Congratulations and Thanks to Chuck Hall of the Co-operators Insurance in Grand Bend for hosting the second annual Co-operators BBQ in support of the United Way of Sarnia-Lambton.
With help from Chuck's wife Barb, daughter Amy, and Paddy Roach, the BBQ raised over $500 this year. In the photo above, Paddy, Barb, and Amy prepare for the first of many customers of the day.
Tickets for our Upper Great Lakes Raffle are selling very well. People from the Sarnia-Lambton area are realizing what an opportunity this is to be the only two passengers on the Saginaw owned by Lower Lakes Towing. In fact, grand prize winners will stay in the luxurious owners quarters as part of this once in a life time trip.
Interest is also building for the second place prize, the helicopter tour of the Sarnia area. Personally, with today's hectic life style that we all face, the third place draw will be well received staying a night at the Benmiller Inn and Spa.
Call or email me for tickets.
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( 2.9 / 25 )
The Nordic Tenors concert went very well and all those who attended said the concert was excellent. Thanks to Jonna Easterby, Grace United Church, and Van Goozen Music for helping make the concert such a success.
I wanted all of you to be aware of the first ever Upper Great Lakes Cruise raffle we are holding.
We have three prizes available to be won with the grand prize being a 5 to 7 days cruise for two from the Sarnia area to the Upper Great Lakes, likely to Thunder Bay, and back aboard the Saginaw.
This would be a great trip for ship enthusiasts as well as people who have a general appreciation of the Great Lakes and all the scenery they have to offer.
Second prize is a helicopter tour for two of the Sarnia area, and third prize is a night’s stay for two at the Benmiller Inn and Spa near Goderich, Ontario.
All of our sponsors who not only made these great prizes available, but have donated them as well. Lower Lakes Towing, owners of the Saginaw donated the cruise, Enbridge Pipelines donated the helicopter tour, and Benmiller Inn and Spa donated the night stay.
The draw will take place on Tuesday, September 2, 2008 and the cruise will take place shortly thereafter. No definite date and time is available as a result of scheduling and possible delays during the summer months. We and Lower Lakes Towing will work with the prize winners as best we can to accommodate the winners of the cruise.
Tickets can be purchased at the United Way office at 250 North Christina, or by calling (519) 336-5452. More information and ticket orders can also be accessed on the United Way website at www.theunitedway.on.ca. Tickets are $10 each, or 3 for $25.
A photo of the Saginaw is shown above.
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( 3 / 36 )
In the past day or two, interest has started to heat up over the return of the Nordic Tenors to Sarnia; their only Canadian visit.
Many will recall we had the Nordic Tenors in concert in June, 2006 and it was a great success. formerly known as the Royal Danish Tenors, the group has now added a second Soprano to join Cecilia and this new addition has been a big hit in the early stages of their tour.
Tickets are just $20 and can be purchased by emailing me directly. We can take VISA, or Master card, or whatever payment option are best for you.
I hope to see you at the show.
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( 3.1 / 53 )My good friend Rick Garcia the Executive Director of the United Way of St. Clair County came up with a terrific idea this past winter. Rick suggested that we swap jobs for a day; get a chance to see how United Ways on the opposite side of the Canada/US Boarder do things.
I wasn't sure how it was going to work at first, but Rick was right. It ended up being a great day, and one that I look forward to doing again.
I had lined up some media interviews for Rick in Sarnia, and both Paddy and Pamela from the office here took him to various agencies, United Way meetings, and took him to lunch at the NOVA St. Clair River Site BBQ.
I also began my day with a 30 or so minute radio show on the Port Huron Country Station, and began my tour of the United Way offices in Port Huron which by the way is about a kilometre away from our offices across the St. Clair River. Dick Cummings, the Resource Development staffer in Port Huron was a great host taking me to several of their agencies for tours and presentations. The day capped off with me participating in the CRC Meeting; what we call our Community Investment Committee Meeting.
Rick and I plan to do other cross border initiatives this year with all of our staff, and on September 16, we will hold what we believe will be the first ever International Day of Caring. Both our United Ways will hold a Day of Caring the same day.
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( 3 / 56 )So far, our planning for the 2008 Campaign is right on schedule.
Paddy Roach and I are continuing to make our corporate visits to managers, and CEOs all across the County gearing up to meet or surpass last year's record amount raised. So far, we have raised nearly $200,000 which would put us ahead of last year at this point in time.
Paddy and I look forward to meeting Amy Wettges who will be the Imperial Oil Employees campaign chair this year, our area's largest United Way Employee campaign.
The United Way Board of Directors approved a Venture Grant for the Big Sisters that was announced yesterday.
Pam Gallant, Chair of the United Way Community Investment Committee, was pleased to announce a $30,000 Venture Grant to the Big Sisters of Sarnia-Lambton for their Big Bunch Program.
