This Just In…

I recently learned some great news - our 2010 Celebrity Event saluting Waterloo Regional Police Chief Matt Torigian raised a cool $50,000!

My team and I truly appreciate the generous support shown by those sponsoring and attending the event. These funds will be distributed locally to programs and initiatives supporting our five regional priorities - children and youth, families, newcomers, neighbourhoods and economic security.

Unfortunately, need in our community continues to be on the rise and we’re still seeing significant increases in local demand for social services. As a result, our work is far from over.

At United Way, we’re committed to supporting this community. If you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to please join us by pledging your commitment too. By supporting our 3-year, $21 million campaign, you’ll help fuel long-term, sustainable change targeting our community’s key social issues.

Together, we can make positive change happen.

Fond Memories from Our Annual Celebrity Event

Sadly, it’s all over. Our annual celebrity event, which this year saluted Waterloo Regional Police Chief Matt Torigian, has come and gone.

What a great evening! I don’t think anyone had a better time than the Chief himself. Here are some of my favourite moments from the night…

• Being greeted outside Bingemans by the Waterloo Regional Police Service’s mounted patrol unit (I forgot to ask whether the horse I met was King or Watson)
• Listening to the hilarious antics of MC Neil Aitchison, last year's guest of honour
• Watching Chief Torigian dance on the shoulders of friends and family to the music of an Armenian band from Toronto
• Seeing how happy Chief Torigian was to be surrounded by friends and family – including his parents and a 94-year-old uncle from St. Catharines
• Savouring the authentic Armenian pizza brought in all the way from Montreal for the occasion
• Watching traditional Armenian dances performed by Holy Trinity Armenian Church's Sassoun Dance Ensemble
• Hearing guest speakers share their stories while images of Chief Torigian were shown on two big screens (many photos were modified for dramatic effect, including one with Chief Torigian as an American Idol Judge)
• Listening to the beautiful voice of Constable Brian Duyn as he sang “The Prayer”

There were just too many great moments to share them all here. Sincere thanks to the many generous sponsors for this event: Grand View Homes, RIM, Niche Technology, Eagle Towing Equipment, Adobe, Melloul Blamey Construction, McCordick Glove and Safety, Regional Safety, Bingemans, Miller Thomson LLP, Lagrotta Packaging Group, Programmed Insurance Brokers, Innersee Initiatives, Brentwood Livery, David McCammon Photography and Images in Colour, not to mention all who donated silent auction items for the evening, and Knar Jewellers for providing Chief Torigian with a special gift to mark the occasion.

Some Interesting Facts About Our Police Chief...

In honour of our approaching Annual Celebrity Event, which this year honours Waterloo Regional Police Chief Matt Torigian, I thought I'd share with you a few interesting facts about our fearless leader...

1. he hails from St. Catharines, Ontario


2. his family is of Armenian descent, and his Armenian name is Matius (pronounced Matyos)


3. he is an award winning stage actor and he used to perform comedy routines


4. he loves to watch American Idol and has a real knack for picking the winner very early on each season


5. he has two siblings - a brother who is a family doctor and a sister who is a high school principal

There are many other interesting facts about Cheif Matt Torigian that I'd love to share, but I'm told I must wait until the United Way Annual Celebrity Event itself. Tickets are still available, so here are the details:

United Way Annual Celebrity Event Honouring Matt Torigian
Thursday October 28, 2010
7-10 p.m.
VIP reception 6-7 p.m.
Bingemans – Ballroom A

Tickets on sale through www.bingemans.com:
$125 each
or
$175 each with VIP reception

Donations are still being accepted for the silent auction being held at the event, and a few sponsorship opportunities remain as well. Arrangements can be made through our Event Coordinator, Meg Lagrotta, at 519.888.6100 ext. 232 or mlagrotta@uwaykw.org.

I'm really looking forward to this event. Hope to see you there!

Jan

Annual Celebrity Event – Tickets on Sale Now

Each year, United Way of KW and Area hosts an annual celebrity event to pay tribute to an outstanding leader in our community. This year, we are very pleased to have Matt Torigian, Waterloo Regional Police Chief, as our guest of honour.

Join us for a fun and entertaining evening of cops, culture and cuisine - with a few surprises, of course. I don’t want to give away too much, but I can tell you it’s shaping up to be an event you won’t want to miss.

Here are the details:

United Way Annual Celebrity Event Honouring Matt Torigian
Thursday October 28, 2010
7-10 p.m.
VIP reception 6-7 p.m.
Bingemans – Ballroom A

Tickets on sale through www.bingemans.com:
$125 each
or
$175 each with VIP reception

Donations are still being accepted for the silent auction being held at the event, and a few sponsorship opportunities remain as well. Arrangements can be made through our Event Coordinator, Meg Lagrotta, at 519.888.6100 ext. 232 or mlagrotta@uwaykw.org.

Hope to see you there!

Jan

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