Nonprofit Organizations in Calgary

P.L.A.Y.(Parents Looking after Youth) Community Child Development Centre (P.L.A.Y.) was established to provide high-quality childcare services for children from birth to six (6) years of age. We are a not-for-profit childcare centre that is spiritually, emotionally and physically rich; and inclusive of all regardless of economic status, gender, ability, race or age. Our goal is to create a standard of excellence in childcare, providing programs that meet the diverse needs of the community. OUR HISTORY P.L.A.Y. was established by parents in 1973. It was funded by a local incentive grant to provide quality care for children in the Hillhurst-Sunnyside area. OUR PHILOSOPHY Our philosophy is to provide an environment that is safe, secure and supportive of children’s developmental needs. We believe in providing a positive, nurturing environment that will encourage creativity, intellectual curiosity, social interactions, self-help skills, physical activity and emotional development for children. We provide age-appropriate programming that meets the developmental needs of the children. WHO YOU ARE: Due to our size, working at PLAY is like joining a family. Our team is close-knit, and our parent community is made up of families who have been at PLAY for several years. Finding a volunteer who is the right fit and shares our values is extremely important to us. This means that you'll need to be: flexible, open-minded, hard-working, take initiative, and enjoy working in a small team.

Buchanan School is an inner-city elementary school. Our Parent Society engages in fundraising such as casinos to help purchase modern technology equipment for classrooms, library resources, and subsidizes field trips so that all students are able to participate, regardless of socio-economic status.

Valour Canada is a not-for-profit organization that educates young Canadians about our shared military heritage by developing and providing learning opportunities designed to foster a deeper understanding of who we are as individuals, citizens, and as a nation. Engaging, responsive, dynamic, meaningful, and transformative, are all words that describe our pedagogical practice, and alongside our stakeholders we continuously aim to integrate these aspects with our programming.

Peer Mediation And Skills Training (PMAST) is a registered charity providing skills to youth to deal with bullying and manage conflict for over 22 years. Our mission is to equip youth, families, and communities with the skills to manage conflict peacefully where they live, learn, work and play. While we recognize the value of awareness campaigns and counseling services, we believe that to really make a difference we need to take a proactive approach and provide the skills to deal with conflict, bullying and violence; issues which affect their emotional and mental well being.  We share practical skills to help participants reduce bullying and tension in their social environments while building respect, compassion, empathy, and resiliency. PMAST programs go beyond acceptance and inclusiveness; we seek to encourage young people to embrace their differences and learn from the diversity of thought and experience each brings to the table. These programs focus on equipping youth with the tools to better communicate, manage conflict and advocate for themselves in situations where they may feel discriminated against.  The skills we are providing are life skills that our youth take with them to change family dynamics for this and future generations. PMAST delivers research-based programs which teach youth the practical communication and life skills to manage conflict. We use professional mediators and coaches to support learning in an experiential format in the classroom and we are in the process of converting our programs to online.  

Humanities 101 is a strength-based educational program designed to help low-income Calgarians address barriers getting in the way of exercising their capacities and skills. We learn about the stories that connect us to others and the world around us through studies in Literature, History, Music, Cultural Studies, Philosophy, and Art History. Participants in Humanities 101’s challenging, but supported, university-level courses learn how to increase their capacity to engage in life and society, while deepening their skills of learning, communicating, and analysis. We meet two days a week for four months and study a variety of texts and ideas. Teachers and volunteers are co-learners in the classroom and are passionate about learning and create a welcoming space where adults with a diverse range of life and educational experiences challenge themselves and find a passion and excitement for learning.

Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS-Canada) is a student-run, non-profit re-established in late 2014. Our mission is to strengthen Canada’s future in space by providing post-secondary students with unique projects, research programs, and professional development opportunities in the Canadian governmental, industrial, and institutional space sectors.

Hakili Community for Sustainable Development is a non-profit organization born in Calgary in 2016. We work within our communities to tackle the complex problem of poverty in Canada but also all around the world. We want to address intergenerational poverty and identify creative and sustainable strategies to eradicate the problem.

Alberta Council for Environmental Education (ACEE) works collaboratively to advance environmental education in Alberta.  Our work is guided by the following: Mission: To drive systems change, engage partners, and support educators and youth so we can bring environmental education to all of Alberta's K-12 students.  We strive to advance environmental education for all Albertans.

