Speedy Messenger Service and St. Patrick's Day a Great Recipe!

1^st Annual Ted Hay Memorial St. Patrick’s Day Fundraiser

In 2011, Speedy Messenger lost a dear friend and co-worker in Ted Hay.  For a number of years, he would make Irish stew as a treat for the office on St. Patrick’s Day.  This past February, his co-worker Heather Ablett went to the president of Speedy Messenger, Stuart Stern, and asked him if she could make the Irish stew this year and organize a fundraiser in Ted’s memory.  Stuart supported this effort whole-heartedly.

She put up posters in the office and recruited a few people to help out.  Others contacted some of Ted’s friends and posted a notice on Facebook about the fundraiser, and donations started coming in. 

When Ted died, it was requested that donations be made to children’s charities.  For the office’s first event, they picked the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa. There first-year efforts far exceeded their own expectations and they were able to bring in $1068 in donations for the BGCO!

We think Ted would have been pleased, and proud!

Thank you, Speedy Messenger and staff!

Dillon Consulting, Ltd.'s Ongoing Support of the BGCO Making a Difference in Young Lives!

Dillon Consulting Limited is a planning, engineering, environmental sciences and management consulting firm with offices across Canada. Dillon began its support of the BCGO in the summer of 2010 when there was a corporate challenge (across Dillon’s 16 offices) to collect and donate items to their local Boys and Girls Club. The Ottawa office generously donated sporting equipment, games, books, etc. and won the challenge across the entire company. The Ottawa office continued its support for the BGCO during its United Way Campaign by hosting a breakfast potluck and having a representative come in to speak to its employees. Just recently, the local office donated 10 Kobo e-readers and homework supplies to the BGCO Homework Club. Dillon looks forward to continuing its support in the coming year.

2nd Annual Fiery Faces Fundraiser Ottawa Chapter 2011
 
$1,228 was raised in support of the BGCO with 224 pumpkins carved!
 

This was a fantastic event that the BGCO was proud to be a part of! We would like to thank Lee and Julia Veary and Stacey Kirkpatrick for their amazing leadership, creative spirits and festive attitudes. Lee would also like to thank Mr. Greg Foster and everyone over at Foster Family Farm, for their generous contribution of pumpkins www.fosterfamilyfarm.ca

To all the corporate sponsors, thank you for being active members of the community and helping us achieve our goals. Some contributed with money and others with materials or services, either way, your contributions will not be forgotten and we truly appreciate the support you have given us. For a full list of who stepped up and helped us out click here.
To Sam Jahani and all the volunteers...you guys are amazing! You braved the cold and the mess of pumpkin gutting and carving and had smiles on your faces the whole time. You were there for our family day event and helped everyone have a good time.
Donna Aki for doing such a wonderful job of face painting and sticking around for the whole day, Thank you, the paintings were excellent.

The official wrap up and cheque presentation happened at the Britannia Clubhouse on November 10 – pumpkin pie and coffee included.

Check out www.fieryfaces.com for all the spooky details!!

1st Annual Stimulus Strategies Business Networking and Charity Golf Tournament was held on September 6, 2011 at the Meadows Golf and Country Club.



The event was the first of its kind for SSN and they are thrilled to give a part of the proceeds to support the programs and initiatives carried out by Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa. Giving back to these types of organizations increases the resources available for children and youth as they yearn to discover and build skills they need to progress through their educational and career paths. 

Each person walked away with quality prizes, an excellent golf experience and best of all, the satisfaction of supporting our community along with the chance to meet other business professionals and establish potential long term relationships.



SSN structures business opportunities for business professionals through strategic networking. Most of the participants are already anticipating the 2^nd Annual Business Networking and Charity Golf Tournament.

Until then, visit www.ssnetworking.ca to see the list of sponsors and supporters of the event, as well as news on upcoming events hosted by SSN.

The "Lose the Shoes" 3 v 3 beach soccer tournament organized by Pro+ Soccer raised $500 on September 4^th to help the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa purchase equipment and provide support to the PAL soccer league. The beach soccer tournament was the first of it's kind in Ottawa and if Julien Edwards, the founder and technical director of Pro+ Soccer has it his way, it won't be the last! Congratulations, Julien on your drive and initiative and thanks for making a difference in the lives of boys and girls living in our community.

Click here to view the feature on Lose the Shoes in Ottawa Sportspage (Pg. 7).

Kirk Duncan, owner of the M&M Meat Shops  at Greenbank Square (across from Tim Hortons) held a fundraising barbecue at his grand opening which brought in $800 for the BGCO. Kirk, a great friend of the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa, offered the local community delicious hot dogs and hamburgers — all while raising money for our Club. BGCO staff and volunteers even came out to the event to help with the serving, a great recipe for a successful event! Thanks Kirk, and congratulations on your new endeavor!

