JAPA’s 50 Charities for 50 Years

Since 1972, JAPA has been providing high-quality machinery and knowledgeable, professional service for the Oil and Gas, Construction, and Road Building industries across Western Canada. We are a proudly Alberta-grown business, and this community has given back to Team JAPA in so many ways over the last 50 years.

To celebrate this milestone year for our business, $200.00 of every machine sold will be donated in the purchaser’s name to the charity of their choice until December 31, 2022. Further to that, each month we will donate to a select number of our chosen 50 Albertan charities. Read below to see what each month’s selected charities are and to learn more about what they provide.

March

This month hosts International Women’s Day on the 8^th and Brain Awareness Week during the third week of March. It also hosts World Obesity Day on March 4^th. Below are some of the charities JAPA will be supporting this month:

• Women Building Futures (Alberta): Women Building Futures offers programs and support services to help unemployed and underemployed women explore and connect to careers that pay above a living wage. Through employment training and support services, Women Building Futures will help women explore new careers that pay well and provide opportunities for advancement in their careers.

• Elizabeth Fry Society of Edmonton – Women’s Empowerment Program: The Elizabeth Fry Society of Northern Alberta seeks to foster the dignity and worth of all women and girls who are or are at risk of criminalization. Through their unique, multifaceted programming, they educate women about violence, trauma, and empowerment, while providing wraparound supportive encouragement in moving forward with confidence, resources, and hope.

• Pregnancy Pathways: Pregnancy Pathways, in partnership with various community supporters, is aimed at addressing the housing status and support services that were not readily available to pregnant women in need. Every year in Edmonton, approximately 100 women are pregnant while experiencing homelessness.

• Obesity Canada: Obesity Canada is Canada's leading obesity charity, made up of healthcare professionals, researchers, policymakers, and people with an interest in obesity. Their vision is to see a day when people affected by the disease of obesity are understood, respected, and living healthy lives. Their mission is to improve the lives of Canadians through obesity research, education, and advocacy through strategic goals

• Neighbourlink Parkland: Neighbourlink Parkland is a Non-profit Ministry assisting those who are unable to access the usual government assistance, who have exhausted other resources, and are falling through the cracks in the system. They can react immediately, assess each situation thoroughly, and provide help in several ways such as through financial assistance, vouchers, ride programs, transportation, a help closet, and used furniture.

April

April showers (or brief flurries) bring May’s flowers. It is also Autism Awareness Month, where we have chosen to support two local charities that promote Acceptance within our community. April also hosts Green Shirt Day (in memory of the Humbolt Broncos team) on April 7^th and Advanced Care Planning Day on April 16^th. Here are the charities we will be donating to for April:

• Sport Central: Sport Central was formed by community-minded individuals who wanted to see children in need have access to necessary sports equipment. As a volunteer-driven, Alberta-based charitable organization, Sport Central provides sports equipment at no cost to kids in need. Since its inception, Sport Central has provided over 180,000 low-income kids with gear, enabling them to participate in the sport of their choice.

• Pilgrims Hospice: Pilgrims Hospice Society offers compassionate care for individuals living with a terminal illness, enhancing dignity and quality of life. Their programs and services are designed to support a total care model that focuses on psychological, social, and spiritual wellbeing, as well as physical symptoms until natural death occurs. Care for caregivers is an extremely important aspect of Hospice services, as many families struggle with enormous burdens when one of their own faces a serious illness. That care extends to families beyond death, as they experience bereavement of their loved one. Grief support is available for children, teens, adults, and whole families.

• STARS: Best known for the STARS air ambulance and Emergency Rescue Service, STARS provides safe, rapid, specialized emergency care for the critically ill and injured. Started due to seeing a need to change emergency care across rural Alberta, STARS has helped save lives and has been a disruptive innovator that contributes to transformation in the healthcare system.

• Bridge to Care: Bridge to Care promotes inclusion by ensuring the presence, participation, and achievement of all children, including children with disabilities through their core values of Support, Teamwork, Integrity, Innovation and Respect,

• GRIT Program: GRIT provides family centered and inclusive learning experiences to support meaningful participation of children with disabilities in home, community, and school. Since 1982, they have helped hundreds of children who have developmental disabilities become meaningful participants in their families, communities, and schools.

