Fundraising

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Remembering Lotta on International Women’s Day 2024

Thank you for the interesting article in the January 17 edition of the Ottawa Citizen and for your dedication to Lotta Hitschmanova’s memory, including “56 Sparks St.”

As a member of the First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa, I enjoy seeing the bronze bust of Lotta at the back of the hall.

A little anecdote that shows the impact of those old USC (Unitarian Service Committee) TV ads. To help me with my University of Ottawa student costs in the late 1970s, I had received a welcome $200 bursary from a fraternal lodge my parents belonged to in a small B.C. town, Rossland.

I vowed to give the equivalent amount to a charity as soon as I could afford it. By fourth year, I decided I could, so I walked $200 in cash over to… 56 Sparks!

Carol Card, member of First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa

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May the spirit of “56 Sparks Street” guide us to a better place!

“And if they didn’t leave, would it be out of the question to imagine Lotta fearlessly starting her own private protest, right there in the middle of all those big rigs and burly protesters?”

Yesterday, after a massive 3-week protest and occupation in downtown Ottawa, an equally massive police operation cleared Wellington Street of protesters and vehicles.

In addition, protesters were moved out of the Sparks Street pedestrian mall. Yes, that same pedestrian mall housing perhaps Canada’s most famous address: 56 Sparks Street. Made famous by Canadian humanitarian Lotta Hitschmanova.

Lotta was a WWII refugee to Canada who literally changed the social landscape of her adopted homeland. Continue reading →

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Clyde Sanger’s 1969 profile of Lotta Hitschmanova

I have just come across a 1969 book that Clyde Sanger wrote two decades before his biography of Lotta Hitschmanova: “Half a Loaf: Canada’s Semi-Role Among Developing Countries” (The Ryerson Press).

One chapter highlights USC Canada’s work in Korea, in which Clyde provides an insightful profile of Dr. Lotta, excerpted below.

And as you can see, Lotta bucked the trend of other agencies sending Canadian “experts” overseas; it was a source of pride for her that all of USC’s programs were run by locally-engaged staff in partner countries. Continue reading →

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How about this iconic trio for our next Canadian $5 bill?

It was 2 years ago (January 2020) that a call went out to nominate iconic Canadians to appear on our next $5 banknote, and it was 14 months ago (November 2020) that a shortlist of 8 candidates was released.

Selecting a single individual, as was the case for Viola Desmond and the $10 banknote, can be a very challenging task, with so many worthy candidates.

So to help move things along, I’d like to offer the following suggestion to Finance Minister Chrystia Freedland and her advisers at the Bank of Canada and the Department of Finance:

To select Terry Fox, Lotta Hitschmanova and Isapo-muxika (Crowfoot) to appear together on our next $5 banknote.

Continue reading →

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Let’s put Lotta on a Stamp!

My sincere thanks go out to the more than 1,300 individuals who signed the “Let’s put Lotta on a Stamp” petition.

I have just written a letter to the Stamp Advisory Committee of Canada Post proposing that a commemorative stamp be made in honour of Lotta Hitschmanova.

I will keep readers updated on any developments, as soon as I learn of them myself.

Here is my letter:

It is my great pleasure to propose to you that a Canadian commemorative stamp be created in the name of Dr. Lotta Hitschmanova, CC (1909-1990).

Here are a few of the reasons why I feel Dr. Lotta – as she affectionately came to be known – should be honoured in this way. Continue reading →

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Before there was Giving Tuesday there was Lotta Hitschmanova!

Lotta HitschmanovaIt is only fitting that we celebrate Lotta Hitschmanova’s birthday (Nov 28) on the day after “Giving Tuesday” (Nov 27).

Since for millions of Canadians in the 1940s through to the 1980s, EVERY day was Giving Tuesday, thanks to Lotta.

She planted the seeds of compassion and caring that have been nurtured and continue to thrive generation after generation.

If you remember Lotta, I encourage you to sign the petition I have started to request that Canada Post create a commemorative stamp in her honour.

Thank you Lotta for everything you did to make your adopted country a more caring society and Happy Birthday!

PS  Just received today was this testimonial from Kevin H:

“I am one of those tourists who went looking for 56 Sparks St Ottawa. It was around 2015 and my first summer trip to Ottawa. My main goal was to find 56 Sparks St, which I did, just a number above a door, but it was rewarding to actually see it. And Sparks St was amazing, stone covered and no vehicles. The buskers were fascinating. I highly recommend a visit to this historic street.”

David Rain

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Celebrating Lotta’s legion of loyal supporters: Gerry Brown (1919-2018)

“I remember a slight woman in an olive military suit who held the room spellbound.”

I was saddened recently to find out that Gerry Brown, a long-time fan and supporter of Dr Lotta Hitschmanova, had passed away in Winnipeg at the age of 98.

Gerry was one of USC Canada’s most dedicated volunteers and Board members. She first met Lotta in Vancouver in 1944, and decades later she joined USC’s legendary group of Winnipeg volunteers at Firehall #5.

Here is a biographical note that Gerry wrote in 2012.

David Rain Continue reading →

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Globe and Mail letter to the editor: “A force for humanity”

This wonderful testimonial about Lotta Hitschmanova was published today in the Letters section of the Globe and Mail:

Re One Man’s Continuing Quest To Honour A Humanitarian (Jan. 23): The attempts to honour Lotta Hitschmanova on a commemorative postage stamp brought back memories of how she made the Unitarian Service Committee famous in Canada in the years after the Second World War, when so many were trying to survive in brutal circumstances.

I was a high school principal and invited her to address the student body in the late 1970s on one of her cross-country fundraising tours. She was a diminutive figure in her unique uniform and I heard some of the “cool” students snicker as she headed to the stage. She soon had them eating out of her hand, and the student council voted to donate the whole proceeds of the next school dance to the USC. Dr. Lotta was a force for humanity and deserves to be commemorated.

Kerry Johnston, Toronto

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Before there was “Giving Tuesday”, there was Lotta Hitschmanova!

It is, I believe, no exaggeration to say that Lotta was the greatest fundraiser that our country has ever known. Indeed, she wrote the book on fundraising long before there were professional fundraisers, or any fundraising books at all.

Today is November 28th, “Giving Tuesday”, and thousands of Canadians will be responding to fundraising appeals from charities and non-profits across the country.

Coincidentally it is also the 108th anniversary of the birth of Dr Lotta Hitschmanova (1909-1990), a WWII refugee to Canada who profoundly shaped the society she encountered in her adopted homeland, and indeed, she planted the very seeds for the “Giving Tuesday” that we are celebrating today. Continue reading →

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Special Bank of Canada Update #1: Elsie MacGill and Lotta Hitschmanova ranked highest in cross-Canada survey!

Lotta Hitschmanova on a Canadian bank noteWhen the Bank of Canada announced its short list of 5 women candidates to appear on a Canadian banknote, I was a bit surprised to read that Lotta Hitschmanova (1909-1990) wasn’t on the list. I wondered, perhaps I had been mistaken, and Lotta’s story no longer resonated with Canadians to the degree I thought it did.

Recently the Bank of Canada has published the full details of the cross-country survey of 2,000 Canadians who voiced their opinions about the women (including Lotta) who had made it onto the long list of 12 “bank-notable” Canadian women.

In my upcoming series of Lotta56sparks.ca blog posts, I will highlight some of the results of this cross-Canada survey. Here is today’s key finding: Continue reading →