I did it! My very first tweet!

A big part of our first annual Day of Caring involved sharing images and messages about our efforts with others via FaceBook and Twitter. I recall confessing in one of my earlier blogs that this whole social media thing was a little new to me, but I was ready to embrace it full on. And so, this past Wednesday, I did my very first tweet.

Here I am working on it under the tutelage of our social media-savvy communications coordinator and event planner, Meg Lagrotta:



She blogs. She tweets. What’s next, you ask?

Stay tuned…

Jan

Day of Caring – a Day I Care to Remember!

The weather was perfect, the volunteers were enthusiastic and the coffee was great as we kicked off our first annual Day of Caring at Waterloo Public Square on Wednesday morning.

Joining me at the podium was Lisa Drew from 570News, our 2010 Workplace Campaign Chair, along with Theron Kramer, a long-time United Way volunteer and Chair of our Community Impact Council.

I reminded the crowd that United Way is about far more than a symbolic fundraising thermometer. I told them we’re about mobilizing people, ideas and energy to make this a better community. Speaking of which…

After the kick-off event I had the pleasure of joining our sponsored employees and a team from Gowlings at the KW Multicultural Centre.

We had a fantastic time painting a mural on the side of the building.

The image, entitled We Are All the Same, is the work of local artist Pamela Rojas-Perez. The black outline of her mural was already there, all we had to do was find the right colour and carefully paint between the lines.

In total, 21 groups from a number of local employers participated in different volunteer projects, and the response from participants and recipients alike was very positive.

Thanks for caring,

Jan

Our First Annual Day of Caring Approaches

What do you think, would I make a good cheerleader?

As you can see, I’ve been practicing my moves so I can rally the troops at our Day of Caring kick-off tomorrow. Everyone is invited, of course, so be sure to drop by and join the fun from 8-9 a.m. at the Waterloo Public Square. The Starbucks coffee is on us, and you’ll be invited to leave your own personal mark on the Waterloo Public Square. Yes, literally. Sorry, no hints. You’ll have to show up to find out what I mean.

Joining us at the Day of Caring will be Lisa Drew from 570News, our 2010 Workplace Campaign Chair. Lisa will be kicking off our annual workplace campaign at the event, and I just know she’ll outdo me at this cheerleading stuff. Thank goodness I get to go first - she’d be a hard act to follow.

In all honesty, we’re thrilled to have Lisa working with us this year. We couldn’t ask for a more charismatic and caring individual to lead our community efforts.

Thanks for stopping by. See you tomorrow morning!

Jan