May

This warm spring month is dedicated to Cancer Awareness and MS Awareness across Canada. Below are the charities that JAPA will be donating to for May:

• Cross Cancer Institute: This facility provides inpatient and outpatient services for cancer patients, advanced medical and supportive cancer care, and patient and professional education for Albertans. The Cross Cancer Institute conducts research through the Alberta Cancer Research Institute to find effective treatments and understand the disease further.

• MS Society of Canada – Alberta Division: As Canada leads the world with one of the highest rates of multiple sclerosis (MS), the MS Society of Canada provides services to people with MS and their families and caregivers. The society's mission is to seek a cure for MS and to enable people affected by MS to enhance their quality of life.

• Angel Flight Alberta: This organization of volunteer pilots, aircraft owners and ground support is unified to help Albertans get to and from their medical appointments efficiently and reduce stress at no cost to the patient or family.

• Ronald McDonald House (Alberta): Ronald McDonald House Charities® Alberta helps give sick children what they need most ... their families. Their Houses provide accommodations for families who must stay long term for their children’s medical treatments.

• Gregor’s Grads: This charity organization provides a new suit, shirt, tie, and shoes for high school students in the Edmonton and surrounding area for their graduation. Gregor’s Grads was formed to assist young men of high-school age when it comes to receiving much-needed assistance by offering a helping hand to deserving students. They believe that providing financially challenged students with a sense of normalcy and enabling them to participate in graduation will foster pride, self-esteem and allow them to move forward to the next phase in their lives.

June

June is the host of Pride Month and Brain Injury Awareness Month. It also is the month for Men’s Health and hosts Day Against Drug Abuse (June 26^th). Below are the charities that JAPA will be supporting for each in June:

• Edmonton Vocal Minority: Since its beginnings in 1993, Edmonton Vocal Minority has been unique voice in Edmonton's musical and Queer community. EVM is a non-auditioned, mixed-voice choir that offers its members an opportunity for personal and musical growth in a safe, supportive, and creative environment. Edmonton Vocal Minority offers several self-produced concerts each year and performs at numerous community events.

• CHEW Project YEG: The CHEW Project started in 2014 with the purpose of providing sexual health education to queer youth and young adults including immigrants and Indigenous peoples of Canada who face barriers. CHEW’s team creates pathways to resilience through no cost access to a multitude of basic needs including showers, laundry, emergency food hampers, mental health supports, social activities and STI testing.

• Teen Challenge: Teen Challenge is a 12-month in-residence alcohol and drug addiction rehabilitation program that helps men and women aged 18+ to overcome addictions by developing the whole person within the context of a residential facility. Clients learn character and leadership development skills, health, and life skills, and can acquire some vocational training. This program also provides opportunities for clients to learn planning and decision-making skills and to learn to contribute to Teen Challenge and the community. It is hosted at the Alberta Men's Centre located near Calgary in Priddis, Alberta.

• YESS Edmonton: YESS' mission is to walk beside traumatized youth on their journey towards healing and appropriate community integration. Based in Edmonton, Youth Empowerment and Support Services (YESS) provides immediate and low-barrier 24/7 shelter, a drop-in resource centre, temporary supportive housing, temporary independent cohort housing, and individualized wrap-around supports for young people aged 15–24. They work collaboratively within a network of care focused on the prevention of youth homelessness by providing youth with the necessary supports to stabilize their housing, improve their wellbeing, build life skills, connect with community, and avoid re-entry into homelessness.

• Brain Care Centre: The Brain Care Centre exists to support those impacted by acquired brain injury to overcome limitations, reconnect, rebuild, and thrive in the community. They offer client services, concussion services, and public outreach to educate others about brain injury awareness.

July

This month celebrates Canada’s birth as a nation and hosts Injury Prevention Day. Below are the charities that JAPA will be donating to during July:

• Changing Together: Changing Together helps immigrant women and their families across the Edmonton area overcome personal and systemic barriers that keep them from participating fully in Canadian society. They operate a safe place for immigrant women to share, support, and learn from each other as they adjust to their new lives. Through their Volunteer Program, they have helped immigrant women to acquire employment, life skills, and Canadian work experience.

• Edmonton Fire Fighter Burn Treatment Society: The Edmonton Firefighter's Burn Treatment Society (EFBTS) raises funds and awareness for research, treatment, and the recovery of thermal injuries since 1977. EFBTS is managed and supported by local firefighters who volunteer and dedicate their time to raise funds to improve the treatment and care of those who have sustained a thermal injury.

