Over the last three years I have volunteered on the phones during CKNW Orphans’ Fund Pledge Day where radio listeners call in to make donations that support thousands of kids in BC each year. This one day “radio-thon” broadcast will take place on Thursday, December 4th live from the Terminal City Club in Downtown Vancouver and since I cannot be there this year to answer phones this year, the CKNW Orphans’ Fund has given me all of the information I need so that I can spread the word about this wonderful cause:
CKNW Orphans’ Fund Pledge Day 2014
The CKNW Orphans’ Fund is one of the largest sources of individual grant funding in the province of BC and help thousands of children annually. Their mandate is broad and grants include everything from speech therapy, to updated medical equipment, summer camps, tutoring, educational bursaries and more – all for some of the most vulnerable children in the province.
A child recently helped by the CKNW Orphans’ Fund is Samson, a 5 year old diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Visual-Perceptual Learning Disability, ADHD and Oppositional Defiant Disorder. Despite being on an individual education plan, he is struggling at school and falling behind in all areas. He was referred to the Accomplished Learning Centre for its intensive FastForWord program.
Samson is one of two children living with his paternal grandparents, who are currently seeking full custody. Samson’s mother has had no contact with her children for the past 3 years and his father offers no support and has recently left the province. The CKNW Orphans’ Fund paid for Samson to participate in the FastForWord program.
2013 Pledge Day photos by Mark Whitehead, Get the Shot Studios.
On December 4th, over 150 guests, including philanthropists, business leaders, media personalities and most importantly children who have been helped by the Fund will be interviewed on CKNW News Talk AM980 so be sure to tune in. Donations of $98 or more will be eligible to receive a free Michael Buble Christmas CD.
3 Ways to Get Involved
1. Donate online at or by calling (604) 222-9898 on December 4th
2. Stop by the Terminal City Club (837 W Hastings St) on December 4th
3. Help support the Fund by tweeting: “On Dec 4th support @cknworphansfund & help special needs children in BC. http://ow.ly/ECclS #pledgeCKNW”
Last year, Pledge Day was able to raise $1.9 million for special needs children in BC! For more information, follow the CKNW Orphans’ Fund on Facebook and Twitter.
The Grey Cup Festival brings fans together fans from across the country each year who make the pilgrimage, in their jerseys, toques, beads and team colours, to enjoy the host city while celebrating football in Canada. This year’s festival in Vancouver, which took place throughout the three days leading up to the big game on Sunday, had free family fun all around Downtown Vancouver including a parade, cheerleader extravaganza, fan pavilions, activations at Jack Poole Plaza, and free concerts outside Canada place.
Grey Cup Festival Concert Photos
Escaping the cold, we settled into the Red Truck Tailgate Concert Series at the Vancouver Convention Centre. John had his camera out and captured some of the fun on stage.
Family of the Year
Hey Ocean!
54-40
View more photos on Flickr and follow John on Twitter and Instagram.
Provide food, warmth, and comfort for your fellow Canadians in need this holiday season through the Canadian Red Cross Gift Guide. The Red Cross helps people affected by disasters in communities across Canada and you can really make a difference in someone’s life when you select items that ensure families and individuals receive support offered by trained, compassionate Red Cross volunteers and staff.
Canadian Red Cross Gift Guide
Support as an individual, a group of friends, family or co-workers, and give back this Christmas:
- A gift of $15 will provide a day of hot meal delivery to someone in need through the Canadian Red Cross Meals on Wheels program.
- A gift of $30 is enough to provide family groceries for one day to help speed up the recovery of a family suffering through tragedy.
- A gift of $50 is enough to provide a set of replacement clothes for an individual who may have lost everything in a house fire.
- A gift of $60 will provide one week of transport services to someone in your community which enables access to health and social services.
- A gift of $90 will provide an infant care kit to keep a child safe and warm throughout the winter.
Visit the Canadian Red Cross Holiday Giving website for more information and follow along on Twitter and Facebook. Miss604 is a proud member of the Canadian Red Cross Social Media Team.
TELUS and Optik TV’s STORYHIVE is funding content creators in our community through two campaigns in 2014. The first in the spring awarded $200,000 in production funding and another ends on December 1st, awarding 15 $10,000 grants in BC and 15 $10,000 grants in Alberta, plus two $50,000 grants to produce and distribute a full web series.
STORYHIVE Web Series Competition
STORYHIVE is a community-powered funding program where content creators can get the funding and distribution they need to bring their projects to the screen. Local creators from British Columbia and Alberta apply for grants to produce a pilot and the community votes to decide which projects get funding and distribution on Optik Local via TELUS Optik™ TV On Demand.
As the winter deadline draws near, I’ve had a few participants send me their campaign information:
- Eastside Stories: The residents of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside are among the most impoverished, desperate, and resilient people in North America. In a city celebrated for its natural beauty and liberal ideals, their reality is one of stark contrast. Last season, portrait artist, Lauren Brem, and a group of local film makers set out to capture the stories behind the faces on her sketch pad. What they learned has inspired the continuation of a project aimed at shaking the stigma surrounding our neighbours in “Canada’s poorest postal code.” Now, EASTSIDE STORIES looks to dig deeper, and to connect with and chronicle more of our unlikely muses, their unique spirit, and their struggle to find a balance in the socio-economic divide.
