First. It’s not a secret that Calgary is a magnet for immigration, but here’s an example of just how diverse the city really is: in the 2006 census, Calgarians identified themselves by more than 250 ethnic and/or national origins. That’s more than there are countries in the world.

Second. Alberta consistently ranks first among provinces in total charitable donations, yet much of it comes from a few. While 85 per cent of Albertans are givers, on par with most provinces, a small minority contributes most of the dollars.. Ten per cent of all contributions to charity, and the top quarter of Alberta donors account for 82 per cent of the dollar value of all donations, according to Statistics Canada.

There are numerous examples worldwide of wealthy people literally giving away their fortunes – the most notable being Warren Buffet, the world’s third – richest man, who has pledged to give 85 per cent of his wealth to charity. The lesser-known Priscilla Bullitt Collins who died in 2003 at the age of 82, gave away more than $100 million to various causes on the condition that none would ever bear her name.

Third. Christine Nesbitt of Calgary struck women’s 1,500-metre gold at speed-skating at the long track Essent ISU World Cup in Astana, Kazakhstan on Saturday.

Fourth. Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., earned a silver medal Saturday in ice dancing at the Rostelecom Cup ISU Grand Prix competition in Moscow. “This is just great for our confidence,” said Poje.

Fifth.Canmore’s Ivan Babikov led the Canadian team of x-country skiing with a 16th place finish at a 10 km skate-ski World Cup race in Kuusamo, Finland on Saturday.

Info source: “Calgary Herald”, Sunday, November 27, 2011.