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Fort McMurray Legacy Instruments of Change

12/2/2016

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​You may or may not be aware that for the past 3 years we have been offering programming in Wood Buffalo on behalf of 25 youth within Fort McMurray and surrounding communities. The program resonated with folks in the region, and at the end of the 20015/2016 school year we were ready to pass the program over to a local group that would continue to provide the Instruments of Change Gift of Music Program on behalf of very deserving youth.
As we all know, however, before that deadline the entire region was impacted by a devastating fire that negated our desire to hand the program off to an organization that was similarly impacted.
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We couldn’t leave our participating youth and our friends after such a traumatic event, so we rolled up our sleeves and proceeded to approach local Wood Buffalo donors to encourage them to support Legacy so we could continue to help young people who more than ever needed our help.  
 
I am pleased to report that both the Municipality of Wood Buffalo, and the Red Cross through the local United Way, have financially committed to the program in support of 20 deserving youth for the remainder of 2016-17. The local Rotary has also committed funds for a 2nd year that will increase our reach to 22 youth.
 
We are so incredibly inspired by the resilient people of Wood Buffalo - we are all well aware of how important that community is to the economic well-being of our province and our country. A large part of our future success is ensuring that young people in the community are taken care of, since they are  so important to our country’s future success. We need to do what we can to help them through this very difficult time.
 
This sentiment holds true in any community…young people who are succeeding help us all and a large part of that success comes from staying in and completing school and staying on a positive life path.
 
As you know we are reaching out to people to help us in assisting youth in their desire to follow their dreams and to become successful and contributing adults. I appreciate that these are difficult times for people and I know that people in Calgary and Alberta are incredibly generous and concerned about the future of our province…so when you’re thinking about giving during this holiday season, please consider Legacy Gift of Music and help us give a “gift that gives for a lifetime”.
 
Darryl Wernham, Chief Executive Officer
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Positive Changes, One child at a time

12/22/2010

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One of the best things in life is to see a child with a look of pure happiness on their face. Due to our “Gift of Music” programs we, individuals involved with The Legacy Children’s Foundation, have had opportunity to see this wonderful sight a number of times through 2010. The joy of accomplishment when a child realizes they can make an instrument create music, combined with the realization that the instrument is theirs to keep because they have dedicated the time and effort, not only makes children smile, you should see the faces of the parents!

We often feel lacking in our ability to provide hope, that societal problems, even in our own country and province, are too large and somewhat confusing, wherein many people which also includes thousands of children, become marginalized and fall through the cracks. At Legacy we get to assist and we see positive change as it takes place, one child at a time. It is tangible, we see it happen, we hear from the parents (more often than not a single mother struggling to raise her children with less than adequate tools), we hear from the music instructors, we hear from school teachers, that there is definitive improvement in these children’s lives in everything from attitude to school attendance.

For myself, as Chairman of the Board of Directors, I am thankful and proud of what The Legacy Children’s Foundation has and is accomplishing in the lives of an expanding number of children. It was expressed to me this fall by two young members of a rock band from Stoney First Nations that are involved in our program and were performing in Calgary at a venue made available through our CEO, Darryl Wernham and Kerby Centre plus a number of sponsors. These young men told me that the opportunity to be involved in music and to be able to express themselves through their music was changing their lives and also how their friends, family, and peers looked and treated them. They were going to school, they were not in gangs and they believed they could make a positive change in other lives not just their own. I would have loved to see their faces when the TV coverage of the event provided by Global was aired as they were included, all of their friends and family would be able to watch these “new stars”.

As we begin the New Year with the realization that positive change has to begin with us and that it often takes sacrifice plus the gift of time, expertise, and money to make it happen. There are many people and organizations that we want to thank for these sacrifices and gifts. To our CEO, Darryl Wernham and as importantly Sandra who makes everything come together; our Board of Directors: Shawn Wilson, Lisa Stangel, Mark Johnson, John White; our adviser and good friend Paul Diemert and our new member of the team Troy Black; our music instructors: Verne Luchinski, Chris Millar, Peter Clarke, Renne Malo, Ken Dietrich, Dan McLaughlin, Nathan Lenet and other music instructors providing lessons for our supported youth throughout the province; our Cold Lake Coordinator Don Cassidy and our Stoney Reserve liaison Irfan Pirbhai; our corporate partners: Kickaxe Guitars, BowTown Music, St John’s Music. Peters Guitar Repair, One World Drum, Macen Accordion Studio; our sponsors: Burns Memorial Fund, Dundee Wealth, Button Family Foundation, various Calgary Lions Clubs, Government of Alberta; as well as our many instrument drive and drop off location partners, music program location partners, music fund and instrument donors and others who have helped us along the way - and most importantly the children who are working hard within the Legacy programs - straight from the heart we say THANK YOU and may you have the BEST YEAR YET!!!!!

Patrick Toth, Past Board Chairperson, Legacy Children’s Foundation
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A look back at 2010 and our vision for 2011

12/22/2010

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This year has been a year of exciting growth and new development. We have grown from supporting 50 children and youth to 130 young people. This growth is primarily due to two new projects funded by the Safe Communities Innovation Fund and  Alberta Justice in collaboration with Children and Youth Services in Edmonton. Our programs in Calgary, Morley, Eden Valley and Big Horn Reserves and Cold Lake are coming along very nicely with Big Horn reserve looking like it might become our test community for our Internet Studio project. We have been contacted by many smaller, remote communities in Alberta and our northern neighbours and we are hoping that we will be able to reach youth in these communities via the internet in 2011.

Legacy’s Gift of Music Programs don’t exist without our many community partners and collaborators, for example – The Boys and Girls Clubs, The YWCA Chillzone Program, The Burns Memorial Fund, Kerby Centre for Seniors, The Calgary Aboriginal Friendship Centre, Four Directions Foster Care Program, Hull Child and Family Services, Woods Homes, City of Calgary Afterschool, City of Calgary Police Services, KickAxe Guitars and our good friends in Cold Lake: The Cold Lake Reserve and the Stoney Nation School Authority. We are also very excited about our new partnership with the Calgary Public Library in Forestlawn where we will be offering a one of a kind HIP HOP program starting in January.

The future for Music Lesson and Studio support looks promising for Legacy with Government Funding secure until 2013 and new funders like Rotary and Lions Clubs coming on board. The Country and Music Association of Alberta has embraced our vision of a Better World Through Music and we are pleased to have the Ranchman’s in our corner for 2011.

Overall our outcomes in relation to 2010 have left us feeling very optimistic and we are thrilled to announce that Troy Black will be joining our team as our Fund Development Consultant. Troy joins us from a very successful career with the Calgary Health Trust and we are optimistic that Troy will be successful in opening doors to new donors and partners throughout the province of Alberta. Like every charity in the province we are continually on the lookout for resources that will either support lessons for children and youth, instrument refurbishment, studio time and opportunities and program coordination...if you are considering a charitable gift in the new year please consider the Gift of Music – “a gift that will last a life time”.

I hope you all have a fantastic Holiday Season and we look forward to making 2011 the best year yet for Legacy’s children and families.
-Darryl Wernham, CEO Legacy Children's Foundation
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