- Kingdom99: Kingdom 99 is a Sketch Comedy Show set in the world of Fantasy. The story goes that a down-on-his-luck wizard accidentally opens a portal between our world and 98 other “kingdoms,” inciting chaos and a dangerous struggle for power. This allows us to play with already established characters from popular fiction and likewise create our own, with an epic storyline that turns the stories fantasy fans already know and love, on it’s head.
- My Grade 8 Diary: Greer Willcox is a happy, healthy 28 year old woman…Until the day she is hit by a bagel truck and loses all of her memory of her formative high school years. Greer sets out on a journey of RE-self discovery as she connects with the people and memories she wrote about in her teenage diary. Throughout the series we are transported back to the hallways of her school and we are witness to moments of rediscovery and the recollection of memories.
- And dozens more…»
Alannah Turner is one of the participants (My Grade 8 Diary) who was first drawn to the initiative because of its crowd-powered foundation.
“You have to plan, pitch, get your information out, connect with your audience and ramp up support by yourself; it is challenging but it lays the ground work for a successful show. I have made a web series before and used crowd funding to produce it. I appreciate the process.”
Turner’s background is in theatre but fell in love with storytelling and wanted to start writing her own tales.
“Vancouver is truly a ‘make your own work’ friendly city. However, funding is more often than not the downfall of many brilliant projects. The passion projects move down on the list to make time to do the work that pays the bills. The project is like that for me. I have been waiting for the right time to make it. When I heard about STORYHIVE it was like a big green light blinking at me saying ‘you can make this show! and PAY everyone!'”
The STORYHIVE model relies on fan votes and so far Turner is finding the most traction through Facebook promotion, however Twitter is also driving clicks and views from around the world. Back at home, Turner is probably not alone in expressing appreciation for the local funding initiative.
“There are thousands of web series out there. It is hard to know which ones to pay attention to. Look at Orange is the New Black, or House of Cards. Both are web series. Why do we know they are worthy of our time? The have the seal of approval from a major distributor. STORYHIVE is giving local filmmakers the chance to have their work elevated to a higher level.”
Another bonus of potentially being awarded a STORYHIVE grant is that you don’t just get funding, creators get partnered with mentors who will guide them through the ins and outs of the web series industry. Turner says that STORYHIVE is setting participants up with the tools they will need to succeed.
The deadline to help out your favourite project is fast-approaching so take a look at STORYHIVE and cast your vote for your favourite web series pitch until December 1 at 11:59pm. Anyone with Internet access can vote, regardless of their physical/IP location. Winners of Stage 1 — the top 15 projects as voted by the community in BC and Alberta — will be announced on December 8th. Follow STORYHIVE on Facebook and Twitter for more information.
Update December 8, 2014: Congratulations to My Grade 8 Diary on their STORYHIVE funding! See all of this season’s winners here.
There aren’t too many shops that when upon entering, my eyes get wide, a big smile forms, and I look forward to browsing every shelf and stand for intriguing and exciting finds. At least, I didn’t expect the amount of awesome energy I would feel when I first stepped into the Toy Box on West Broadway last week, and discovered its playful and positive atmosphere which is all about being young at heart.
Toy Shopping at the Toy Box in Kitsilano
While the Toy Box by Toy Jungle has been a neighbourhood fixture for 42 years, owners Misti and Gary Mussatto moved the store into this location at 2933 West Broadway and had a grand re-opening celebration just this month. The pair, who were named “Toy Retailers of the Year” for Canadian independent toy stores in 2004 also own and operate The Toy Jungle locations at Morgan Crossing and at Park Royal.
Starting with a blank canvas, Gary transformed every inch of the West Broadway shop into a toy factory, with themed decor from floor to ceiling.
“The most special thing we offer is our team, the people who work here really care about kids and they care about the toys.”
I enjoyed my visit to the Toy Box so much because while the store had a playful factory theme, it allowed for much more than simply having a child enter the store, grab a toy, and take it to the cash register with mom or dad in tow. Every inch of the shop lends itself to an experience.
You can sit an play with trains, games, and puzzles. You can follow the Toy Jungle’s signature characters around the shop as they appear in various locations and, my favourite part, kids can ring the exclusive birthday bell when they come in on their birthday. The setting sparks your imagination.
Kids can also put on a hard hat and become “Toy Inspectors” for the day, actually assisting with market research that goes into the creation of the Tooky’s Picks recommended toy lists available at the counter.
At the grand re-opening of the store Gary said: “We like people that just want to play. We encourage people to play everyday. Just to come in and to see toys and games, things that might inspire them, and want to actually play. It’s a little escape from the every day.”
For an aunt like me, who isn’t on top of the latest brands and trends in the toy world, the best part of my Toy Box experience was discovering Tooky’s Picks which are toy suggestions based on age, gender, and type of child — from energetic and creative kids to the imaginative and nurturing. These lists, named after the store’s mascot character Tooky, helped me find the best toys for my nephews aged 6, 10, and 12 and thanks to toy specialist Neil’s recommendations, I believe found the perfect gifts for them.
Of course each area of the store is sorted by age group and you’ll spot popular brand names, like Playmobil and LEGO, along with some locally-designed toys like Cobble Hill puzzles.
Enter to Win
Discover and experience the Toy Box and Toy Jungle for yourself by entering to win a $50 gift card that you can use at either the Toy Box in Kitsilano, Toy Jungle in Park Royal, or Toy Jungle at Morgan Crossing in Surrey. Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
Follow the Toy Jungle on Facebook and Twitter for more information, and plan a visit to one of the shops for the full experience. I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Tuesday, December 2, 2014.
Update The winner is @MsHurtubise on Twitter!
