I work in the Project Management Office of a charitable, non-profit organization called the Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society (STARS). STARS is dedicated to providing a safe, rapid, highly specialized emergency medical transport system for the critically ill and injured. About 75 per cent of our funding comes from individual, corporate and community donations and as such, we are extremely grateful for the support we receive from such community-minded organizations.

The Project Management Institute Southern Alberta Chapter is one of those organizations which is helping STARS make a difference in the lives of critically ill and injured patients and their families.  They provided a mentor to our PMO who has been extremely beneficial to our team and our mission. He has been an incredible source of knowledge as we have acquired tremendous insights into project management strategy with his guidance. I can honestly say I receive more value from our 1.5 hour meetings than I would by reading a textbook from cover to cover.  I feel as though we have been able to cut through a lot of ‘trial and error’ learnings and capitalize on his knowledge to help us move ahead further, faster.

The professional support from the Project Management Institute has been extraordinarily valuable to STARS offering us an awesome opportunity to learn and grow through the support of professionals from an array of organizations. Thank you for making a difference!

Angela Kelter

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It’s been an exciting time for the city of Calgary. The constant energy of Calgarians and the economic boom has fueled some great success stories for most Calgarians. However, there is a downside to these remarkable times. Not everyone is feeling the prosperity and success this city has to offer.

The financial strain of Calgary’s inflated cost of living is on the faces of every family we help. They are the working poor. They look like any other Calgarian; they are dads, moms, even sons and daughters who are trying very hard to make ends meet in a very expensive city. They aren’t asking for much. They just need a break – a hand-up to get them going.

That’s where Habitat for Humanity comes in. We provide these working families with the life-changing opportunity to become homeowners. We help them build homes, so they can help their children have a stable foundation to build a future.

Without the generosity of donors like PMI Southern Alberta, as well as the many other caring corporations, service clubs and individuals, who donate to Habitat for Humanity, we would not have been able to build 94 homes in Calgary since 1990. We are not a band-aid to the low-income housing crisis in Calgary, we are a solution. We’ve been putting families in stable, decent affordable homes for almost 20 years and we’re on track to double our capacity in the next 3 years to build 30 homes annually.

On behalf of Habitat for Humanity Calgary, we would like to extend a large Thank You to PMI Southern Alberta for selecting us as their charity of choice!