It truly is better to give than to receive...

Last Saturday, I joined Carlos Benevides from 91.5 The Beat as he perform Deed #23 of his 30 Deeds in 30 Days campaign. We joined some other volunteers to help the House of Friendship with their Annual Turkey Drive. Those few hours were freezing, but also very inspiring!

We gave away turkeys to folks who needed them, and I was moved by how happy and so very thankful the recipients were. One family gave a thank you card to House of Friendship when they came to pick up their gift. Another recipient, a grateful lady, passed me a blessing card. Perhaps most moving for me was a fellow who arrived on his bike. He wished me a Merry Christmas, to which I replied, "Happy Holidays". He then responded with, "It is now, because we have food!"

Folks needed a special voucher in order to receive a turkey, but we made sure no one went away empty handed. Some folks without vouchers were given a ham. Others were told how they could go about getting a turkey voucher. If they arrived on foot, we offered them bus tickets to get home.

I want to give a quick shout out to Jenna and Megan, two Grade 12 students who joined their father to volunteer with us. They were a tremendous help.

You can read more about the House of Friendship Annual Turkey Drive and watch a video about it on Carlos’ 30 Deeds in 30 Days blog. I've also posted two photos below.

Participating in this event showed me that it truly is better to give than to receive. Can’t wait to help out again next year!

Meg

T'is the season to be caring, fah la la la la, la la la la!

OK... I have to admit, I am a HUGE fan of the television show GLEE. (Yes, I even own the t-shirt.) I am often caught on Tuesday evenings singing along to my favourite tunes with Rachel Berry and the rest of the New Directions cast. I know many of you out there think the show is annoying fluff, but last night's episode certainly wasn’t. It was a holiday special focused on giving back and making a difference in the community.
  
The show really got me thinking about my “Care it Forward” journey, which has been a great way to showcase fantastic people and organizations in our community who show they care by volunteering their time. I’m happy to announce that someone has taken the “Care it Forward” idea to a whole new level, and I get to help out!

Carlos Benevides from the Beat Breakfast team at 91.5 The Beat recently embarked on a journey of giving back called “30 Deeds in 30 Days”. Every day since November 25th, he’s been lending a hand at local agencies, helping to bring volunteerism to the forefront.

In following Carlos’ blog about his efforts, I found myself really wanting to do more. So, I’ll be joining him this coming Saturday at House of Friendship in Kitchener to distribute turkeys to those who might not otherwise be able to have a holiday feast.

I’m excited to share my experience with you next week. I'll be sure to post pictures, and you can check out Carlos' blog for video. I promise not to post any videos of me singing and dancing to "We need a little Christmas"!!!

Thanks, Carlos Benevides from 91.5 The Beat, for being a true Community Hero!

And thanks everyone in the KW area, for helping me to Care it Forward!

Meg

Photo Blog - Lisa LaFlamme Celebrity Event

Special thanks to professional photographer Danny Bailey for providing us with these images (and many more!) from our 2011 Celebrity Event honouring Lisa LaFlamme.

 

More photos coming soon!

Video Blog - Lisa LaFlamme Celebrity Event

We could go on and on about what a great time everyone had at our 2011 Celebrity Event in honour of Lisa LaFlamme, and we could write paragraph after paragraph about what a fabulous night it was, but instead we thought you'd like to see this video about the event created by students from the Conestoga College School of Media and Design.
 
Reporters: Rachel Schoutsen and Christine Stonos
Camera and Editor: Nathan Cox
Graphics: Matt Viveen
Producer: Professor Matt Pancer



United Way KW Celebrity Event honours Lisa LaFlamme from School of Media and Design on Vimeo.

The Final Stretch

James Chmiel
2011 Campaign Chair

I’ll give it to you straight up - both United Way KW and our community are feeling the effects of a volatile economy. As a result, we’re still predicting a shortfall for this year's campaign while our community faces an increase in social service needs. It’s a challenge that will only become greater now that winter weather is bearing down on us.

We’re in the final stretch of the United Way KW fall workplace campaign, so I guess it’s pretty fitting that I ask you to do just that – stretch.

Stretch your notion of what it means to support our community. Can you dig a little deeper and do more, either by donating additional funds or volunteering more? How about reaching out to your local networks – friends, family, colleagues – and encouraging them to do more too?

The need is there, so please, let’s continue to rally together and make sure the dollars are too. I know we can do more. We NEED to do more. It's not too late to get involved.

Thank you to all the people and organizations that have donated and supported United Way KW this year. You play an integral part in bringing about positive change in our community – change that benefits us all.

Don’t forget to join us February 29th, 2012, at the Waterloo Inn for our Community Spirit Awards, when we reveal how much was raised in our community and celebrate the wonderful people and organizations that helped to make a difference.