Our new website was just launched and I hope it meets your needs as a visitor and supporter of Bissell Centre. As the CEO of Bissell Centre, I believe we need to be fully engaged with the community, not only about the work we do, but about the significant issues and challenges our community faces with respect to poverty, homelessness, mental illness, addictions, and so forth.
That engagement is not only here on our website but through social media, where we are present and active on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. If you don’t follow us there, click on one of the links and please do.
Our new website is here for people seeking help, professionals who are trying to help a client, for community members who are interested in volunteering, donating, and learning more about social issues and solutions.
We will be continuing to develop the site to make additional improvements as well as expand upon resources and opportunities that may interest you and your family, colleagues, and friends. Please encourage others to visit us.
Bringing a new website to the Internet is no small feat. It involves so many working collaboratively to come up with the design, the functionality desired, and the content (narrative and images). It is also an exercise in branding and how to structure something that works for you.
I am so very grateful to the following:
Lift Interactive
On their website, the folks at Lift Interactive call themselves a “multidisciplinary team of strategists, designers, storytellers, & creative coders.” Well, it’s true. They are that, but much more. They are colleagues, friends, and collaborators par excellence! In my career, I have been involved in numerous web projects and worked with many fine people. Lift Interactive is by far the best group I have worked with. I send many thanks and our deep respect to the talents and work ethic of the entire team at Lift. I am also grateful, as is my entire team, for the generosity of the principals, Micah and Kristi Slavens for the significant “free-of-charge” contribution they committed to getting this website from a dream of ours to a reality. Bissell Centre did pay for some of the development, but Lift’s pro bono contribution went far beyond my expectations and represents the lion’s share of what the true cost was of this website. They rock! Check them out.
Devin Komarniski
Many of you might know Devin from Twitter and our other social media sites. He came to us earlier this year and is Bissell Centre’s social media specialist, though I might just change his title to “social marketing guru.” He led the way in forming our partnership with Lift Interactive, and has been our lead visionary here at Bissell in the creation of our website. Without his leadership, not to mention his hard work and stellar commitment to quality, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
Rob Fragoso
Rob is our lead fund development specialist and was a key partner, with Devin and Lift, on getting this website up and running. I charged him with ensuring the online donation process was clean, easy, and secure and provided a good experience for those who wish to support us. He also played a substantive role in the design vision of the web site. He provided his time and expertise while meeting all of the many other expectations of his job here at Bissell.
Darren Brennan
Darren is a key component of our marketing and fundraising teams, and has been involved in the website design project all along the way. He’s provided his keen insight to the team, and has been quick to take on the many challenges presented by such a large undertaking. Darren will continue to play a large role in the maintenance and evolution of our new website.
Mary Higgs
To call Mary versatile would be an understatement. She is my Executive Assistant, provides unparalleled support to my board of governors, and also serves as our Special Projects Manager. As we got closer to our deadline, I asked her to help the team get all of the content up. This meant learning a new back end and project managing the significant work in providing you with the content you see on every page.
We have done our best to launch with an error-free website. You won’t find any “Under Construction” pages here (I just hate sites like that, don’t you?). However, if you see a problem or a glitch, please let us know. While we strive for perfection, we know that sometimes things go wrong and your help in knowing when that happens would be much appreciated.
Thank you,
Mark Holmgren, CEO
Bissell Centre, along with other organizations in Edmonton, has received Winter Warming funding from Homeward Trust as part of their Winter Emergency Response (WER) program, which will extend the operation of support services in our Drop-in Centre for people on the streets during the upcoming winter months. Starting November 1st, our Drop-in Centre will be open from 6:00am – 9:00pm until April 30th, 2015 (seven days a week, including holidays) as an essential destination for temporary respite for people who are experiencing homelessness during the harsh, winter conditions.
The Drop-in Centre will provide a warm, safe place for people who are outside in the cold, and will continue to provide for their basic needs such as: access to warm clothing, bathrooms, showers, and snacks during the extended hours of service.
The public also plays a vital role in the well-being of people on the street who are facing the harsh, winter weather. Bissell Centre’s 24/7 MAP crisis intervention team can be dispatched by calling 211 and will connect people with emergency shelters in the community to ensure their safety.
Tamarack Institute’s Paul Born is giving a workshop on October 28th here in Edmonton called Deepening Community for Collective Impact. I encourage you to think about attending, whether you are a service provider, funder, government representative, or a citizen concerned about how to build and nurture stronger communities. From the event information page: ” In his recently released book, Paul Born describes the four pillars of deep community: sharing our stories, taking the time to enjoy one another, taking care of one another, and working together for a better world.
It’s up to us to create community. In this workshop, Paul will apply the principles of Deepening Community to the work of Collective Impact to help you strengthen relationships, build trust, and sustain momentum in your community change efforts.
Each workshop attendee will receive a copy of Deepening Community: Finding Joy Together in Chaotic Times.
Information and Registration is RIGHT HERE.
Use this promo code to get the discount rate for individuals: EDSPOFFER
As harvest season is in full swing, the City Market Downtown will be joined by five of Edmonton’s innovative culinary up and comers to host a fundraising event for Bissell Centre on Sunday, October 5th.
