January 24, 2008

Welcome to the brand new ugm.ca! We’re very excited about our new online home, and are glad you’re able to join us. As we go live, we’ve been trying to decide which items to highlight and which to let you discover on your own. What better way to show you all our newest elements than through a helpful top ten list? The "Top 10 Best Things About Our New Website" helps explain the features we've introduced that will most impact our visitors. From our new blog, to audio testimonies from our clients, these new items are highlighted in a comprehensive list...

Top 10 Best Things About Our New Website

10. The Street: That’s the name of our new blog, which you’re visiting at this very moment. UGM is providing hope to the hungry, hurting and homeless every single day, and this blog will be the newest way you can hear the amazing stories being experienced every day -- straight from our front-line outreach staff.

9. New ways to get involved: Thanks to an efficient new sorting system, all of our volunteer positions are accessible from anywhere on our website. From the sidebar on our site, and from this page right here, you can see a growing list of all the ways you can help out at UGM.

8. New ways to find work: In the same fashion as our volunteer listings, it’s easy to see what positions we’re hiring for at UGM.  

7. Fresh news: From in-depth articles to brief updates, our “News” section is your go-to source for the latest info about UGM’s work. We have a full archive, a back catalogue of our newsletters, and you can even subscribe to the RSS feed.

6. The new look: The website introduces a new twist on UGM’s classic brand. Our Communications department worked with Calgary graphic designers Elbowroom Design to craft the new space, and we couldn’t be happier with the clean, classy result.

5. The back end: Thanks to Vancouver web developers Marqui, our stable and flexible administrative interface makes it easier than ever for us to make updates – and that means that the info you’re reading on the site is as current as it can be.

4. Email newsletters: Again thanks to Marqui, we’re able to send out regular email updates to our subscribers. If you add your name and contact info to the “Stay Informed” box on our site, you’ll be able to receive regular updates about what’s been happening at UGM.

3. Fresh, accessible information on our services: Our new facilities page and services section introduces a new way to find information you need about UGM’s services. You can now find contact info, hours, maps and more, all from one intuitive interface.  

2. Social networking: As the web opens up new ways to connect with each other, UGM is excited to be among the few non-profits getting taking advantage of new social networking sites. You can now say hello to us on Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Virb.

1. Interactive stories, videos and photos: Words can help us tell the stories of recovery and hope from our guests and clients, but there’s something exciting and powerful about encountering the stories through photos, videos and audio. We’re excited to bring you new ways to see photos from our events, hear testimonies from our clients, and watch videos about the work we do.

If you have a website, a blog, a del.icio.us account or a membership at a social networking site, we encourage you to tell all your friends about the changes that have arrived. Welcome to the new ugm.ca, and thanks for visiting!