Thompson Nicola Cariboo United Way

Calling all Volunteers!

Rotary Food Drive

Saturday, September 25^th

In support of the Kamloops Food Bank

Last year Kamloops donated over 43,000 pounds of food. Your help is needed to sort through the donations so that they can be brought back to the Food Bank for distribution. There is a job for everyone. It is a fun day for the whole family and a great way to give back to your community.

Volunteer Shifts start at 10am and are in 2 hour blocks – you can stay for as little or as long as you like. The day should end by 5pm

Sorting takes place at: Interior Vault located at 661 West Athabasca in the Mount Paul Industrial Area

Volunteers are needed to:

·       Write down food weights

·       Sort food donations

·       Label boxes

·       Loading truck

·       Organizing boxes

The day requires a lot of volunteers,

Please call Kari or Kyla at 250 376 2252 to sign up

 Please join us in welcoming Don Magnusson as the new Executive Director of People in Motion!

People in Motion provides support and assistance to people with disabilities, with an expertise in those with physical disablities. They advocate at all levels in the region to ensure the voice of people with disabilities is heard, that they are recognized as an integral part of the community and as citizens, and that they have full opportunity to participate in all aspects of community life including the decision-making process.

On Monday, 20 volunteers from TRU teamed up with 7 volunteers from the City of Kamloops to add a new community garden to The Boys and Girls Club of Kamloops. The Boys and Girls club of Kamloops was one of five clubs across to Canada to receive a grant from the Home Depot Canada Foundation to support the club’s community garden project. The goal of the project is to connect children and families to the food they eat by creating a space where children can plant seeds, grow food, and learn about environmental responsibility and composting. The volunteers worked hard under the hot sun to build flower beds and put together a shed! Thank you to the dedicated volunteers of TRU and the City of Kamloops, as well as the Boys and Girls Clubs for being a wonderful host! Check out these before and after shots to get a sense of all their hard work: 

The Boys & Girls Club of Kamloops has been providing social recreational programming in Kamloops since 1955. Children, youth, and families are all welcome to participate in the diverse range of programming for children from three years old to their parents. They provide a supportive place for their participants to become confident in their abilities and experience new opportunities in a safe environment.

Participating in a United Way Day of Caring promotes a deeper   understanding of community issues and provides an excellent team building opportunity for employees. The projects allow workplaces to demonstrate social responsibility and to make a visual impact in the communities where stakeholders live and work. United Way matches local volunteers to a non-profit organization.

I have some great news!

As you know, I work with The Cariboo Home Society, a non-profit charity which owns and operates a supported living home for seniors in Westsyde, a suburb of Kamloops. We recently submitted an idea to the Pepsi Refresh Project for a $25,000 grant which would help us purchase and install an elevator in our home. This would allow our residents, aged 80 to 100, to attend activities, programs and social functions in the lower level of the house safely and independently. However, being awarded this grant depends on you!  Here’s how it works:

Pepsi accepts 300 ideas every two months, which are divided into 8 different categories and 4 separate grant amounts. Ours is found under Food and Shelter. Starting September 1^st, the public is invited to vote for their favourite ideas every day until the end of October.  The ideas accumulating the most votes in each category by the end of October will receive their grant.

We really need this elevator! We’ve been fundraising since 2005 and so far have raised $6,000. With elevators costing over $35,000, it would take us FOREVER to raise that much money. So we really need your help! Go to www.refresheverything.ca and click on Food and Shelter. Read our application. Tell your friends, family & colleagues. Post it to Facebook, Tweet about it. Remember to vote once a day from September 1^st to October 31^st. Help make an elevator for our residents a reality!

Thanks!

Janet Schneider

We want to welcome RCMP Constable Helena James back as our 2010 Loaned Executive. Helena was with us last year and has been seconded to us for a second year. Thanks so much to Inspector Lecasse and the RCMP for their generous contribution to community.

Each fall, United Way’s Leadership Development Program gives community-minded employers excellent opportunity to make an investment in strengthening our community.  By loaning one of your most valuable resources—your employees—to participate in our annual campaign you are also making an investment in your workplace.

This fall, Sponsored Executives (SEs) will benefit from a unique professional development experience—one that is designed to enhance their skills and teach them new ones as they increase their understanding of vital community issues.  The result: employees bring added value back to your workplace.

 Serving as an extension of United Way staff, Sponsored Executives provide support to annual campaign volunteers in workplaces throughout the city.  They work full time with United Way for a fourteen week period.

Want more inforamation  click loaned-rep

On Thursday, RBC came ready to work at the House of Ruth to stain a fence surrounding the property. The rain managed to hold off and the group was able to successfully complete this large undertaking. Thank you so much to the RBC volunteers, who not only completed the fence project but were happy take on some extra yard duties with smiles on their faces! Also, thanks to House of Ruth for their fantastic hospitality – not to mention their impressive cooking skills, shown off in the delicious lunch they provided!  

Another big thank you goes to Jason Durning and his Fine Line Painting crew. Upon hearing about this Day of Caring in RBC’s Victoria St. branch yesterday, Jason showed up at House of Ruth and put himself and his crew to work painting the deck. In addition, when House of Ruth ran out of paint, Jason managed to have four gallons donated by his friend Jim Bourdon of Jasco Rental Centre. It’s amazing what can be accomplished when people are so generous and willing to help out!

House of Ruth is a residential recovery program operated by New Life Mission for women who desire assistance in dealing with chronic alcohol or drug use.  The program offers a home for up to two years, as well as counselling, meals, life skills training, and job skills training. 

Participating in a United Way Day of Caring promotes a deeper understanding of community issues and provides an excellent team building opportunity for employees. The projects allow workplaces to demonstrate social responsibility and to make a visual impact in the communities where stakeholders live and work. United Way matches local volunteers to a non-profit organization.

The Kamloops Daily News is planning a community project, The Kamloops Project, that aims to record every Kamloops resident’s thoughts, feelings or actions on October 19th, 2010.  Stay tuned to the Kamloops Daily News for more details. 

Here is the sneak peak video that Kamloops Daily News recently posted to YouTube.  Enjoy!

Click here

To read the latest issue of Off the Curb featuring:

ASK Wellness is gearing up for the Scotia
Bank AIDS Walk for Life on Saturday,
September 18th at the Farmer’s Market in
downtown Kamloops. This fundraising and awareness
event will be held nationally in communities
across Canada. We encourage you and your
family, business, musical bands and friends to
come out and collect pledges for the AIDS Walk for
Life. You will be making a difference in the lives of
those affected with HIV and AIDS within Kamloops!
This year there are several categories to enter and amazing prizes to be won!*
Some of the loot up for grabs includes:
4 Two weekend passes to Komasket Music Festival Roots & Blues Festival and Mt.
Robson Music Festival
4 Family pass for four to Adams River Rafting Tours
4 Two passes to Sun Rivers Golf Course
4 Ten ticket package to the Vancouver Film Festival
4 One-half Wrap (vehicle billboard advertising custom made for the winning small
business)
4 Two professionally recorded demos at One World Records in Kelowna for the winning
singer, songwriter or original band
… and much, much more!

Two Kamloops women living with rheumatoid arthritis are hosting an event to increase awareness about arthritis and to raise funds for the Arthritis Society of BC. 

The event, Amazing Mini Race, takes place this Saturday, August 28th. 

Get a team together and join the race.  Call (250) 320-1388 for more information.

Click HERE to read the full article about this event in the Kamloops Daily News.