• Little Warriors: Little Warriors is a national, charitable organization based in Alberta. We are focused on the awareness, prevention, and treatment of child sexual abuse as well as advocating for the rights, needs, and interests of the children in our program. Their tight-knit team makes it possible for children, adolescents, and their families to get the treatment and support they need to cope with the effects of child sexual abuse, as well as teach adults how to prevent child sexual abuse.

• Edmonton Humane Society: The Edmonton Humane Society focuses on connecting animals and people through advocacy, education, and community engagement. They provide pet adoptions, animal training seminars, animal surrenders, and trap-neuter-return programs.

• The Victim Services Society of Stony Plain, Spruce Grove and District: This charity offers victim services that are free and confidential, providing comprehensive support in hours of need. Their specially trained Victim Advocates offer coping strategies for victims of violence and other crimes, as well as front-line support to clients in crisis through personal tragedy. They provide their Volunteer Advocates, Board Members, and paid staff with ongoing training throughout their affiliation with VSU.

August

The month of August hosts Overdose Awareness Day (August 31^st) and Youth Day (August 12^th). Below is the list of charities that JAPA will be making donations to throughout the month:

• Boots on the Ground: Boots on the Ground is a rapid, mobile outreach response to social health policy failures keeping people who use substances and structurally vulnerable street-level populations at great risk for re-traumatization and severe health outcomes. They aim to engage with other Edmonton non-profit service organizations to close or narrow service gaps and increase low barrier accessibility to Harm Reduction, Systems Navigation, Crisis Intervention, and Drug Poisoning responses.

• Boys and Girls Club Big Brothers Big Sisters: Boys and Girls Clubs Big Brothers Big Sisters (BGCBigs) is a community-supported organization committed to the healthy development of children, youth, and their families by providing safe places, positive relationships, services, and opportunities to develop personal strengths and interpersonal skills that enhance their long-term success in life.

• Boyle Street: Since 1971, Boyle Street Community Services has been supporting people experiencing homelessness and poverty in Edmonton. This is a non-denominational organization that welcomes and serves people of all ages, backgrounds, and orientations. Even though they are a non-denominational organization, they acknowledge that most individuals experiencing homelessness in Edmonton identify as Indigenous First Nations. Therefore, they incorporate Indigenous ceremonies into their practices, mission, and values.

• Free Play for Kids: Free Play for Kids is a free after school club that hosts 4,000 kids in need. They partner with highly socially vulnerable schools in the city to provide kids with free equipment, registration, and organized transportation to their sporting event.

• Basically Babies: For over 26 years, Basically Babies has served families in need living in the City of Edmonton. They provide newborn babies from 0-24 months with second-hand clothing that is checked to guarantee quality and cleanliness to ensure the comfort and safety of infants across the Edmonton area.

September

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. It also hosts Orange Shirt Day/National Day of Truth and Reconciliation (September 30^th) and Suicide Prevention Week (September 10^th). See a list below of what charities will be donated to during September:

• Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation: The Stollery Children's Hospital is the most specialized children's hospital in Western Canada, giving kids from backyards across Alberta and beyond the best chance at a long and healthy life. Donations help them to invest in the best people, programs, equipment, and research to help advance children's physical and mental health care.

• Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation (Calgary): The Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation supports care for children from newborn to age 17 from across Alberta. Through the generosity of our community, they can provide funding for family-centered child health programs, specialized life-saving equipment, and advanced pediatric research and education at the Alberta Children's Hospital.

• Change for Children: For 45 years, Change for Children has promoted health and human rights by championing creative solutions to poverty through sustainable development. This has been and continues to be the Change for Children way. They support community-led projects to elevate the quality of life and to strive for the respect of traditions, languages, and cultural identity of children.
• Inner City Youth Edmonton: Inner City Youth is an Edmonton not-for-profit that provides Edmonton's marginalized Indigenous youth and other urban youth with academic and arts-based education. Their vision is to help break the cycle of poverty, desperation, and dependence that can dominate Indigenous youth’s lives, enabling them to become contributing members of the community.

• Habitat for Humanity: Habitat for Humanity believes that everyone deserves to own their own home, which is why they help provide homeownership to families in need in Edmonton and across northern Alberta. Through generous donations and volunteer work with the organization, hundreds of hard-working families across Edmonton now have a place to call home.

