Posted on Thursday, 15th October 2009 by chris wignall

Paul Polak, founder of one of our partners International Development Enterprises, is currently profiled in The Atlantic magazine as one of the 27 significant people who “who commit acts of moral and intellectual bravery by espousing unpopular or controversial positions.” His listing appears immediately below that of Barack Obama in the front page of the [...]

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Posted on Tuesday, 29th September 2009 by chris wignall

In a couple hours I’m meeting with about 100 high school students inviting them to join in our Leadership Program where they’ll be challenged to discover, explore, and take action on their dreams of doing good for others. I really love the time I get to spend with tenagers in this program.
One of the stories [...]

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Posted on Friday, 18th September 2009 by chris wignall

I just got home from a meeting with young adults who are considering how to become more involved in the work of Opportunity International. It was the first gathering for the group and I am really excited about what could emerge from this.
Opportunity is ahead of the curve simply by acknowledging the value and potential [...]

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Posted on Tuesday, 1st September 2009 by chris wignall

As Catalyst has become a slightly more mature in our funding programs we have learned the importance of establishing and communicating clear criteria for our grants, both in applications and in reporting from grantees.
Today a part of me wishes we hadn’t done so quite so much.
Almost a year ago I had a long conversation with [...]

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Posted on Thursday, 18th June 2009 by chris wignall

Some years ago a wealthy German businessman came across a village in the poverty-stricken African country of Swaziland that captured his interest. Formerly an important mining town; it was now abandoned, mine closed, population scattered, buildings left vacant. Rampant disease added to the devastation. Where others saw only a ghost town, he saw a profitable [...]

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Posted on Wednesday, 10th June 2009 by chris wignall

On June 7th we celebrated with the 5 recipients of Catalyst Scholarships for graduating students from the Halton Public School board. Pictured above with Catalyst founders Shirley and Doug Alexander are: KJ Lukas, Ashley Haick, Haylee Bloxham, Neel Dhingani, and Bhavini Tailor. In addition to a financial gift (administered by the good people at the [...]

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Posted on Thursday, 9th April 2009 by chris wignall

We are thrilled to add our congratulations to Mina Wahidi on her recognition as Burlington’s Citizen of the Year.
Mina is the Founder and Director of Compassion Society, and part of the Catalyst mentoring program. Her dedication to those in need in her community, her care for volunteers, and her willingness to be bold in pursuing [...]

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Posted on Friday, 30th January 2009 by chris wignall

Last night I attended the “very soft launch” of Word Made Flesh – Canada. When Mark Petersen gets this motivated by a charity it is always worth checking out; and it was.
But the best part of the night came earlier, before I left home.
I was telling my 5 year old son, Ben, that I was [...]

Tags: Great Stories
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Posted on Tuesday, 23rd December 2008 by chris wignall

During a meeting today with Opportunity International, Lise Struthers (Governors Council Director)shared what she’s told people who ask her what her job is. I love her response:
“Everyday I get out of bed and get to connect those who live in chronic poverty with those who live in chronic wealth”.
Perfect.

Tags: Great Stories, Partners
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Posted on Friday, 12th December 2008 by chris wignall

So much of the promotion work done by relief and development charities requires the viewer to get out of our cultural context and imagine life for those living in severe poverty half a world away. Most of us flip channels when Sally Struthers or some other spokesperson pops up in front of a mud hut [...]

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