UNews - ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Bookstore

Bookstore Tree of Hope has special contribution from school children

trevor.kenney — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 21:46:27 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Bookstore has participated enthusiastically in the annual Chinook Regional Hospital Foundation’s Christmas Tree Festival, sending a message of hope and empathy to the southern Alberta community. This year, thanks to the participation of school children from throughout Lethbridge, more people will receive this message than ever before.

The Bookstore’s annual Tree of Hope will be adorned with letters of hope, penned by local school children, which will be delivered to patients of the Chinook Regional Hospital and the Green Acres Foundation.

“Building literacy, community and empathy are three priorities that we hold near and dear to our hearts at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and we could not think of a better way to highlight these values than to invite local school children to write these letters to decorate our tree,” says Rebecca Colbeck, assistant manager retail marketing of the U of L Bookstore.

Children from Dr. Gerald B. Probe Elementary School, Mike Mountain Horse Elementary School, General Stewart Elementary School, Lakeview Elementary School, Fleetwood Bawden Elementary School, G.S. Lakie Middle School and St. Paul School all participated in the letter-writing project.

For Michelle Dimnik, a learning support teacher at Dr. Probe, the initiative was a perfect fit for the school and the values they are looking to establish within their students. Shortly after the school had begun its annual International Literacy Day initiative by selecting the children’s classic, The Giving Tree, as its feature book, Colbeck approached them about participating in the Tree of Hope project.

“We’d just picked this beautiful book that celebrates the spirit of giving and then along comes Becky to ask us if we’d like to be involved in the tree festival,” says Dimnik. “This was an opportunity to take giving to another level in our building. And for students to be able to write letters of hope to people who might need it was a way to help them look beyond themselves and really outside of our building, because it’s truly a community project.”

Dimnik says the entire school, from kindergarten classes through to Grade 5, participated in the project, producing close to 500 letters.

“A lot of inspirational messages have come out of this from our students and I think they have a pretty good understanding of how people might feel when they are in the hospital or in a long-term care setting,” she says. “We feel very fortunate to be asked to be involved in a project like this, and it’s great that it gets our kids reading and writing and really giving to the community.”

In addition to the letters of hope, the Bookstore tree will be adorned with the usual assortment of U of L goodies, including more than $1,200 worth of books, Bookstore gift cards, Faculty of Fine Arts theatre and concert tickets, Sport and Recreation Services climbing wall or swimming party packages, summer camp admissions and Jr. Herd memberships to follow Pronghorn Athletics teams.

“We always put a lot of thought and effort into creating our Tree of Hope, as I’m sure everyone who participates in this festival does,” says Colbeck. “We’re really excited to include these letters of hope this year, along with more than $1,900 worth of items that anyone can enjoy.”

The 23rd Annual Chinook Regional Hospital Foundation Christmas Tree Festival begins with free public viewings in the Canadian Western Bank Lounge at the Enmax Centre November 22-24. The Christmas Tree Festival Gala & Auction, which raises funds for state-of-the-art health care equipment, vital programs and special projects at the Chinook Regional Hospital, takes place Wednesday, Nov. 25 at 7:30 p.m.

For more information, visit the Christmas Tree Festival website.

U of L students unite to fight cancer

caroline.zentner — Wed, 08 Oct 2014 17:04:06 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Students’ Union (ULSU) and the U of L Bookstore have teamed up to fight cancer through a movement called F*CK CANCER inwykiwyk.

The F*CK CANCER inwykiwyk (an acronym for It’s Not What You Know, It’s Who You Know) movement was designed to give young adults whose lives have been impacted by cancer a way to raise money and attend a charity event that allows them to bond and gain strength from others.

“The U of L Bookstore is proud to partner with the Students’ Union on this important initiative,” says Annette Bright, Bookstore manager. “Cancer affects everyone and we are happy to help support our students as they raise money to help fight this disease.”

Those who want to attend the F*CK CANCER event on Oct. 16 at The Zoo must wear a F*CK CANCER T-shirt to gain entry. Those new to the event can buy a T-shirt, with lettering in a rainbow of colours in support of various types of cancers, at the U of L Bookstore for $25. Those who want to use their T-shirts from last year need only buy a $25 ticket, also available at the Bookstore, to this year’s event.

Riley Miller, ULSU vice-president student affairs, poses with F*CK CANCER T-shirts available at the U of L Bookstore.

The movement began in Montreal in 2010. Julie Greenbaum, one of the movement’s co-founders, wanted to honour her mother who had died after a battle with ovarian cancer. Since then, F*CK CANCER charity events have been held in Ottawa, Toronto, London, Ont. and Los Angeles.

Last September, Riley Miller, now the ULSU vice-president of student affairs, brought the event to Lethbridge and raised $8,000 for the Jack Ady Cancer Centre.

He hopes to raise even more money for cancer this year.

“Ideally, the goal is to go above and beyond that so I hope that people who participated last year had a good time and will come out again and we can raise $10,000,” says Miller.

The event has special significance for Miller since he’s a cancer survivor himself. In 2011, he underwent treatment for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

“It’s a different twist on how cancer fundraisers go and bringing awareness to a cause. It reaches out to our age group and instead of mourning, it’s celebrating,” says Miller. “The public is more than welcome to join in on the movement.”

The F*CK CANCER event starts at 9 p.m. Oct. 16 at The Zoo and features several guest DJs.

Cookbook to benefit SU Food Bank

trevor.kenney — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 21:51:46 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Bookstore has embarked on a fundraiser for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Students' Union Food Bank.

