Spring is finally here! The warm sun is shining and welcoming a new chapter in your life. What better way to celebrate than to purge yourself of all your unused items! I’m a big fan of garage sales. Did you know that, by some estimates, such informal markets contribute as much as 36 billion dollars to the Canadian economy? Garage sales can also be a great… Read more
Money ManagementMay 12 was a day of celebration. Not only was it the night of graduation for Momentum Trades Training’s first ever electrician program, but each of the 15 participants graduated with full time job to go to. More than 350 people applied for the new program, and the Trades Training team interviewed each and every one in order to choose the 15 applicants who were… Read more
Employment SkillsDespite launching during a glut in the Albertan economy, Momentum’s newly developed Electrician Trades Training stream found incredible support from Calgary’s construction industry. While participants were engaged in the program, Momentum’s Trades Training staff were hard at work securing work experience placements. A cold call piqued the interest of Matt Price, a Project Manager at Grand West Electric Ltd., and he invited Momentum to his… Read more
Employment SkillsMeklet Tesfaye is an entrepreneur through and through. Ever since she was a teenager, she’s demonstrated the fact by being courageous, optimistic and willing to take calculated risks. For example, look at how Meklet arrived in Canada. In 2001, she said goodbye to her family in Ethiopia, and came here searching for a better life. She came alone. She didn’t speak English. She was 15…. Read more
Business Development, Community Matters, Our ResultsWhen Iris Assouline was a child growing up in a small village just outside Jerusalem, her mother used to say, “May your future bring good people your way.” Iris loves her work at Momentum because Momentum is the “good people” in the story of so many lives. Iris arrived in Canada ten years ago with a Masters in Social Work and experience in community development…. Read more
Community Matters, Employment Skills, Our ResultsMomentum is committed to making a meaningful difference in our community. We all want to live in a community where everyone has a sustainable livelihood and a meaningful chance to contribute. We want to inspire the development of local economies with opportunities for all people. Your support helps us to accomplish this, through community economic development programs for individual participants, and your partnership helps us to… Read more
Community Matters, Our ResultsAt Momentum, we base our community economic development work on the Sustainable Livelihoods model. This approach to poverty reduction is based on the assumption that everyone, no matter their circumstances, has assets on which to build. To create sustainable livelihoods, the kind that see us through good times and bad, we must think beyond financial assets. While there is no doubt that financial assets are… Read more
Community MattersMomentum’s Trades Training department began 25 years ago, during the recession of 1991. Its purpose was, and still is, to offer the training and support that result in meaningful, well-paid careers in the trades. It’s always nice to do this kind of work when the economy is at its peak. It’s more essential—and yet even more difficult—to do it during an economic downturn. And 2015… Read more
Community Matters, Employment Skills, Our ResultsFor the past 25 years, Momentum has been working to reduce poverty and build prosperity through community economic development initiatives. Both our programs and our community leadership activities are focused on the development of stronger and more sustainable local economies. One of the basic tenets of CED is that local businesses are vital for the health and resilience of the local economy. We support the… Read more
Business Development, Community Matters, Get Involved, Our Results…and the Difference They Make The Micro Business Loan program is one of eight programs in Momentum’s Business Development department. People come to the department to discover their entrepreneurial potential, and to develop the techniques of running a successful business. Some participants who go through the training are also eligible for the Micro Business Loan program. With all the banks in Calgary, why does Momentum… Read more
Business Development, Community Matters, Our Results