Volunteer Alberta, Literacy Alberta Crushed By Federal Cuts

[Nehkara]

Karen Lynch, executive director of Volunteer Alberta, says her organization will be forced to close because overall funding for the Canada Volunteerism Initiatives of $9.7 million has been yanked.

"This is absolutely devastating," said Lynch. "We can spend some time operating at a much more diminished capacity, but by the mid-summer of 2007, we'll be closed down."

Literacy Alberta executive director Janet Lane said her organization will have to find another way to come up with the estimated $500,000 it depends on from federal grants.

http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Alberta/...24246-sun.html

Not only did the Conservatives cut $1 billion while they had a $13.2 billion surplus, they didn't look before they slashed.

[Resolute 14]

Volunteer Alberta doesnt get $9.7 million, it gets $225k.

Volunteer Alberta puts its portion of federal funding -- about $225,000 -- for things such as mentor program resources, police information checks for volunteer screening and volunteer insurance.

[Ayrahb]

Originally Posted by fotze

I am just curious, why does a voluteer organization need 9.7 million dollars. That is a lot of money. Is there some sort of website where voluteers are matched up with things needing volunteers? That would seem to be the only need for funding on something like that. What else is there to it.

As SnakeEye pointed out, Volunteer Alberta doesn' get that much. It actually is not the same type of organization as Volunteer Calgary (which BTW has a web database of volunteer opportunities) - it was more of a volunteerism promotion organization.

I actually have to agree to some extent with the government (blechhh! ). Vol AB always seemed useless to me, as did Canada. Vol. Initiative. I am really sick and tired of poorly-run and useless non-profits.

Having met Karen Lynch, I would suggest asking Vol. AB to refund the money to the government for the past three years.

[Flame On]

From my experience of your posts fotze you don't agree with any funding for anything that you don't personally enjoy/use/like/need. Maybe I"m maligning you there and if so I appoligize.
Adult literacy seems an important thing to invest in with a paultry amount of money that 9 some odd million is. Perhaps "poorly run" is better than not being run at all as it looks like this decision is going do.

[FireFly]

How about we get the massive debt under control before we worry about people who spent, and presumably survived, the first 50 years of their lives without being literate? Harsh, certainly. In the real world, these people don't vote anyways. If you want to volunteer your time to train them... well, putting up a poster would be stupid, now wouldn't it? What do you suppose the interest is, every year on 9.7 million dollars? and what do you suppose happens if you put an extra 9.7 million dollars down on the debt?

Man am I in a bad mood today. I may regret saying that tomorrow.

[Ayrahb]

Originally Posted by fotze

You're point has some serious potential as I may likely agree with it as you sound like you have some experience here. I do not. Would you care to expand on some of this, I would like to know.

I have worked for government and I know that having a budget that does not get watched will absolutely assure waste. I am more sure of this point than anything else in the world.

I can't speak for all types of non-profits, but I did work in that sector for five years.

My comments about Volunteer Alberta and Canada Volunteerism Initiative (CVI) have to do with the fact that I really never bought into their concepts of "promoting volunteerism", "building capacity", etc. Here is a link to the types of projects funded through the CVI :

http://www.volunteer.ca/volcan/eng/c...t-projects.php

As I stated before, I am with the government on the above issue, as much as I may dislike them. Chris Rock said it best:

"Anyone who makes up their mind before they hear the issue is a f*****g fool. Everybody, nah, nah, nah, everybody is so busy wanting to be down with a gang! I'm a conservative! I'm a liberal! I'm a conservative! It's bull***t!

Be a f*****g person. Listen. Let it swirl around your head. Then form your opinion.

No normal decent person is one thing. OK!?! I got some s**t I'm conservative about, I got some s**t I'm liberal about. Crime - I'm conservative. Prostitution - liberal."

The "poorly run" comment has a lot to do with my personal experience.
Here are a few experience-based examples of what I think is wrong with some non-profit agencies:

-A program budget outlined in the funding contract quotes a certain amount of money for the office space rent. My budget covered exactly the square footage of my office. I shared the office, however, with four people from two other programs - one funded by the province and one federal program. My program was funded by the City of Calgary.

- A person who barely uses the Internet, email and MS Word has a perfectly usable beige Pentium 3 computer. She throws a tantrum after a colleague of hers gets a black, lower-end Dell until her manager approves a purchase of a sexier, black box for her. Only her new computer ends up costing over $2000 as the manager has no clue about IT. The PIII gets donated to a "needy" acquaintance as the agency can't sell anything.

-Speaking of computers... Two smaller departments get brand new dual-core machines with 4GB of memory and 19-inch flat panel monitors. They have all of ... ONE person who even knows what that means.

-A consultant gets paid to help with the strategic planning process. The cost not counting staff hours lost - $20,000. The consultant, of course, is a housewife running her own "business". We spend a day in Kananaskis playing dumb, feel-good games.

There are many more stories, but it's Sunday. I can't think about work.

I know these things are also happening in the corporate sector, but most of the time, businesses are not playing with the public money.

[Red Mile Style]

I personally think that adult literacy is a crucial part of a developed country, such as Canada. In fact, one can even say that literacy rates and educational systems are key factors between the global north and the global south.

Canada's immigration laws are changing to allow more immigrants into Canada - based partly on the fact that there is not a big enough work-force, especially when it comes to minimum wage, no respect, mundane jobs. I implore all of those that have the audacity to support cutting such important programs to empathize for a moment what it must be like to come to a country without knowing the language.

