Canada Safeway Foundation Ensures Children Feel Safe Supported and Nurtured!

I am not ashamed of where I came from because it got me to where I am now.I’m living my dream now.The staff continue to brightenmy day. I can always findcomfort in knowing they willbe there to help. The Boys andGirls Clubs changes lives.Thanks for everything,For as long as I can remember I have alwayswanted to work in Child and Youth Care, but Inever thought I was good enough to become aUniversity student and have a career.I moved out of my family home at 15. I becamea street teen because it was an escape fromthe physical and sexual abuse and emotionalabandonment in my life. The only way I thoughtI could protect myself was to leave, but I neverimagined myself as homeless. I stayed at theBoys and Girls Clubs youth shelters Avenue15 and Safehouse. At that time, I had reachedthe lowest point in my life and had begun tomix with the wrong crowd; because it madelife seem easier. I dropped out of high schooltwice, experimented with drugs, was in and outof foster homes and I couldn’t find my place.Nobody ever wants to be a shelter kid.Eventually, the staff placed me in the TransitionalLiving program (Trans), and I can honestlysay this was the spark that opened up manyopportunities for me and changed everything.I used to be a closed-book and had no trust inanyone. I remember a particular day when threestaff workers spontaneously sat down in theliving room where I was sitting. We ended uptalking for hours; I told them everything. Thatmoment taught me that I was worth listening to.They encouraged me to have a relationship withmy family, boosted my confidence, and set meup with the Discovering Choices and AdvancingFutures educational programs. Reconnectingme with educational resources and remindingme of the value of learning was invaluable to me.I learned to believe in myself and my ability togo back to school. I learned so many life skillsin Trans. I turned to the staff for support witheveryday challenges. Trans became my family.It is a safe environment where they encouragedme to learn and follow the direction of mydreams. Throughout the years, the Boys andGirls Clubs staff have been the most dependableand my #1 supporter.Today, I am a student at Mount Royal University,I work part time, and I volunteer with theBoys and Girls Clubs too! I am proud to say Ihave a B+ average and perfect attendance inschool. I’m going after my career and my goalis to become a youth worker at Trans when Igraduate. I want my experience to change thelives of others in a positive way.Jen - Boys and Girls Clubs of Calgary Alumni andvolunteerDevon Canada team leads the Community in Employee VolunteeringDevon Canada and its employees aredeeply invested in helping us meetthe needs of the children, youth andfamilies accessing our services andresources. Devon Canada Employeeswere humbled to hear about our kids’experiences, and were touched to havethe opportunity to better children’slives. On numerous occasions, DevonCanada and its employees have actedas our voice and have added a personaltouch on every project they haveinitiated on our behalf.“Partnering with The Boys &Girls Clubs of Calgary offers us acreative opportunity to get our teamout volunteering and using theirprofessional talents to help in thecommunity,” said Doug Whiteside, VicePresident of Facilities and Constructionfor Devon. “Applying our abilities to agood cause is what it’s about.”The largest project Devon undertookwas a challenge to complete anapartment makeover while remainingwithin a $5,000 budget. Devon providedresources to renovate a one-bedroomsuite in an apartment building inowned by The Boys and Girls Clubs.The apartment building benefits streetor homeless youth who need supportto learn to live on their own in thecommunity. After 30 days of planning,120 Devon volunteers from thecompany’s Facilities and Constructionteam completed the six-day project.Doug Whiteside, representativesfrom the United Way and the Boysand Girls Clubs, and the renovationteam were there to invite the formerlystreetentrenched youth into his newlyrenovated home.Another volunteer project team at DevonCanada completed the construction ofa professional music studio at BeltlineYouth Center. This studio has voicerecording capabilities as well as spacethat allows youth and staff to collaborateon musical and lyrical compositions.Beltline is a facility that providessocial, recreational, and educationalopportunities for primarily immigrantand aboriginal youth, ages twelve totwenty-four. The youth who access thisfree facility reside in areas of the citythat have high crime and poverty ratesand are at risk of becoming homeless.With the addition of the music studio,youth are able to escape the stresses oftheir daily lives while they foster theircreative skills and abilities in a safe andsupportive environment.Volunteerism is the cornerstoneof Devon’s community investmentprogram. This was demonstrated bytheir employees who had gatheredand filled 24 stockings for youth inour Independent Living program tohelp them through the Christmasseason. During Devon’s 2010 UnitedWay campaign, the company raisedover $1 million for the United Way ofCalgary and Area, as well as donating1900 warm clothing items to The Boysand Girls Clubs of Calgary. Thankyou Devon Canada for your energy,enthusiasm, and dedication to makingour communities stronger!Devon employees show off the results of their hard work and renovations.A good place to be5