Posted on Wednesday, 10th April 2013 by chris wignall

Every parent should hear others praise their child. Every child should hear others praise their parent. For years working with youth I tried to apply that principle frequently, and my belief in it only gets stronger. Last night, thanks to the Dundas Sunrise Rotary Club, I had the privilege of hearing my mom praised as [...]

Posted in Great Stories, Leadership | Comments (0)

Posted on Tuesday, 21st August 2012 by chris wignall

Canadian icon Craig Kielburger has done far more in his life to make a lasting difference than almost anyone, certainly much more than I have. He is a deserving Member of the Order of Canada, a mentee of the Dalai Lama, friend of world leaders and inspiration to more than I can count. His organizations, [...]

Posted in Catalyst, Great Stories, Leadership, Philanthropy | Comments (0)

Posted on Friday, 20th July 2012 by chris wignall

Yesterday this guy was out in the bush cutting trails with a chainsaw. This morning he painted a couple of signs outside the Dining Hall. He’s also the Executive Director of this camp bustling with over 200 people all summer long. His name is Bruce Dunning. It is surprising that Bruce is able and eager [...]

Posted in Great Stories, Leadership, Vision | Comments (0)

Posted on Tuesday, 17th July 2012 by chris wignall

Continuing my thoughts on the great leadership lessons to be found while I volunteer this week at Medeba summer camp. Lesson #2: Pull Together In addition to the iintense heat wave this week, there is a stomach bug circulating among the staff that has all of us washing our hands frequently and regular discussions about [...]

Posted in Great Stories, Leadership, Vision | Comments (0)

Posted on Monday, 16th July 2012 by chris wignall

I feel a little bit like I’ve gone back in time this week. I’m volunteering for a week of camp at Medeba; where I was the program director 17 years ago. This time I’m helping with day camp program while my son is having his first experience as a residential camper. A serious injury to [...]

Posted in Great Stories, Leadership | Comments (0)

Posted on Wednesday, 20th June 2012 by chris wignall

A good friend pointed out to me that yesterday’s post on things learned from this year’s Stronger Together granting process were all directed to applicants. In fact, most of the best lessons are probably better directed to the funders side of the table. 1. Specific Criteria. Thanks to the diligence of Brent Fearon at Bridgeway [...]

Posted in Catalyst, Great Stories, Past Grants, Philanthropy, Vision | Comments (0)

Posted on Friday, 16th March 2012 by chris wignall

Last December I retweeted CBC host Jian Ghomeshi: Lots of other people retweeted it, which makes sense because it represents what has become common understanding in the development field. There are lots of reports supporting the idea that aid given to women results in benefits to their family and community, while aid given to men [...]

Posted in Great Stories, Philanthropy, Resources, Vision | Comments (0)

Posted on Friday, 23rd September 2011 by chris wignall

Hope is the greatest weapon of all. So reads the tagline for the new movie Machine Gun Preacher starring Gerard Butler in the title role portraying the compelling Sam Childers, a former violent criminal who became a missionary in Sudan running an orphanage, and has claimed to have engaged in a paramilitary campaign to rescue [...]

Posted in Great Stories, Leadership | Comments (0)

Posted on Thursday, 15th September 2011 by chris wignall

Earlier this week the Toronto Star reported that former US President George W. Bush would be speaking at an invitation only breakfast for donors to Tyndale University, one of Canada’s most prominent Christian post-secondary schools and probably North America’s most diverse. Not surprisingly, this generated some strong responses. Yesterday Tyndale announced that the event has [...]

Posted in Great Stories, Leadership, Vision | Comments (2)

Posted on Tuesday, 9th August 2011 by chris wignall

As I’ve been becoming more educated in the field of global relief and development I’ve started to form some reasonably strong opinions. The strongest is that I don’t know enough to support my strong opinions. I have become convinced by reading, site visits, and conversations with trusted, experienced professionals that effective long term improvement in [...]

Posted in Great Stories, Leadership, Vision | Comments (3)