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The Center for Renewable Energy and Appropriate Technology for the Environment (CREATE!) was established in 2008 to help rural populations in the developing world prepare for water, food, and fuel shortages resulting from the impact of climate change on their communities. CREATE! operates on the principle that all people have a right to water, food, shelter, energy, and the means to earn a living. We work with village populations to meet these needs through a culturally respectful, participatory process grounded in our belief that people must have a stake in their development and contribute towards solving their own problems. The cooperative groups in our beneficiary villages have already demonstrated the validity of this approach. CREATE! currently operates in Senegal. Senegal is representative of many Sub-Saharan African countries that are hardest hit by the increasingly disastrous effects of global climate change. CREATE! responds to the inter-connected crises generated by climate change with strategies that decrease dependence on fossil fuels, conserve natural resources, and increase the use of appropriate technologies. Our programs produce sustainable, human needs-based development at the village level while forging resilient and vibrant communities across rural Senegal. CREATE! seeks to face these challenges and assist rural Senegalese residents with small-scale, accessible, and "appropriate" technologies - technologies that are adapted to, and fit, their local conditions - and with human needs-based strategies that can both better their lives and build their capacity to meet these inter-connected challenges. CREATE! works in six villages in two regions of Senegal. One region is in the rural north of Senegal, centered around Linguere in the Louga Region, where CREATE! implements programs in the village of Ouarkhokh. The other region is in the central-west of Senegal, centered around Gossas in the Fatick Region. CREATE! implements program activities in five villages in this region. The total beneficiary population of the six villages is approximately 12,000 people, comprised of both agricultural and pastoral peoples. The average per capita annual income of the population in these villages is approximately $350 a year. In each of these villages, CREATE! staff work closely with local and traditional authorities, including village chiefs and imams, in addition to other community leaders, families, and public schools. CREATE! values the expertise and input of community members and strives to incorporate their knowledge and participation into each stage of our programs. As a registered NGO in Senegal, CREATE! works with government officials from the regional office of the Department of Water and Forestry. CREATE! also respects the Senegalese government's strategic development goals for rural communities. Although CREATE!'s administrative office is located in the United States, CREATE! relies on local Senegalese staff and volunteers to plan and implement successful development interventions. Barry Wheeler, CREATE! Founder and Executive Director, has spent the past 27 years working to alleviate suffering and to provide basic human needs for rural villagers, displaced persons, and refugees in several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. After serving in the Peace Corps for six years as an Improved Cook Stove and Appropriate Technology volunteer, trainer, and technical advisor in Togo, Barry earned a Master's degree in International Agriculture and Rural Development from Cornell University. Barry has served as Country Director for the American Refugee Committee's programs in Uganda, Sudan, and Rwanda; as a consultant for UNICEF and UNHCR; and as a team leader and training coordinator in local capacity building, renewable and appropriate technology, and sustainable rural development. CREATE! Chief Operations Officer Louise Ruhr has more than 30 years of private sector and nonprofit management experience and has spent the past eight years working with international NGOs, including the American Refugee Committee, to support women's cooperative groups in Rwanda and Senegal. CREATE! Country Director Omar Ndiaye Seck oversees program activities and conducts site visits in CREATE! communities. He also manages CREATE!'s finances and staff in Senegal. Omar closely collaborates with local and traditional authorities, community volunteers, and CREATE! staff to achieve both organizational and village goals.

The Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) has supported graduate study, literacy and the creative arts through awards and grants since its founding in 1919. Since 1921 CFUW has awarded more than $1,000,000 on the Fellowships, Grants and Awards that it offers annually for Canadian women for post-graduate study in Canada and abroad. CFUW's National Fellowship and Award recipients have produced work in a variety of academic areas, including international humanitarian efforts, feminist and gender analysis, advanced science and engineering, medicine, public health, and social justice.

Founded in 1975 to create and maintain a beautiful garden where the community and visitors can enjoy tranquil surroundings in our hectic urban environment, and to provide a setting where children and adults can learn firsthand to appreciate nature and gardening.

The Minstrel Foundation has been instrumental in launching the Regent Park School of Music, in expanding music and arts programs at the Dixon Hall Music School, University Settlement Music School, Pia Bouman School of Dance and the Canadian Children's Opera Chorus, and in sponsoring summer music camps for underpriviledged youth. In addition, The Foundation each year presents the Hagood Hardy Protege, Fan Po Chu, and the Cassels Brock and the Minstrel Foundation music awards for advanced students to study.

The Canadian Health and Environment Education and Research Foundation (CHEER) works to educate health professionals and citizens about environmental health hazards. Working with its sister organization, The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, CHEER has alerted Canadians to the hazards of lawn and garden pesticides and the safe, effective alternatives that now exist. It has also taught nurses and doctors how to make hospitals and medical clinics more environmentally-friendly. Finally, it has shown the public the advantages of organic agriculture.

The Frontier Centre for Public Policy (FCPP) is an independent Canadian public policy think tank. Based in Winnipeg the Frontier Centre received charitable status in 1999 and currently has offices in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Our research aims to analyze current affairs and public policies and develop effective and meaningful ideas for good governance and reform. We provide a platform for public debate and engage with the public through our numerous publications and events.Unlike political or lobby groups, which often represent only the narrow interests of their members, we aim to advance the interests of the public as a whole. As a think tank, we are free to explore new ideas and policy initiatives unconstrained by the pressures that political parties face to be popular at the polls. In order to protect our independence, and our reputation as a research group, the Frontier Centre neither seeks nor accepts any government funding whatsoever.

SPEC has served children and families in the Brooks area since September 1978. Today, SPEC’s dedicated staff and volunteers continue to encourage growth and learning for all levels of the family unit, from newborns to adults. The difference staff and volunteers make is evident in the smiles on the faces of those served and the stories of those who return to provide updates on their successes and to extend their heartfelt thanks. SPEC programs celebrate multiculturalism and diversity, and are continuously growing to reach all children and their families. SPEC welcomes contributions, which help to maintain and enhance programs and services. Your contributions are integral in fostering brighter, healthier lives of children and families, by helping SPEC to provide them with the information and support that they need. SPEC operates four major programs: LINKS, Parent LINK Centre, Connections and Family Support Services. See website for more details - www.spec.ab.ca