For their outstanding commitment to providing meaningful work experiences for high school students, this year’s regional recipient was the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance’s Clinton Public Hospital as represented by Facilities Management employee, Barry Bell.

“The award this year had a unique and dual purpose”, states Executive Director of the the Foundation Wes MacVicar. “Not only did we wish to recognize that the HPHA and CPH has been providing opportunities for co-op students for over 20 years, but we also wanted to highlight the daily efforts of its employees who makes the experience for students a great growing opportunity by way of true mentorship.”

Barry Bell (with the help of his brother and co-worker, Budd Bell) is one such employee.

Bell has worked in Facilities Management at CPH for 29 years and, for the last two decades, has provided co-op students with the opportunity to complete hands-on tasks in the repair and installation of equipment – a great experience by any standard but Bell has taken it further.

“He has not only developed the skills of our students but has been mentor who gives them a chance to engage in learning and to demonstrate the joy of discovery”, remarks Christina Zold of Central Huron Secondary School’s Co-operative Education Department.  “Barry goes above and beyond what a co-op employer is required to do. He cares about them and wants them to be successful and he goes out of his way to help each one.”

When asked about their stint with Bell and CPH former students eagerly weighed in.

“When I was a co-op student with Barry I felt as though I was not working under him but with him,” one student states. “He treated me as an equal, was very patient, understanding and became a friend not just a boss.”

“Barry took for granted that I was there to learn”, another student remembers. “He gave me some important advice and that is to ‘never give up’.”

Statistics confirm the one of the biggest benefits to a community that springs from this form of dedication and commitment to students is that it helps stave off the loss of talented youth and budding professionals from the area.

“A common story that came to light in creating the case for the award is that Barry has routinely taken the time after work to help students establish connections with other community members”, remarks MacVicar. “By doing this, in many cases, he was able to help them secure part-time and full-time work.”

The Foundation for Education Perth Huron Employer Champion Award was recently presented at the Huron Chamber of Commerce’s Spirit of Success Awards.

Barry Bell accepted the honour in front of the 200 member audience with support from his spouse, Colleen Bell, Christina Zold from CHSS’ Cooperative Education Department, the HPHA’s Manager of Volunteer Services, Cheryl Hunt and HPHA Board Member, Lynn Girard.

For more information on the Foundation or information about getting involved in short or long term experiential learning opportunities for students call 1-800-592-5437 or visit foundationforeducation.ca

Introducing a new name for long-established experiences for kids.

Known as ARTITUDES since 2000, we are pleased to present it’s new handle “ART | LIFE Workshops” along with a 60 second trailer to represent what the initiative looks like on the ground.

YouTube:

FoundEDTV:

ART | LIFE is a variety of Foundation produced workshops that bring unique experiences to kids…exceptional hands-on learning times with professionals from all walks of life that inevitably introduce students to richer ways of becoming themselves.

We invited ourselves into Avon Maitland schools over the last year to document ART | LIFE in effort to archive the project and to produce a brief promo (above) to be shown to patrons at our annual Gala.

Since the event’s inception 16 years ago, all proceeds from the Gala (Saturday, Nov. 12 at the Church Restaurant) go directly to building and sustaining ART | LIFE workshops which annually equates to over 100 workshops to 5000 students.

We invite you to share the video with colleagues and social media friends and keep in mind that we are always excited to add your personal support to our endeavours through donations via CanadaHelps.

On location on the grounds of North Easthope School (north of Stratford), the video expounds in less than two minutes on the virtue of community & corporate partnership in schools and the power of a thank you.

Particular to this video is the acknowledgement of Ideal Supply for yearly providing $3000 in funding for green-based projects for schools throughout the Avon Maitland district.

Videos and webisodes have been a tool of promotion for the Foundation over the last couple of years. Their themes range from campaigns to parent council tutorials to local interest stories.

We’d encourage you to tune in to some of our work via YouTube or Vimeo by selecting either of the icons at the top right corner of this home page or click the following links:

How does the Foundation fund this?

They annually host a big evening called the Gala Auction and stack it to the hilt with amazing items – anywhere from getaways to artwork, gift packages to sports tickets – all to make certain that 140 crucial arts and human diversity workshops continue to enhance over 5000 students in the Avon Maitland district throughout year.

