SAVE THE DATE: Community Spirit Awards - February 29, 2012

Our 3rd Annual Community Spirit Awards event is fast approaching. Be sure to mark your calendar now and join us for breakfast.
 
COMMUNITY SPIRIT AWARDS
FEBRUARY 29, 2012
7:30 a.m.
Waterloo Inn

Join us as we celebrate and acknowledge those individuals and organizations that exemplify year round efforts to bring about long term, sustainable social change in our community.

For more details, please visit the United Way KW web site.

Ski Down At Chicopee - Wednesdays from Jan. 11 - Feb. 1, 2012

Greetings Fellow Skiers!

Be sure to hit the slopes this winter with Chicopee Ski & Summer Resort and United Way. It's a win-win situation! You enjoy a discounted rate on a full day lift ticket, while $5 from each ticket purchased goes to United Way to support community needs.

Hope to see you there!

Jan

"Technology Gives Back" Holiday Social in Partnership with United Way KW!

On Wednesday December 14th, I attended a great event put on by Canadian Women in Technology, or CanWIT. The local chapter, launched by Angelique Mohring, is growing in leaps and bounds. They have some pretty exciting plans for the future, including launching a student bursary and holding a series of signature events in the Spring.

When I spoke to the CanWIT crowd this morning, I shared some of the challenges non profits face with IT and how their group might be able to assist. A huge thanks goes out to all who attended, as their entry "fee" was the donation of a used laptop! United Way KW will work with local partners to ensure these laptops are put to good use by local non profits.

Thanks again, CanWIT, for caring about this community. Change started this morning....

Jan

Dream Auction offers unique twist to online holiday shopping

This holiday season, United Way KW encourages you to give your loved ones an unforgettable gift that benefits our whole community.

If you're looking for the perfect Christmas gift - one that stands out from the rest and officially earns you the title of “Best Gift Giver of the Year” - you won’t want to miss the opportunity to bid in the 2011 edition of our Online Dream Auction.

As James Chmiel, our 2011 United Way KW Campaign Chair, explains, “We’ve taken your typical auction and transformed it into an opportunity to have the experience of a lifetime. Think back to your childhood dreams of what you wanted to be when you grew up. This auction provides a chance to make those dreams come true, either for yourself or for someone dear to your heart.”

Included among the many auction packages available are the chance to be police chief for a day, opportunities to be a talk show host or food critic on local radio, and the chance to play hockey with the Kitchener Rangers. These and many other dreams are only a bid away.

Whether it’s a well-deserved holiday gift for yourself, or something unique for that hard-to-shop-for person on your list, you'll find something for everyone.

In the spirit of the holiday season comes one more festive detail - all proceeds from the United Way KW Dream Auction will help support social service needs in our community. Afterall, the holiday season is the perfect time to help make a difference for someone in need.

Bidding starts Tuesday November 29th at 9 a.m. and closes at 4 p.m. on Wednesday November 30th. Bids can be placed at http://donateuway.com/auction or directly through the United Way KW web site at http://www.uwaykw.org/.

“And that’s the kind of day it’s been…”

In the world of television news, it’s safe to say that Lloyd Robertson is considered royalty. In fact, if it wasn’t for our own Lisa LaFlamme taking over Lloyd’s role when he stepped down from CTV National News earlier this year, the occasion would have been a very solemn one indeed, especially for those of us who’d come to rely on Lloyd over the years to keep them up to speed with current events.

Be it good news, bad news, or something in between, we could always count on Lloyd to tell it like it was with his deep, steady voice and calm presence. If anything - or anyone - ever ruffled his feathers, he certainly hid it well.

For many Canadians, Lloyd’s sign off - “and that’s the kind of day it’s been” - meant it was time to turn off the TV and go to bed.

Here I am sounding like Lloyd exited the airwaves permanently, when in actual fact you can still watch him regularly as host and chief correspondent for W5.

And… you can catch him in person right here in the KW area on Friday November 25th as he helps us honour Lisa LaFlamme at our Annual Celebrity Event at Federation Hall. For more details and tickets, visit http://www.uwaykw.org/.

Rising to the occasion during difficult times

We shared some difficult news with the media last week. At a time when the demand for social services continues to rise in our community, we’re currently forecasting that only $4.9 million will be raised during this year’s fall workplace campaign towards the $6 million overall revenue challenge issued back in September.
 
As I explained to the media, we’re seeing a trend in local companies kicking off their workplace campaigns much later, which means we may not learn their campaign results until well into the new year. The other side of the story is that while we're seeing significant increases among some workplaces that have completed their campaigns, overall there’s a downward trend in funds pledged.

In response to this announcement, House of Friendship - an agency with several programs and initiatives supported by United Way KW - posted a blog entry entitled “United, we are stronger”. I really encourage you to read this blog, which is written by House of Friendship employee Matt Cooper. It explores the value behind supporting United Way and provides some real answers from real people in our community about why they choose to give.

Here’s an excerpt:
“The United Way has shared its concerns and hopes for this year’s campaign. As a community and individuals we have a choice about how we respond. House of Friendship staff have chosen to step up. Join us. Think about YOUR reason for giving and support United Way and our community. We all benefit.”

Attention all sports fans! Have we got a treat for you!

James Duthie, Host, NHL on TSN

As one of her special guests at this year’s Annual Celebrity Event at Fed Hall on November 25th, honouree Lisa LaFlamme has invited none other than Gemini Award-winning James Duthie, host of NHL on TSN. He has been hailed as one of the most talented stars in sports broadcasting today.
 
In addition to his duties at TSN, James joined Lisa in co-hosting CTV’s Olympic Daytime during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. He also hosted coverage of Team Canada Men’s Hockey during the Games. Talk about a dream job!

This coverage garnered James the Gemini Award for Best Sportscaster or Anchor in 2010. He previously won this same award in 2009 for hosting ‘NHL on TSN TradeCentre ’09’.

James also has two previous Olympic Games and a whole roster of other sports shows under his belt, including stints as co-host of the evening edition of SportsCentre, host of TSN’s CFL studio show and time spent covering the NBA.

James’ talents lie not only in broadcast journalism, but print journalism as well. In 2010, he published two books - They Call Me Killer: Tales from Junior Hockey’s Legendary Hall-of-Fame Coach and The Day I (Almost) Killed Two Gretzkys.

We can’t wait to welcome James to Waterloo later this month and hear what he has to say about Lisa.
 
Tickets are on sale now at http://www.uwaykw.org./

Jan