Volunteers help make Play Day 2015 a huge success

trevor.kenney — Tue, 17 Feb 2015 23:05:45 +0000

When you throw the doors open to a party with more than 4,000 guests, the majority of which are children, you’d better have some help on hand to make sure things go smoothly.

Thanks to a volunteer army of more than 150 people, 85 of whom were students, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge was able to present its biggest Play Day yet on Monday, Feb. 16 (Family Day).

Over 150 volunteers assisted at Play Day.

“I can’t thank our volunteers enough, they really helped us welcome southern Alberta to campus,” says ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Mike Mahon. “Our community and its support for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ is one of the key factors in the success of the U of L. Our students choose to attend the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge for a variety of reasons, the southern Alberta community being one and it was great to see so many of them take some time to show their appreciation and give back. It’s important we are able to share a day like this with families throughout the area and give them the opportunity to connect with one another through play.”

The day could not happen without the corporate support of 1st Choice Savings and Credit Union and the many volunteers they provide for the event. In addition to the large student commitment, U of L faculty and staff, including representatives from the Supporting Our Students team as well as the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Alumni Association and Aramark, who manned the Toonie BBQ area throughout the afternoon. In all, some 500 volunteer hours go into the successful staging of Play Day.

One student who took up the volunteer call was Kaitlin Norman. A third-year Fine Arts (performance) student, the northern Alberta native says the Play Day 2015 super hero theme was a great lure.

“I love super heroes and I love watching kids run around and have fun, it just makes you feel great about life,” she says.

“I thought it was great we were given the opportunity to volunteer, to get a chance to do something not related to school and something that was good for the community. It was a lot of fun and it was great to see all the young families there putting aside all the stresses of life and just having a day of fun with each other.”

U of L neuroscientist Dr. Robbin Gibb also played a big role in recruiting volunteers for the event, giving class credit to students in her Introduction to Brain and Behaviour course.

"I felt the students would benefit from participating in Play Day as we have just learned about the positive effects of exercise on the brain and we are about to learn about child development and the importance of play relationships for heathy brain development," says Gibb. "Play Day was a perfect opportunity to observe these principles in action and a great way for our students to connect with the community."

Open Mike - February 2014, Concern over the prospect of local oil and gas drilling

trevor.kenney — Mon, 03 Feb 2014 22:11:18 +0000

Now that we are once again in full swing, I wanted to take the time to welcome everyone back for the Spring Semester and address a few issues that have arisen since my last Open Mike column prior to Christmas.

Mahon looks forward to welcoming the community at the 3rd Annual Play Day event on Monday, February 17.

One of the most contentious issues that has come to the forefront in the last few months is the prospect of oil and gas drilling within the boundaries of the city of Lethbridge, and more specifically, on the city’s west side.

Just last week I had the opportunity to sit down with our local MLA, Greg Weadick, to share our mutual concerns over the proposed drilling plans. At this point, we are working, as are many of you, to fully understand the risk and safety implications of this activity and how it may affect not only our campus, but our community as well. We have great concern for the safety of our students who live in off-campus housing, for example. It is also troublesome to think of how the proposed drilling activity may impact the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s ability to recruit and retain faculty, staff and students. One of the U of L’s great advantages is the positive quality of life that Lethbridge affords people and it is concerning to see this potentially jeopardized.

As this debate continues to evolve, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ will do its part to advocate for the best interests of our faculty, staff and students.

We speak often of community and its many meanings here on campus because so much of what we do has a community focus, both internally and externally.

A good example of this is the renewal of the Life Bus campaign and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s partnership with the local chapter of Canadian Blood Services (CBS). This is the third year that the U of L has joined forces with CBS and after shattering the modest donation goals we set out for our community the first two years of this relationship, we are seeking 400 total blood donations in 2014. Please contact Patti Leeb at leeb@uleth.ca or at 403-329-5182 to sign up for this very worthwhile program.

Another great example of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s community spirit is the now annual Play Day activity that will be held on Family Day (Monday, Feb. 17).

This is also the third incarnation of Play Day on campus and I can’t understate how well received this initiative has been from the southern Alberta community. The opportunity to invite so many people to experience our campus, if even just for a few hours of play, is invaluable and I thank all those who have assisted as volunteers to help make this event such a success.

I encourage volunteers to sign up by contacting Kali McKay (kali.mckay@uleth.ca) so that we can once again put our best foot forward and offer southern Alberta families a wonderful day of play, and of course we hope many of you bring your families out to play as well.

In the next few weeks, we have two important events that will continue to help shape the future of our institution.

I am looking forward to the opportunity to sit down with our new Minister of Innovation and Advanced Education, Dave Hancock, as we discuss the priorities of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and the importance of continuing to appropriately resource higher education in the province of Alberta.

I am also looking forward to introducing the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s new Strategic Plan on Wednesday, Feb. 12. I encourage everyone to come out to the launch event to share in our excitement as we unveil the plan that will help set the course for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ over the next five years. Your valued input throughout the strategic planning process has given us a clear indication of what we value as Alberta’s Destination ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and where our successes can be best achieved moving ahead.

I hope to see you at this event and don’t forget to take some time to come out and play on Feb. 17.

UNews - Play Day

Volunteers help make Play Day 2015 a huge success

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Open Mike - February 2014, Concern over the prospect of local oil and gas drilling

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