Millions of Canadians can still remember her heavily accented voice on those celebrated radio and TV ads in the 1960s and 70s: “This is Lotta Hitschmanova of the Unitarian Service Committee, 56 Sparks Street, Ottawa 4.”
For generations, Lotta was Canada’s most beloved humanitarian, a constant voice of caring and compassion for those in need far away. But the deep-rooted inspiration for Lotta’s lifelong humanitarian mission is not so well known. Continue reading
Today (Nov 28) we celebrate Lotta Hitschmanova’s 110th birthday with the news that over 1000 people have signed the “Let’s put Lotta on a stamp” petition.
Here is a sampling of the impact she had and why so many Canadians have signed this petition: Continue reading
Photo credit: Dave Chan/Globe and Mail
Sincere thanks to Tu Thanh Ha for his excellent article in the Globe and Mail that features Dr. Lotta Hitschmanova, her biographer Clyde Sanger, supporter Bruce Cockburn and myself.
He spent a decade in Tanzania, teaching, co-ordinating rural development projects and earning a master’s degree in development studies at the University of Dar es Salaam. “A lot of what Lotta said started to make sense to me,” he said.
It is nice to see the spotlight shone like this on a refugee to Canada who made such an important contribution to her adopted homeland and who connected her new society so deeply to the far corners of the globe.
My hope is that this article will stimulate many others to further explore this fascinating part of Canadian social history.
And of course, launching a campaign to have Lotta’s iconic image on a Canadian postage stamp is now front and centre for 2018!
David Rain
The City of Ottawa wants your views on how to revitalize Sparks Street, Canada’s first pedestrian mall.
I’d like to add something new to what I wrote in a previous blog post, where I suggested building upon the only pre-existing “anchor” that already draws people from coast to coast to this narrow dark pedestrian mall – that anchor being Canada’s most iconic address, 56 Sparks Street, made famous by celebrated humanitarian, Lotta Hitschmanova, founder of the Unitarian Service Committee, USC Canada.
Exciting news for Lotta Hitschmanova fans across the country.
The humanitarian agency that she founded in 1945, the Unitarian Service Committee (USC Canada), has just announced a very special project at its headquarters, still located at the famous 56 Sparks Street address in Ottawa: Continue reading
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
“Know History” team finds Lotta on Sparks Street
This morning, I received a remarkable “Lotta story” from Friederike Knabe concerning a Sept 10 event in the city of Ottawa, where a record was set for the world’s largest scavenger hunt: Continue reading
According to Clyde Sanger’s biography of Lotta Hitschmanova, she initiated USC Canada programs in Hong Kong from 1952 to 1980. There must be hundreds if not thousands of stories that could be told. Here is one of them, as related by two Hong Kong twins who still remember Lotta after all these years, Lan Chun and Mui Chun. Continue reading
What could possibly link together such a diverse group of beloved Canadians: a singer, a pianist, a hockey player and a humanitarian?
Could it be that each became household names far beyond the borders of Canada? That starting from very humble beginnings, each has made an enduring mark in their respective professions? Or might it be the uniforms that both Lotta and Jean Béliveau wore? Continue reading