All proceeds from the Gallery Calorie 2010 event will go to Servants Anonymous Society of Calgary AND Calgary's Birthday Buddies. 

Servants Anonymous Society of Calgary [SAS]

Servants Anonymous Society of Calgary [SAS] is a non-profit agency formed in 1989 to address the issues of women involved in, or at risk of involvement in, the sex trade. Our women have also experienced other related issues, including homelessness, poverty, substance addictions, and violence against women. SAS provides opportunities for our women to reintegrate back into society by transitioning into a healthy lifestyle. We are one of the very few organizations in Calgary that offers a long-term program for our women, including those who arrive pregnant or with children.

We believe that belonging to a community is critical for people who have suffered abuses. We believe in advocacy, appreciation for all and that everyone has an important contribution to make to society. Our emphasis on relationships and mutuality between staff, volunteers and participants is key to our program that includes a home with a volunteer live-in, a life skills and recovery program, free on-site childcare, work experience opportunities, career development, and educational resources.

Hope at SAS is about breaking generational cycles of poverty and abuse, discovering each person's talents and affirming that we all have a contribution to make in society. To see the women who have been empowered to lead positive lives and to offer help and healing to others.

For more information about SAS, please visit www.servantsanon.com.

Birthday Buddies

Birthday Buddies is a local not profit organization that provides birthday gifts to children living in "Second Stage Housing" with their mothers to escape domestic abuse.   These families have moved from a temporary relief shelter into a longer-term, affordable housing situation.

The goal of the Birthday Buddies program is simple: to give children a birthday they’ll never forget.

"It's incredibly empowering for these children to realize that there is a community of caring people who are truly rooting for them and who believe that they are worth their time and energy," says Margaret Scobie, Calgary’s Regional Director of Birthday Buddies, who has donated her own time and energy for the past three years. "For most of these children, this is the only birthday celebration that they have ever known, and it's especially meaningful during their stay in the shelter."

On their birthday, children can look forward to a birthday cake, two or three personalized gifts and a backpack full of personal items, valued at $100.

Birthday Buddies relies entirely on public support to bring smiles to little faces.  Most of their donations come from fundraising events and corporate sponsorships. To learn more about Birthday Buddies, visit www.birthdaybuddies.ca