Inside the Cottage Series
Every year, WilderFutures commits to hosting our annual Monster March fundraising event in support of the Children’s Cottage Society! Originally started as a way to involve our community to do good and encourage kids to support kids, the Monster March campaign has now become a month-long, city-wide fundraiser supporting a local organization near and dear to our hearts.
As the Monster March continues to grow, so does our fundraising goal! With this year’s donation target set for $100,000, more community members are rallying together to help such an incredible cause; thus, we felt it was necessary to take you all on a tour of the Children’s Cottage so you could see firsthand the impact that the Cottage makes. With this in mind, the Inside the Cottage series was born! Read on to learn more about who the Children’s Cottage is, what they support, how they do it and how you can contribute to their community impact.
What is the Children’s Cottage Society?
Initially founded in 1986, the Children’s Cottage mission is to help prevent child abuse or neglect due to overwhelming family crises by offering free child care, respite and parenting support. Every year, their need for services continues to grow as they often have to turn away an average of 1,900 children and families every year due to their lack of space. Since its inception 36 years ago, the Cottage has grown to three locations and multiple programs, serving clients in Calgary and surrounding areas through prevention programs, resources and services such as short-term child care, respite care, family coaching, parenting skills programs, housing support and community connections. The Cottage runs these programs through their three locations across the city.
The Crisis Nursery
The first, the Crisis Nurseries, located in Bridgeland, offers 24-hour, 365 emergency care shelters for children facing family crisis. The Nursery offers 14 beds to children up to 8 years of age. Families call the shelter when facing a variety of issues. This includes but is not limited to severe stress, exhaustion, illness, marital conflict, homelessness, etc. This safe haven ensures a safe space for their child for up to 72 hours while they take time for themselves to get back on their feet. In addition to the Cottage providing care for their children when facing vulnerable situations, the Children’s Cottage also provides at-home visitation programs to support the resilient families they serve.
Take a look at our partnered Crisis Nursery tour with Monster March Ambassador Tanis Mitchell. Tanis takes us on a tour of their first location in Calgary, sharing an inside look at this safe space for children and families.
The Family Resource Network
Next up on the Inside the Cottage series tour is the Family Resource Network. The Resource Network, located in Bowness offers over 55 programs to support children and families in our community from age 0 - 18 years. Designed with the support of Calgary Reads, the Network focuses on three main themes in which their programs make an impact:
Parents looking for support and resources with parenting
Children development counselling
Community connections for children and families
Within these three themes, the Network is able to support resilient children and families so they can blossom into living healthy lives. The best part, all their programs are free and anyone can participate! In addition to this space to run their programs, the Network also runs a Healthy Families program that provides regular in-home visits to parents of newborns, and teaches new parents critical lessons about their children's needs and monitoring the growth and development of infants!
Take a look at our partnered Family Resource Network tour with Monster March Ambassador Tea Cuk. Tea takes us on a tour of their second location in Calgary, sharing an inside look at this vibrant space for children and families to learn and grow.
Brenda’s House
The last stop of the Inside the Cottage series is Brenda’s House! Originally the Ronald McDonald house, this now named Brenda’s House is a transitional shelter and re-housing program in the southwest community of Killarney that programs shelter to 14 families and up to 60 people using a housing-first philosophy. Serving families with children younger than age 18 who are facing homelessness, this shelter provides a non-judgmental environment and safe space to live while their dedicated staff work to find safe and affordable housing for their guests. Brenda’s House offers on-site healthy and balanced meals, child care support, and resources needed to ensure they can care for themselves and their children once they depart.
Brenda’s House is always accepting donations for their future and residing families. To explore their in-kind donations page and give back to the Brenda House, click here.
Take a look at our partnered Brenda House tour with Monster March Ambassador Kacey Clark. Kacey takes us on a tour of their third location in Calgary, sharing an inside look at this home-inspired shelter for local community members.
Now, the Cottage is fundraising for its fourth location in Calgary, which is set to open in late fall of 2023! This new 35,000-square-foot, three-story Child and Family Centre is in Calgary’s northwest community of Montgomery. In addition to our current programs, it will include a 20-bed crisis nursery, a family resource centre, therapeutic child development programs, parenting programs, mental health services and culturally-specific programs for the Indigenous and Métis children who make up more than 40 per cent of those they serve.
Join us in helping support the Cottage, their locations, their programs and the families they serve. With 9 million left to raise for their Caring Together Capital Campaign, our $100,000 donation goal will go directly to amplifying their mission, helping them build strong children and safe and nurturing families.
Register and raise funds today. Head to our fundraising page to sign up for this year’s Monster March campaign, and begin giving back today!