The WORKS Gormet Burger Bistro has once again has continued their mission to help build communities one burger at a time by generously choosing the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa to be the recipient of another great fundraising initiative. This spring, the Manor Park location collected a percentage of proceeds from each Tower-O-Rings purchased to go towards purchasing cooking supplies for the McCann Clubhouse Cooking Club (located on McArthur Ave in neighboring Vanier). We once again thank one of our greatest supporters for another fantastic (and delicious) partnership!! Bon Appétit!

The Ottawa Fat Cats Baseball Club recently recognized the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa by hosting the "BGCO Day at the Diamond" in recognition of our Club! Our very own Britannia Clubhouse Manager was there to throw out the first pitch, as were many of our BGCO members to take in a day of sun, fun and memories! Fat Cats mascot 'Grape' even stopped in for a visit— these are the kind of summer memories we like to remember at the Club. We would like to thank the Ottawa Fat Cats Baseball Club for their generosity and warm welcome; it was defiantly a 'home run' for our kids and staff!!

The Toronto Blue Jays, through Jays Care Foundation are investing $67,500 in Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada to establish a Blue Jays Baseball Academy Rookie League in each of the ten Honda SUPER CAMPS cities. In addition, and made possible by the support of Rawlings Canada, a donation of $100,000 worth of baseball equipment will provide enough gear to field up to ten teams in each city.

"Partnering with Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada makes baseball a reality for kids who may not otherwise have an opportunity to participate in organized sport. As Canada's Major League team, we are thrilled to be able to make this commitment to children and youth across the country," said Danielle Silverstein, Executive Director, Jays Care Foundation.

The Brothers Dube, a group of young but impressive musicians wowed the crowds at Ottawa's Bluesfest while at the same time raising money for the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa. The young group used their talents to raise $1600 for the Club performing at Bluesfest in Ottawa. Be sure to check out this unique group at www.brothersdube.com

The Ottawa Mennonite Church has recently been collecting their Sunday school offerings in order to make a donation to the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa. They collected $650 that will go toward funding programs in our clubhouses. We would like to thank the Ottawa Mennonite Church and all the kids involved who have helped to make a difference in the lives of children at the Club.

A Vanier neighborhood recently decided to hold a block party to kick off a start to a fantastic summer while at the same time raising money for the Boys and Girls Club's McCann Clubhouse.

Held on June 26, the party was organized by the original neighborhood watch group in Vanier. The Longpré Street neighborhood watch team raised $355 for the clubhouse. The day involved a BBQ of hot dogs, salads and games for children.

The Boys and Girls Club would once again like to thank the watch team for their hard work and dedication towards keeping our neighborhoods safe, and their generous donation and outstanding fundraising efforts in support of the BGCO's McCann unit.

The Capital Crime Writers of Ottawa is a group of published & non-published authors and crime novel enthusiasts that have been active in our community for 22 years. This year, they have again donated an abundance of new books to our youth at the Boys and Girls Club.

The variety and quality of the books is a wonderful addition to our Clubhouse libraries. This donation to the Boys & Girls Club of Ottawa has an immediate impact on kid's right in our community. Due to success stories such as these the BGCO's Homework Club experienced tremendous growth and success in the 2010/20111 school year. Program visits for the school year were up 43% from the previous year. Together we are providing the essential supplies and support needed for young people to reach their goals and potential.

Three amazing bands, a packed venue and an amazing cause sums up a BGCO Benefit concert that took place on Saturday, May 7^th at the Rainbow Bistro in downtown Ottawa!

A night of great music was presented by Gerry Wall and the EASTEND, The Brother's Chaffey and the Robert Farrell Band. These three bands had a goal to raise funds to 'send a kid to music camp' – mission accomplished!

The Boys and Girls Club will be able to offer one lucky individual from our Britannia Music Program the chance to attend an elite music program outside of Ottawa that will allow them to strengthen and develop their unique talent – an opportunity that allows our members to believe and achieve in a future with music!

We also must thank our amazing supporters who helped make this event a success – the Rainbow Bistro, CD Warehouse, Compact Music, Simply Guitars, Allegra Printing, Bluesfest, Empire Grill and Stuart Maskell of FirmFit.

On Tuesday, May 3rd, Bon Appétit Ottawa provided our city with one of the most unique cocktail parties of the year, not only did this food and wine show feature over 90 restaurants and caterers and dozens of wineries and breweries, all the money goes to charities in the Ottawa region that support children and the elderly. Their mission is to provide a recipe for both hunger and poverty relief in the National Capital Region.

The Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa is one of many charities that will benefit from the 2000 people that got to enjoy the delicious creations of the region's top chefs and samplings of renowned wineries.This popular event is an annual highlight of our Club which we participate in by sending our volunteers and seeing our already current supporters in culinary action - such as The WORKS, Thyme & Again Creative Catering, Rosehall Run and more!

We want to thank this amazing event and organizing committee for a job well done, and for once again giving us the opportunity to help youth belong, believe and achieve!

April 11-18, 2011 was National Volunteer Appreciation Week and we at the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa seized the opportunity to thank our hundreds of volunteers who so generously and selflessly donate their time to the youth in our community! We held four events at our various clubhouse locations and invited volunteers to attend. At each event they were presented with an appreciation package, including a card designed by our youth members, a certificate, and a photo of themselves working diligently with our youth! Volunteers enjoyed cake and refreshments while a youth member delivered a short speech on the impact volunteers have had on their BGC experience. It was a great week and we saw a vast number of our volunteers! Volunteers truly are the backbone of our organization. They bring expertise, passion and loyalty allowing us to continue to deliver the highest quality of after school programming to the youth in the community. We are so grateful to all our volunteers and truly enjoyed showing them how grateful we are!

The Child and Youth Worker Program at Algonquin College recently partnered with the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa to help raise funds for Camp Smitty and the Aquatics Program at the Britannia Clubhouse.

Their combined activities, including donations, bake sales and a huge event at Lonestar

(Baseline location) netted $3800.00 for the Club and countless positive vibes.
Team Aqua raised money for the Aquatics Program and Team Smitty raised enough to send 2

(and 1/4) kids to camp.
The BGCO would like to commend the students on a job well done!

Singer, songwriter and friend of the Boys and Girls Club, Amanda Rheaume held a charity concert, 'Acoustic Christmas' on December 8, 2010 at the Rainbow Bistro in Ottawa. The event was a great success, raising funds for the BGCO and putting hundreds of people in the Christmas Spirit just in time for the holidays! For more information on Amanda please check out her website http://www.amandarheaume/

Nov 21, 2010 was the United Way's SensSational Skate which was attended by Boys and Girls Club kids and staff! Kids from the club got the chance to meet players, skate on the ice at Scotiabank Place and enjoy some good company with the hundreds of people and United Way staff in attendance!

November 20th, 2010 marked the 41st Annual 'Help Santa Toy Parade'. Our kids, staff and even the BGCO bus made an apperance on this chilly but exciting night!

On September 25, 2010 individuals gathered at the Nepean Equestrian Park to witness the unqiue event, Polo for Learning. The event was a great success and fun was had by all. The event donated a portion of its funds to the Boys and Girls Club that will go towards the development of a pilot Riding Program in the Summer of 2011. The BGCO will again be participating in the event for 2011, to take place on July 16. For more information please visit www.poloforlearning.com

September 25th, 2010 was an eventful day for the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa - as the sun went down, the rockstars came out!!! The free concert was put on by local CUPE 503 as a thank you for all the hard work from dedicated staff in the City of Ottawa's Municipal and Hospital sectors. The event also regonized the Boys and Girls Club as their charity of choice, rewarding all funds donated to the Club. Perfomers included the DownChild Blues Band, Sass Jordan and Kim Mitchell. Watch for this event coming in September 2011!

Foord Davies LLP located in Ottawa held its second annual Slow Pitch Softball Tournament in support of the Girls Only Program at PYC. The one day event, held at the RA Centre was a fun, successful day that even included our own BGCO team!

Each year Dillon Consulting Ltd. organizes a project that promotes staff involvement in community outreach initiatives. This year Dillon chose to partner with the Boys and Girls Club of Canada (BGCC) to highlight the importance of youth development in our communities. Dillon staff in Vancouver, Calgary, Windsor, London, Oakville, Cambridge, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Saint John, Fredericton, and Halifax collected nutritious snack items and new or gently used sporting equipment for children at their local BGCC clubs.

Corporately the Dillon offices across Canada engaged in friendly competition by being awarded points for the items that were donated. The top 3 offices with the most points were awarded prizes. There was an outstanding response to the project from the staff in the Dillon Ottawa office. It is with great pleasure to announce that the Ottawa office won the corporate competition with the most points earned per employee across the entire company. The Ottawa office had a great time participating in the nutritious snack and sporting equipment drive for the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa and is proud of the staff enthusiasm and involvement in the project!

An overwhelming amount of items were distributed to the 9 BGCO locations in Ottawa. The staff and youth at the clubhouses love all their new items and are thankful for all the hard work and fundraising efforts of our new friends at Dillon Consulting!