want to embrace Grande Prairie's future generations and provide our youth with opportunities for success," he said. "It's the best way I can think of to build tomorrow today!"
In his spare time, Corey enjoys travelling, and spending time at his cottage with friends and family.
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| Holiday Hours |
 The Community Foundation of Greater Grande Prairie office will close for the holidays at 4:30 pm on Friday, December 21, 2012 and will reopen on January 2, 2012 at 8:30 am.
From our family to yours, best wishes for a joyous and peaceful holiday season.
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| About Us | |
Our Mission
We inspire philanthropy by providing a way for anyone to leave a lasting legacy through permanent endowment building, responsible grants and leadership to meet our community's needs for today, tomorrow and forever.
Vision Bringing donors and charities together to enrich the whole community.
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