The Gala Auction successfully took place on November 12 at the The Church Restaurant in Stratford.

The Foundation Board of Directors would like to extend a very warm thank you to all attendees for filling the night with a great ‘vibe’.

A huge thank you also to all businesses you offered items for the cause and to the following sponsors:
Dr. Dennis & Laurie Nuhn, Hoyes-Michelos & Associates, Goderich Print Shop, RBC Wealth Management, MicroAge Basics, BDO, D&D Automation, MNE Engineering IncorporatedJ.E. Gabel  Electric Plumbing & Heating , Geoff Williams, Smith-Peat Roofing & Sheet Metal Ltd.

All proceeds will go directly into providing ART | LIFE workshops for local students.

Band of Brothers, a career and mentorship event, included dynamic men in various career sectors who voluntarily met with grade nine boys from GDCI, St. Anne’s and CHSS to discuss their work, passion and career path. The roster included Justin Peters (National Hockey League  – Carolina Hurricanes); Gary Renaud (paramedic); Sgt. Jamie Shewaga (Canadian Armed Forces); Michael McCourt (robotics engineer); Chris Patterson (Ontario Provincial Police); Terence Brandon (personal support worker); Nathan Marshall (Creative Supervisor  – CKNX Radio) and Davis Murphy (Royal Canadian Navy).

see pictures

Similarly, grade 9 & 10 girls from CHSS and GDCI met with inspiring women the next day at LaLoba.  LaLoba, meaning “she-wolf,” replaces the former Girls Unlimited which has been held in various locations across Huron and Perth over the last 6 years.  Designed to empower young women, this year’s mentors included Kristin Ban (pharmacist); Pip Penrose (chiropractor); Lisa Courtney (Environmental Planner); Brittany Fry (Special Events and Marketing Consultant); Monica Walker Bolton (Professional Planner & Co-ordinator of Huron Manufacturing Association); Leanne Wilhelm (O.P.P. Constable) and Debbie Davidson (Project Co-ordinator with the Four County Labour Market Planning Board’s Skills Opportunities Trailer).

see pictures

A new component of the events this year was the demanding and experiential adventure of Huron County’s new Above the Falls Challenge Course.  “We found that the course encouraged students to push their limits, build relationships and sharpen problem-solving skills”, states Wes MacVicar of the Foundation for Education. “It was an element that seemed to amplify what career mentors were relaying to the students”.

Hosted by the Foundation for Education, Band of Brothers and LaLoba are generously supported by: Passport to Prosperity, a Province wide initiative of the Ontario Ministry of Education designed to increase employer involvement in school-to-work programs for secondary school students, and the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program of the Avon

Maitland District School Board.

For more information on these or other initiatives that the Foundation directs please visit www.foundationforeducation.ca

See pictures

The 50-minute program (the final workshop for the year) featured pianists and artistic directors, STEPHEN RALLS and BRUCE UBUKATA, and four recent graduates of prestigious opera programs in Canadian universities – soprano REBECCA COLLETT, mezzo JULIA BARBER, tenor GRAHAM THOMSON and baritone GEOFFREY SIRETT.

The intention of the workshop was to introduce students to the world of opera and classical song and to show students something of what a career in that world might mean. They performed a varied program of music in various languages clearly explained and presented them in a lively way with some simple staging. The presentation ended with a question and answer session. “This is often one of the most enjoyable features of the event!”, claims co-director Bruce Ubukata

The singers:

REBECCA COLLETT (soprano) made her professional singing debut on Sesame Street Canada, when she was six. She recently graduated from the Opera School at the University of Toronto, where she performed Clarice in Haydn’s The World on the Moon, Paquette in Candide and Tatiana in Eugene Onegin.

JULIA BARBER (mezzo) has recently graduated from the Master’s degree in Opera at the University of Toronto. There she performed the roles of Hansel in Hansel and Gretel and Zerlina in Don Giovanni. Other roles across Canada include Stephano in Romeo and Juliet for Opera Nuova in Edmonton and Jo (Little Women) in Halifax.