The Edmonton-based chefs have created a fall-harvest specific menu based on seasonal produce and proteins found exclusively at the City Market Downtown. The dinner, which will be hosted at SABOR Restaurant, will include seafood direct from Iceland, farm-raised pork and beef — the freshest ingredients direct from market vendors.
“This exciting event is to raise awareness and funds for the Bissell Centre, a organization near and dear to our vendors and customers” says Dan Young, board chairman of City Market Downtown. “It makes sense for us in partnership with some of the best and brightest in Edmonton’s food scene to organize a family-style harvest feast to raise funds for this important work being done at the Bissell Centre each day.”
Collaborative menu designed by:
Chef Bryan Cruz – The Marc Chef Edgar Gutierrez – Tres Carnales and Rostizado Chef Brayden Kozak – Three Boars Chef Adelino (Lino) Oliviera – SABOR Restaurant Chef Charla Padilla – Madison’s Grill
The harvest feast will also include special guest Chef Pierre Lamielle from Calgary, a recent Chopped Canada champion and Top Chef Canada competitor. He is co-owner of foodonyourshirt.com with partner Candace.
Get your tickets now via Eventbrite!
We have some great stories that include an update about our Thrift Shoppe fire recovery; family camp at our Moonlight Bay Centre for parents and children who are struggling with poverty; an Employment Services success story; and much more!
Read or download our Summer/Fall Newsletternow!
Last week, we received a cheque for $15,000 from FIRMA Foreign Exchange to support our fire relief efforts. This generous gift will help with the restoration of our Thrift Shoppe, which supplies affordable clothing to low-income families, provides free clothing for the homeless, and generates revenue that supports and strengthens our life-changing programs.
THANK YOU!
Learn more about FIRMA here: https://www.firmafx.com/ca-en/
This yet another example of Philanthropy in our community! Read our new blog series, Anyone Can Be A Philanthropist! for more inspiring stories.
This is a story in the Edmonton Journal about Bissell Centre’s Collective Kitchen. You can click on the video image below to get to it. It’s a good story, but it really is more about volunteer, Gail Hall, and the amazing women who come to Bissell Centre to learn how to do more and do better for their families.
Mark Holmgren, CEO
Our Business Plan is structured to reflect our long-term plan which we call our strategic touchstone. I believe each business plan should include a quick report of progress made to date and then outline what deliberate strategic actions we intend to undertake in the new plan. Our business plan will then used as the basis for creating the CEO’s work plan for the year as well as the work plans for each officer, director, and manager in the organization.
While this business plan outlines Bissell Centre’s priorities for the upcoming year, it is true that there are some strategic objectives we are seeking to emphasize, as follows:
- Grow our capacity to excel at addressing homelessness within and beyond the Housing First model.
- Increase efforts to help clients achieve financial stability by developing a continuum of employment services, from casual labour to permanent employment.
- Continue to expand our hours of services, where appropriate, to ensure we are appropriately present and active in the lives of our diverse client population.
- Continue to move towards an integrated service delivery model that is client-centred and inclusive of case management across all programs.
- Continue on with our partnerships to operate 24/7/365 crisis diversion services through assertive outreach
- Through our review of Drop-in programming, identify improved ways to engage and help street involved people break out of their cycle of poverty and homelessness.
- Expand our Inner City Victims Services, as funding arrives, to increase our capacity to serve victims and to launch crime prevention services.
- Launch our Community Bridge Pilot, which will focus on preventing homelessness for those who have never before been faced with the prospect of losing their home.
- Seek out partnerships and resources to increase our capacity to serve and support low income families, especially young single parents trying to become effective parents while developing their careers.
- Seek out partnerships and resources to increase our capacity to support adults with FASD.
- Increase our organization’s awareness of Aboriginal culture while exploring new opportunities to offer culturally-relevant services.
- Continue to operate as a fiscally sound organization while we also continue to grow our operations.
- Become an employer of choice
Click the image above to download our business plan (PDF)
![Dennys-EDM-Grand-Re-Opening_Blog-Banner-[24X36]](https://bissellcentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dennys-edm-grand-re-opening_blog-banner-24x36-1.jpg?w=500)
Denny’s Restaurant located at 10803-104th avenue NW will host their Grand Re-Opening offering Original Grand Slam breakfasts for only $2.00 (tax included) on Tuesday, March 4th from 7:00am – 2:00pm. The breakfast includes two pancakes, two eggs, two bacon strips and two sausage links. All proceeds of this event will support Bissell Centre’s programs and services that help those in need move from poverty to prosperity. We hope you can join us!
Download the official poster here.
Join our Facebook event page here.
Official hashtag: #GrandSlamYEG.
Tweet your excitement by clicking the following links:
#GrandSlamYEG Tweet 1
#GrandSlamYEG Tweet 2
#GrandSlamYEG Tweet 3
In this issue:
- Festive Season Recap
- Message from Mark Holmgren, CEO
- Program Highlight & Info on Winter Warming
- Monthly Giving Opportunity
- Donor Spotlight & Volunteer Opportunities
- Moonlight Bay Centre – Rental Info
View or download the newsletter now >