Another scenerio which I implore people to look at is the actual public education system in Canada. Not everybody succeeds in this situation, in fact many fall through the cracks. Learning disabilities, personal choices, living environments... Should this severely limit their options of providing for themselves and their families for the rest of their lives, because the system could not help them or they made bad decisions in their youth?

I see this cut as just another way of redistributing the wealth to the wealthy in this country and ensuring the status-quo for years to come - hey, someone has to clean our toilets and serve us our happy meals. This funding cut is going to affect those who need it most, not those who can afford private tutors and schools.

[Ayrahb]

Originally Posted by Red Mile Style

Canada's immigration laws are changing to allow more immigrants into Canada - based partly on the fact that there is not a big enough work-force, especially when it comes to minimum wage, no respect, mundane jobs. I implore all of those that have the audacity to support cutting such important programs to empathize for a moment what it must be like to come to a country without knowing the language.

I haven't heard anything about cuts to LINC and ESL funding. I believe that those will come eventually, however. I'd better not get started on immigration policies...

You are right, though. Some immigrants are illiterate when they come to Canada and this cut will influence them to some extent, but they are not in business/skilled worker class. All of those brought here to work have at least passable literacy skills if not perfect English/French.

[DementedReality]

Originally Posted by Red Mile Style

......hey, someone has to clean our toilets and serve us our happy meals. ....

actually this is true ... not everyone can be the high wage earner. who do you propose take on these roles if not those that fell through the cracks and couldnt take on the more important roles?

[Red Mile Style]

Originally Posted by DementedReality

actually this is true ... not everyone can be the high wage earner. who do you propose take on these roles if not those that fell through the cracks and couldnt take on the more important roles?

Is it really a case of someone who can't take on the "more important" roles, or are they simply not afforded the same oppurtunities available to those who take on such roles? I personally do not think the reason why people who are stuck in menial jobs is based squarely on if they are literate or not. I just think that everyone should have the oppurtunity to "take on more important roles" in their life, and being able to read is a fundamental part of that. There will always be the need for the menial jobs in society that everyone looks down upon, but perhaps if all of society was in a complete and utter lack of people to fill these positions, society would no longer look down upon these individuals and perhaps see them as taking on "more important roles" too.

It has a lot to do with standard of living. What kind of society are we in when we are commiting more troops to Afghanistan, while cutting programs that advocate adult literacy in our own country? I understand that progressive goals are getting accomplished in Afghanistan, such as females are now allowed to attend school, so why are we digressing here?!?!?!

I love the "bring down the debt" rhetoric, especially when it comes to subjects such as adult literacy. How many places, including MacDonalds, will hire you if you can't read? How do you suppose these people write a resume, work at a till or fill out an application? Chances are these people will become un/underemployed, placing an even bigger strain on the economy. Think it through people. Illiterate people don't just disappear. They're the ones that can not pay health premiums so the government pays for it; they get GST rebates from the government; dentistry, optometry... covered by the government because they do not make a living wage; welfare cheques; family allowance; Yeah, cutting this program will really help lower the debt

[DementedReality]

Originally Posted by Red Mile Style

Is it really a case of someone who can't take on the "more important" roles, or are they simply not afforded the same oppurtunities available to those who take on such roles?

there are plenty of literate people who will never be given the chance at the high income job, simply because they arent intelligent or motivated enough to compete for them.

anyhow, lets just pretend that every Billy Jo and Mary Ann Bucksmith is earning $100,000 k as an engineer, who will work at McDonalds and Esso?

[mykalberta]

If McD and Esso can find people then they will have to either close or become more efficient with the workforce they have.

If we dont have enought workers to house 10 KFC or Wendys or McD or whatever in Calgary then they will either have to close or become a pickup only operation.

MYK

[JohnnyFlame]

I don't care whether the government is Liberal, Conservative or NDP. Don't care if they are left, center or right. I do care that they spend oodles of money poorly. Run the country properly -- Get the finances totally in order and then very, very reluctantly fund anything that isn't vital to the nation's interest is how it should BE!!!

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by DementedReality

there are plenty of literate people who will never be given the chance at the high income job, simply because they arent intelligent or motivated enough to compete for them.

That's true. The important thing though, is that those people have the opportunity to become that Engineer if they are willing to work for it. Literacy programs and other programs like it are necessary for that developement when people want to make that step up and are willing to work for it.

Our Mcdonalds employees shouldn't be people who don't have the opportunity to better themselves. They should be the people who have the opporunity, but don't use it.

Removing stepping stones, is senstencing people to a lifestyle they may be able to work beyond with help. Every Canadian deserves that chance.

[Shawnski]

Literacy being important is not the issue here. Of course it is.

What hasn't been mentioned yet is that this should be falling into the education umbrella, no? And that is a provincial area, not federal.

I personally wish to see the Feds get out of anything that is a provincial matter. There is already a significant level of government to deal with those issues and having another cannot be considered anything but a waste.

My 1/10th cent (after taxes).

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Shawnski

Literacy being important is not the issue here. Of course it is.

What hasn't been mentioned yet is that this should be falling into the education umbrella, no? And that is a provincial area, not federal.

I personally wish to see the Feds get out of anything that is a provincial matter. There is already a significant level of government to deal with those issues and having another cannot be considered anything but a waste.

My 1/10th cent (after taxes).

It's actually funny you mention that, because if there's one thing the former federal Liberals loved to do, it was to totally ignore jurisdictional responsibility and get their fingers into everything, even if it was handled by other levels of gov't.