GRAHAM THOMSON (tenor) comes from Prince Edward Island. He has recently been heard singing with baritone Brett Polegato, mezzo-soprano Kimberly Barber, and pianists Peter Tiefenbach and Robert Kortgaard in the “Saturday Night at the Opera” Gala at the Indian River Festival. He has sung leading roles for Jeunesses Musicales in The Barber of Seville and The Elixir of Love.

GEOFFREY SIRETT (baritone) has graduated from the MMus in Opera degree at the University of Toronto. He performed leading roles in Hansel and Gretel and Haydn’s The World on the Moon; most recently, he took the title role in Don Giovanni. Last summer he sang at the Aspen Opera Theater Center and he was regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

Find out more about The Aldeburgh Connection

Since 1989, the Foundation has annually provided workshops, grants and programs to Avon Maitland Schools in effort to enrich the students and bring experiences that stretch understanding of themselves and of the world around them.

The main thrust of the appeal is in the numbers as it asks the donor to consider the possibilities if the combined nominal donations of colleagues intermingled with the Foundation’s $75,000 in fundraising efforts.

For example, $2 a pay from every permanent AMDSB staff member would yearly mean $155,000 into programs like the Green Fund, Sci-Tech Encounters, ARTitudes, Discretionary Fund, Small Project Grants, Canadian Reading Fund & Employer-SchoolDevelopment Fund.

The brief, three chapter video set, Once Upon a Paycheque has just been released.

See the Trailer in HD on our video channel!

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Lead by Healthkick Huron and the Foundation for Education Perth Huron, the event was built to encourage students (Grades 10 to 12 ) from Huron Perth to consider careers in rural healthcare and to showcase the vast scope of healthcare-related fields within the region.

“Many of us, when we think of healthcare careers, think of traditional models, for example: nurses, doctors, dentists, etc”, states event coordinator Dianne McCabe. “However, there is an abundance of opportunities available in the health sector that are exciting, interesting and vital to the total ‘spectrum’ of the healthcare team and this day is set to demonstrate these.”

The day involved nine professionals from the traditional and extended healthcare family giving interactive rotating presentations to small groups throughout the day.

Included on the roster was Dr. Carolin Shepherd (Family Physician), Trudy Jonkman (Wellness Coordinator), Elizabeth McMurray (Registered Nurse), Joanne Polkiewicz (Pharmacist), Hollie Graham (Registered Massage Therapist), Rebecca Blane (Registered Dietitian), Colleen Ryan (Public Health Inspector), Trina O’Rourke (Dental Hygienist) and Danielle Lozier (Registered Nurse).

The Skills Opportunities Showcase Trailer was also on hand to highlight other fields within healthcare.

“It was purposely a concentrated career event” states Wes MacVicar from the Foundation for Education. “It was designed to give up close and personal direction to kids that have an interest in entering the healthcare field and, hopefully, plants the seed of possibility to practise their art back home”

Additional partners in developing this event included Passport to Prosperity, The Schulich School of Medicine, University of Western Ontario, Huron Business Development Corporation, SWOMEN  and the Four County Labour Market Planning Board.

Spectrum took place Saturday, May 14, 2011 at the Huron County Health Unit Auditorium, Clinton.

See images from the day.

In partnership with the Ontario Storytellers Association, the Foundation recently provided an outreach to Avon Maitland’s rural schools through which 900 elementary students from 10 schools experienced storyteller Bernice Hune in celebration of Asian History month.

Born in Toronto, Bernice heard songs and stories in Cantonese that created a magical world of rich traditions – elders sharing ancient folk tales, as well as personal stories about the railway, the head tax, and the struggle for the rights of full citizenship.

Bernice shares this legacy of stories in performance. Fresh from university, she performed as an actor, and then co-hosted a CBC radio program. Her work in education as a visual artist and an arts educator is widely recognized, and it informs her storytelling.

See images from her tour.

The Employer Registry.ca is a virtual sign-up sheet where the local working world lists learning experiences it can offer students in Huron Perth.

Whether you are from the shop floor or the company boardroom you can provide vital knowledge or work experience to help local kids build great lives.

Choose a range of options…anywhere from a 30 minute classroom talk to a full fledged co-op placement.

Visit Employer Registry.ca and log in your learning opportunity because your everyday reality can inspire a students future.