• Suicide Prevention Line (Crisis Service Canada): Crisis Services Canada (CSC) is a national network of existing distress, crisis, and suicide prevention line services. They are committed to supporting any person living in Canada who is affected by suicide, in the most caring and least intrusive manner possible.

October

October is the start of the Canadian Holiday season, beginning at Thanksgiving (October 10^th) and ending with Halloween. Below are the charities that JAPA will be donating to throughout the month:

• Zebra Centre: The Zebra Centre is a non-profit, community-based organization dedicated to improving the lives of children who have suffered abuse within the Edmonton community. They provide numerous services and support programs ranging from trauma referral to court preparation. Their mission is to be a safe space for children.

• SCARS: Second Chance Animal Rescue Society (SCARS) is a non-profit Edmonton and Athabasca-based registered charity that is almost entirely volunteer-operated. They provide surrendered pets with adequate care, medical attention, and new forever homes.

• E.O., Chapter K: P.E.O. is a philanthropic organization where women CELEBRATE the advancement of women; EDUCATE women through scholarships, grants, awards, loans, and stewardship of Cottey College and MOTIVATE women to achieve their highest aspirations.

• Medicine River Wildlife Foundation: MRWC is a wildlife hospital, taking in more than 2000 injured and orphaned animals every year. They care for injured, orphaned, and compromised wild animals with the goal of returning them to appropriate wild habitats. Each animal is examined, treated then rehabilitated according to species specific needs before being released.

• Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute: The Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute in Edmonton is a world leader in complex cardiac care and surgery. With a collaborative approach, our team of highly skilled cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons, cardiac care professionals, researchers and educators are advancing the prevention, detection, treatment, and study of cardiovascular disease.

November

November is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and “Movember”. It also hosts Remembrance Day and Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Below are the charities that JAPA will be making donations to during November:

• No Stone Left Alone Memorial Foundation: No Stone Left Alone Memorial Foundation was launched in 2011 to help ensure enduring national respect and gratitude for the sacrifice of the Canadian men and women who have lost their lives in the service of peace. 

• Wings of Providence: This organization’s two-and-three-bedroom fully furnished apartments offer a safe, secure, and welcoming home for women and children fleeing domestic violence. They also provide intensive counseling and life skills programs for both women and children to encourage healing for the whole family.

• Homes for Heroes Foundation: The Homes For Heroes Foundation was developed in response to the growing number of homeless military veterans. By building unique and affordable urban villages in major cities across Canada and providing the resources, services, and training they will need to achieve the goal of living independently in the long term, Homes for Heroes helps veterans receive the dignity and respect they deserve. 

• Movember: A growing number of men – around 10.8M globally – are facing life with a prostate cancer diagnosis. Globally, testicular cancer is the most common cancer among young men. Your donation funds medical research, groundbreaking tests and trials, life-changing men’s health programs and innovative treatments. You’re doing a whole lot of good for a whole lot of men.

December:

The holiday season has arrived, with Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanza all being celebrated this final month of 2022. To wrap up our 50^th year, JAPA has a list of charities below that we’ll be making donations to this December:

• Edmonton’s Food Bank: Edmonton's Food Bank serves over 25,000 individuals a month. Over 40% of those are children. Providing for applicable Edmonton area residents, the Edmonton Food Bank collects surplus and donated food for the effective distribution, free of charge, to people in need in the community. 

• Parkland Food Bank: The Parkland Food Bank exists to address the needs of hunger in Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, and Parkland County. Growing since its founding in 1984 at the Stony Plain United Church, Parkland Food Bank assists these communities primarily by providing food hampers to those in need.

• Santa’s Anonymous: Monetary donations allows Santa’s Anonymous to purchase books and toys that are needed. Relying on thousands of volunteers and donors, 630 CHED Santa’s Anonymous collects, sorts, packages, and delivers toys to over 20,000 children every year.

• Kaleo Collective: The Kaleo Collective exists to build a loving, supportive community for single mothers to help them flourish. This organization provides practical life skills through classes and support groups to empower single mothers to develop solid friendships, build self-confidence and stop shame-induced isolation in its tracks.

• The Christmas Bureau of Edmonton: Proudly providing festive meals to Edmonton families, seniors, and individuals in need since 1940, The Christmas Bureau of Edmonton promotes the spirit of Christmas through caring and sharing with the City of Edmonton.