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CALC corner 2007 DEDICATED TO “GUIDING OUR CHILDREN” NOTE from the PRESIDENT Angels Among Us The CALC has dedicated this year’s activities to “Guiding our Children.” Many of our programs this year seek to build youth skills by providing them with the resources to become effective leaders for positive change in their communities. Our programs help youth develop both personal and interpersonal skills for success in the real world. Volunteering is a form of community involvement and plays a valuable role in shaping how youth learn to interact with their community and develop the skills, values and sense of empowerment necessary to become active citizens. Two 16-year-old girls, Candice Ammori and Alana Bahoura from CALC’s Empowered Voices Program, determined that volunteering and community service were important. Wanting to make a difference in our community while encouraging other girls their age to enjoy the benefits of service and volunteering, they sought the help of the CALC to start a Chaldean girls youth volunteer group. Their primary goals were to lead the group while helping other girls in the group form their own leadership skills. This group of young ladies named themselves Chaldean Angels of Charity. They have a lot of ideas about how they would like to enrich our world and have been contributing their time, energy, talent, creativity and insight towards making the community in which we live a better place. Our aim here at the CALC is to inspire, support and celebrate a generation of do-ers: people who see the need to do something, believe in their ability to get it done, and then take action. Welcome to our Chaldean Angels of Charity. Clair Konja Learning Business Etiquette Are you polished up on your business etiquette skills? Dozens of mostly women and some men received some useful tips from a professional last month at Shenandoah Country Club. Guest Speaker Denise Anne Taylor was trained and certified by The Protocol School of Washington, the nation’s leading protocol and etiquette firm. She taught the audience how to refine business communication skills, demonstrate appropriate business behaviors, conversational skills, non-verbal messages and eye contact in the business arena. The event was such a success that a second seminar will be added for Dining Etiquette in the fall. There will be limited seating, with tickets sold in advance. Look on the CALC page or website for more information on this exciting event. Chaldean Angels of Charity Debut at Summer Events The Chaldean Angels’ first event was a beautiful expression of faith. On June 30, 16 Angels traveled together to St. Anthony’s Nursing Home in Warren to provide assistance and material to Chaldean senior citizens who were then able to make rosaries. The senior citizens shared life stories with the Angels, thus breaking language barriers. Nursing home patients were very grateful to witness the generosity of the younger generation while spurring their own imagination and creativity. While the senior citizens gained a beautiful rosary, the Angels gained respect and love for the older generation. The Chaldean Angels and CALC thank Bridget Yaldou for leading us in this wonderful activity and providing supplies to make the rosaries. Walk-a-thon a success On July 7, 15 Chaldean Angels participated in a fundraiser held by CALC to benefit Gleaners Food Bank. The Angels donated each and walked five miles in Drake Park to help stop hunger. While socializing and exercising, the Angels also gained a sense of pride and realization of the hungry in Metro Detroit. Special thanks to Saher and Cesar Yaldoo for the shirts and banners, and to Mark Sarafa from Absopure for the water, Panera Bread of Farmington Hills and Bloomfield Hills for the bagels, and the AFPD for the apples and juice. Participants in the Walk-a-thon, including the Chaldean Angels, on July 7 Project Venture Plays Ball More than 40 Project Venture Chaldean youth, dressed in baseball uniforms, played in a seven-inning baseball game on July 12. The game was filled with exciting moments for both teams as they batted and fielded a close game. Parents from both teams showed up to cheer on their children. The Oak Park Power Hitters, who led the game for most innings, were defeated after some strong offense by the D-Star Ballers, which ended with a score of 9-8. Project Venture is an experiential youth development program that teaches life skills through doing. This year’s Project Venture challenge was to learn to play the “Game of Life” — Baseball. All of the coaches were Chaldeans who helped guide the youth in the game each week over the past few months by teaching them baseball fundamentals. Baseball is unique in that it can often mirror life itself. “I enjoyed coaching our youth each week. It was great to see them not only develop skills for the game, but also learn their own strengths, the meaning of sportsmanship, teamwork and cooperation, the essence of competition, and qualities that constitute effective leadership,” stated Carl Konja, coach for our Detroit Team. “We always talked to them about never giving up and working together as a team.” “I think that this experience helped to stress that team achievements are just as important as individual accomplishment,” declared Jessica Rabban, coach for the Oak Park Power Hitters. “The game was great at teaching youth that winning is but one goal among Angels help elders make rosaries many, and we hoped that they learned that baseball as in life, wins, losses, hits and strikeouts are all but inevitable,” stated Project Venture Facilitator Dahlia Daoud. Some youth stated, “We never knew about baseball, but now we know about it and we enjoy it.” Thank you to all of our wonderful coaches — for Detroit: Carl Konja, Linda Zetouna, Mark Marouki, Matthew Zetouna and Joseph Sesi; and for Oak Park: Yasir Kaskorkis, Brandon Sitto, Mason Yono and Jessica Rabban — who gave of their time and talent to help youth have fun in a healthy, safe way. We would also like to thank our generous sponsors for all our equipment and uniforms and other baseball necessities. Thank you to our Grand Slammer Sponsors – BNP Media, Glory Supermarket, Exclusive Imagery, and the Associated Food and Petroleum Dealers. Our Home Run Hitter Sponsor was Talk-A-Lot Wireless, and our Base Hitter Sponsors were United Wireless, Jesus Christ University and Orchard Development. 20 CHALDEAN NEWS AUGUST 2007 ADVERTORIAL
AUGUST 2007 CHALDEAN NEWS 21