The Alberta International Band Festival (AIBF) is a completely volunteer-run, annual festival that gives students from Calgary and area, and beyond, as well as community groups the opportunity to perform for internationally recognized adjudicators. They receive valuable performance experience, and the opportunity to work with excellent band conductors and musicians. The heart of our festival is our volunteers! We require a large base of volunteers in order to make the Festival run smoothly and successfully. Your participation helps provide a memorable and beneficial educational experience to our student participants. There are a large number of positions and shifts available. Please note that no prior music experience is required. Most of the jobs are relatively easy. On the day of your shift, our Festival Coordinator will be able to walk you through your job responsibilities and will be on hand to provide assistance as needed throughout the day. Some of the volunteer jobs include: band host - helps our groups navigate the venue by leading the group from one area to the next secretary - helps adjudicators’ stay organized, handing out and collecting required materials for each ensemble check-in desk - manning the administration desk as bands check-in emcee - announcing the performances and sponsors (from a script) The Festival runs at two separate times in three different locations for the Concert and Jazz portions of the festival, and volunteers are needed at each. Many volunteers sign up for a single morning or afternoon shift, but if you have the gift of time, we encourage you to sign up for multiple shifts. Whether you can do one shift or multiple shifts, any assistance you can provide will be appreciated. To sign-up, please go to the links below to select your volunteer shifts for the Concert Band or Jazz Band Festival. Concert Band: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0948A8A82FA2FFC... Jazz Band: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0948A8A82FA2FFC... (please note the two different locations for these volunteer shifts) For additional information or questions about volunteering, please contact August Murphy at volunteer@aibfestival.ca.

The Integrated Post Secondary Education Society of Alberta We are a non-profit organization that aims to provide life enriching opportunities and an unbound vision of the future for individuals with developmental disabilities.  The mission or philosophy of The Integrated Post Secondary Education Society is to: Provide an inclusive educational alternative to young adults with developmental disabilities by encouraging and supporting them to participate in a post-secondary experience (Inclusive Post-Secondary Education). Provide continuing support to the graduates of the post-secondary education experience in a workplace environment and connecting with the community. (Graduate Support Services). The objective of Inclusive Post-Secondary Education and the Graduate Support Services is to provide quality educational and workplace opportunities to students, and in so doing, to assist them in developing the skills and relationships necessary to live and work in the community.  Inclusion within the university population will offer the normative, age-appropriate setting, which will promote a variety of social interactions and many new skills, while workplace assistance will allow our graduates to maintain and improve on the skills acquired during their time in the university setting.  Our philosophy is to encourage men and women who have a developmentally disability to associate with other individuals and to develop lifelong, as well as life-defining, relationships.  These relationships are critical to an inclusive future for young adults as they strive to live productive lives in the community.  We also believe that people with disabilities should have the same opportunity as others to Further their education beyond the secondary level. Have meaningful and productive employment. Participate and have a valued role in their community.

Roots of Empathy's mission is to build caring, peaceful and civil societies through the development of empathy in children and adults. Our vision is to change the world, child by child. ROE offers empathy-based programs in schools and childcare centres. We train volunteer instructors to deliver an age appropriate curriculum and invite community families into classrooms to demonstrate the power of a secure attachment relationship between infant and parent – the first and most powerful model of empathy.

We are a non-profit organization that aims to provide life enriching opportunities and an unbound vision of the future for individuals with developmental disabilities. The mission or philosophy of The Integrated Post Secondary Education Society is to: Provide an inclusive educational alternative to young adults with developmental disabilities by encouraging and supporting them to participate in a post-secondary experience (Inclusive Post-Secondary Education). Provide continuing support to the graduates of the post-secondary education experience in a workplace environment and connecting with the community. (Graduate Support Services). The objective of Inclusive Post-Secondary Education and the Graduate Support Services is to provide quality educational and workplace opportunities to students, and in so doing, to assist them in developing the skills and relationships necessary to live and work in the community.  Inclusion within the university population will offer the normative, age-appropriate setting, which will promote a variety of social interactions and many new skills, while workplace assistance will allow our graduates to maintain and improve on the skills acquired during their time in the university setting.  Our philosophy is to encourage men and women who have a developmentally disability to associate with other individuals and to develop lifelong, as well as life-defining, relationships.  These relationships are critical to an inclusive future for young adults as they strive to live productive lives in the community.  We also believe that people with disabilities should have the same opportunity as others to Further their education beyond the secondary level. Have meaningful and productive employment. Participate and have a valued role in their community.