TELUS: Building Critical Hope and Learned Hopefulness

I just have to share with you the wonderful event that Laurie, our Executive Director at the Hope Foundation, and I attended last evening. It was the TELUS Celebration of Giving event held here in Edmonton. We were invited because we received funding from TELUS last year.

Twenty different charities received a cheque from the Employee Giving program. What that means is that besides the community grants that TELUS provides every year to assist non-profits make a difference in their community, the employees also give to their charities of their choice! The mood in the room was indeed celebatory for everyone - those receiving cheques and those of us who were there because we had received previous funding. We had an opportunity to share with each other the good work that is happening in our communities. We also had an opportunity to see what happens when an organization chooses to make a real difference in the communities where their employees live and work - TELUS calls it "give where you live". I know that TELUS employees also volunteer their time in their community. That resonates for me because it is what our Hope-Focused Service-Learning program espouses. Students are encouraged to interact with and bring hope to those in their own community first. Stephen John Quaye calls that building critical hope. He states, "When students become active, their critical hope often leads to three learning outcomes that are valued in higher education: appreciation of differences, cultivation of students' voices, and connection to global society." It's also about building opportunities for learned hopefulness. Back in 1990 Zimmerman learned that those who gave back to the community were better able to envision and work toward a personally desired future.

But there is more - TELUS is donating 200 dinners to the Bissel Centre and Hope Mission in honour of the 200 guests who attended the Celebration of Giving event.

This morning I woke up feeling rejuvenated knowing that there are hopeful organizations like TELUS out there who are bringing hope both to their employees and to individuals within our community.

As I come to the end of this entry I realize that I have just repeated myself. The previous blog (image) says it all!

References:
Quaye, S. J. (2007). Hope and learning: The outcomes of contemporary student activism. About Campus, 12(2), 2-9.

Zimmerman, M.A. (1990). Toward a theory of learned hopefulness: A structural model analysis of participation and empowerment. Journal of Research in Personality, 24, 71-86.