The bookstore is putting together a cookbook, which will feature a collection of U of L staff and faculty recipes. The cookbook will be published on campus and all proceeds from the sales of the book will go to the Students' Union Food Bank.

The SU Food Bank helps hundreds of students each year deal with food insecurity issues, allowing them to focus on their academic priorities. The Students' Union understands the financial constraints involved with earning a university education and has implemented this service so that students do not go hungry.

Food hampers are available in both single and family sizes, and are designed to last about a week. Students, staff and faculty are all eligible to receive food hampers. An individual is able to obtain a food hamper once every two weeks, limited to a total of 10 hampers throughout their entire academic career.

The food bank is a limited resource because it is a not-for-profit, volunteer run organization that depends entirely on donations to operate.

"The food bank has proven to be an essential service to U of L Students and we are always so grateful for the continued support from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community, as well as the Lethbridge community, in order to continue to meet students' needs," says Armin Escher, ULSU president.

Any staff or faculty member who would like to contribute to the cookbook can submit their favourite recipes to the bookstore via e-mail (bookstore@uleth.ca) by June 20.

"We, at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Bookstore, are very excited about the launch of our new fundraising initiative for our Students' Union Food Bank," says Rebecca Colbeck, U of L Bookstore. "This campus is a community, and it is important that we all work together and support one another. The cookbook will give faculty, staff and students the opportunity to share some great family recipes and really make a different to those in our community."

The cookbook will be available to faculty, staff, students and the general public to purchase in the Fall 2012 at the U of L Bookstore.

Digital textbooks and e-books on the rise

trevor.kenney — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:43:48 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Bookstore is looking for feedback from students and faculty in regards to the use of e-books and digital textbooks.

As the publishing world continues to move its products online, the Bookstore is interested in providing less expensive options to students and faculty members. The introduction of more digital textbooks is one way to reduce costs, but only if students and faculty will use the material.

To participate in the survey, students must follow this link, while faculty members must follow this link.

Those who complete the survey are eligible to win a $50 gift certificate to the Bookstore.

For any further any questions or comments about the purpose of this survey, contact Kari Tanaka at tanakl@uleth.ca.

Whetstone Magazine revived

trevor.kenney — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 20:27:17 +0000

If you are an aspiring writer or photographer who dreams of having their work published, you are in luck. Whetstone Magazine is back, and it's just waiting for your literary and visual art submissions.

"To my delight, there was a great interest in reviving the magazine," says Dr. Jay Gamble, the English professor who, along with managing editor Rylan Spendroth, proposed giving the magazine a facelift and bringing it back into circulation.

Gamble runs the Creative Writing Association at the U of L and had heard about Whetstone and its history. He asked if anyone in the CWA was interested in reviving the publication and a preliminary meeting was organized to gauge participation. Over 20 students answered the call.

"We not only had students interested in seeing the publication come back, many of them were eager to take on senior editing positions," says Gamble. "That initial interest and enthusiasm bolstered the desire to renew the publication."

Whetstone is a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge based literary magazine that consists of submitted prose, poetry, photography and graphic design images. It was originally established in 1971 with the help of English faculty advisors, and buoyed by a dedicated incoming flow of submissions and donations from the community. The magazine survived until 1999 when it was discontinued due to declining interest.

The plan now is to publish Whetstone bi-annually, with issues out every fall and spring semester. And while the Whetstone name remained from its first incarnation, a twenty-first century upgrade was definitely in order. One of the main changes, its size, came out of necessity.

"Due to the fact we had relatively few submissions in the latest edition, the magazine was able to take a full size format, cut it horizontally in half, and use the look as a new publishing trait," says Andrew Penner, a third-year English major and the public relations advertising manager. "The result is a reenergized Whetstone 2.0."

Gamble says that Whetstone can provide a wonderful outlet for both aspiring and established writers alike.

"It offers a great opportunity for emerging writers to not only have their work published, but to have it showcased alongside more established authors," says Gamble. "Our first issue, for instance, includes work by respected Canadian author Robert Kroetsch."

Penner, who is a poet,attended the preliminary meeting held by Gamble and Spendroth because he was interested in possibly getting some works published. He walked away from the meeting as a member of the executive committee.

"It is really exciting to be involved at the grassroots level of a magazine that has the potential of becoming something very big," says Penner.

Whetstone is available for purchase at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Bookstore.

As sales increase and the magazine's budget expands, Whetstone will look to similarly expand its distribution. Until then, the main focus of the magazine is on southern Alberta and the prairies.

"Whetstone will help to establish a community of writers at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, in the city of Lethbridge and surrounding area," says Gamble. "I would eventually like to see the magazine grow to become a part of the landscape of Canadian Literature."

Those interested in submitting works for inclusion in the magazine can send their works to Poetry.whetstone@gmail.com or Fiction.whetstone@gmail.com.

For general comments or questions, contact the editor of Whetstone at Editor.whetstone@gmail.com and check out the Whetstone Facebook page.

The next submission deadline is tentatively set for Dec. 1, with the edition scheduled to be released Mar. 15, 2011.

Munsch coming to U of L

trevor.kenney — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 17:52:39 +0000

Renowned children's author Robert Munsch is bringing his unique view of the world to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge this weekend with a pair of appearances in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Theatre.

Munsch will be on stage Saturday, June 5 at both 1 and 3:30 p.m., speaking about his latest books and where he draws his inspiration.

Tickets for these events are available by calling 403-329-2616.

Presented in part by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Bookstore, 10 per cent of Munsch event sales will be donated to the new Crossings Branch Library.

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