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The Sarcee Meadows WOMEN’S CIRCLE
The Women’s Circle started off small, connecting with each other over “Milk and Cookies”, or in our case, “butter chicken and Chai”. We had our first official Women’s Circle meeting in December 2014. The conversation was so easy between us that we knew we were on to something special. We started off with a few women of different backgrounds and cultures. As we shared our stories, we soon realized there were a lot of myths and barriers that needed to be broken down so we set out to do just that. The Women’s Circle is all about encouraging each other to be better people and do better in our community by promoting cultural acceptance and understanding. The Women’s Circle became not only one of the social hubs at Sarcee Meadows but an exemplary model to follow for several other co-ops in Canada and abroad.
In 2017, we applied for the CHF Canada Co-operative Achievement Award and the CHF Canada Diversity Grant and we were awarded both. We used the funds to put on a large cultural event, bringing our community together like never before. It wasn’t long after that our Women’s Circle story was being published in articles around the world; ICA (International Co-operative Alliance) and other Co-op social media outlets from the United Kingdom, New Delhi, Malaysia, Belgium, Chicago, Washington and Ottawa. We then started getting recognized by Provincial politicians.
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The Women’s Circle was invited to meet with then Alberta Minister of Education David Eggen about Premier Rachel Notley’s anti-racism initiative. We received a letter from Minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodale that read “…. regarding the significant work of the Women’s Circle of Sarcee Meadows..., I appreciate your efforts to create a welcoming and friendly community and bridge cultural differences.” In June 2019 we got involved with a group called Calgary Helping Homeless (YYCHH). Through this group we were given the opportunity to come together as a community to help feed the homeless people and vulnerable citizens of Calgary. Our SMHC Community has grown closer thanks to this initiative. Each time our group served SMHC members came from all over baring gifts of all kinds. Our cars were packed full of food, blankets, warm clothing, scarves and toques made by our senior volunteers. The Women’s Circle kids and husbands were right by our side serving our guests, mostly homeless people, and at the end of each night they would ask “when can we come back.”
By: Kathy Aubichon
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Even during the eve of the Covid-19 pandemic, we found ways to continue helping our seniors. We cooked for them and brought groceries and ran errands. No senior should have to spend their birthday alone in quarantine so we went straight to work in organizing birthday surprises with balloons, birthday banners, gifts and home-made cards from the kids. They were so happy.
We plan to keep growing our circle; educating and harnessing the bonds of inclusiveness within our diverse community of Sarcee Meadows and surrounding communities. There is no doubt that in these difficult times everyone wants to experience a positive, inclusive, supportive and welcoming community. We hope that this legacy of diversity and inclusion continues for many generations to come.