Big Sisters provide mentoring to children across Lambton County deemed to be “at-risk” between the ages of 5 – 18 years. “The mentoring offered by a Big Sister has a profound and positive impact on a Little Sister. Results have shown that these girls and young women are less likely to get into trouble with police, become teen mothers, abuse drugs and/or alcohol, or drop out of school”, says Gallant.
Big Bunch is a group mentoring program that was specifically designed to provide service to the children and adolescents currently waiting to be matched with a Big Sister. Six girls from the waiting list are matched to three Big Sister volunteers and together they meet bi-weekly for a period of 6 months. Girls are grouped together by age to ensure that appropriate activities are arranged and to strengthen group dynamics and relationships. Girls can be placed in a Big Bunch group until they are matched to a one to one Big Sister on a longer term basis.
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( 3 / 60 )Thanks to early corporate donations, the United Way of Sarnia-Lambton campaign has reached $180,000 and is ahead of last year at this point in time.
We are starting to promote our Nordic Tenors Concert on Thursday, June 26, 2008 at Grace United Church. The Tenors, formerly known as the Royal Danish Tenors will have an even better show than their 2006 show as they will have two guest sopranos this year. Contact the United Way of Sarnia-Lambton office for more details and to order your tickets.
The annual Day of Caring will take place again this September on Tuesday the 16th. Invitations are just know being mailed out to employers asking for their participation.
Other events "in the works" includes another movie premiere from Skylight Films this fall, and perhaps a Lambton County dinner to be held in rural Lambton More details on this, and other events will be known so please check back often!
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( 3 / 49 )
It has been a very busy time at the United Way of late, and as a result, I have not been committing the time that I should be to my blog. I will put forth a greater effort in the future!
In the meantime, I was very pleased to received a $5,000 corporate donation from Dina Howson, and Bryan Meere from BMO. Dina is at the Exmouth street location, and Bryan is at the Lambton Mall Road branch.
Thanks to the generosity of BMO, and others in our community, the United Way has already raised over $180,000 towards our 2008 Campaign goal.
We will be setting out goal in June, and will announce the goal to the public closer to the Campaign.
We have already begun getting donations of stuck this year as donors are taking advantage of both high energy stock prices, and the tax advantages of donating stock. If you'd like to know about the tax incentives of donating stocks, drop me a line or call me directly and I would be happy to talk to you about that.
We will be at the Senior's Fair in Point Edward tomorrow and Wednesday. Admission is free so stop by and visit the United Way booth. Enter our free draw to win a pair of tickets for the Nordic Tenors show at Grace United on June 26, 2008.
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( 2.9 / 27 )
For the first time ever in Sarnia, we are pleased to announce the Startlight Film Festival.
At the Lambton Cinemas at 1450 London Road in Sarnia, secondary school students can enjoy a whole night's worth of movies, and complimentary popcorn, pop, and even coupons for the arcade.
Please note that all students attending must show valid student ID, and once you are in the theatre you may not leave without parental or guardian consent. Handbags maybe subject to search upon entry.
Five different movies will be shown, and they include: Dodgeball, The Benchwarmers, Accepted, Spiderman 2, and Happy Feet.
All proceeds to the United Way.
Date: April 25, 2008
Time: 11:45 PM Friday Night and runs until 7:00 AM.
Cost: $20.00
Contact: Paddy Roach
Telephone: 519 336-5452
E-Mail: roach@theunitedway.on.ca
Organization: United Way of Sarnia-Lambton
And, on Saturday, May 10th, 2008, we will be holding a day long financial forum. This will be your best opportunity to learn about taxes, investments, estate planning, and so many other financial topics.
On Thursday, June 26, 2008, the Nordic Tenors will make their return trip to Sarnia by popular demand. Tickets are already selling well.
For more information on all these events, please visit the coming events section of our website.
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( 2.8 / 31 )
At the United Way of Sarnia-Lambton Annual General Meeting last night, Pierre Soulard, a long time United Way Board Member, and Day of Caring volunteer presented the 2007 Dick White Day of Caring Award to RBC Financial. For many years, RBC has been involved in the Day of Caring and last year, employees from all branches across Lambton participated. At the presentation, RBC made it clear they wanted to be involved again in 2008. The Day of Caring will take place on Tuesday, September 16, 2008.
At the Annual General Meeting, President Rob Moore also presented the 2007 Volunteer of the Year Award. This year, both Dave and Jan Christensen were the winners.
The United Way also welcomed new Board Members. Pat Voegelin, Amanda White, Carlo Facca, and Steve Pilkey will join the Board.
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( 3.1 / 37 )I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the winners of the Dow chemical Canada Legacy Gift; Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Rebound, and St. Lukes' Church.
These organizations provided a joint submission to Dow and were awarded yesterday with a $1. Million gift from Dow Chemical.
I think all of you know, The United Way was one of the final 6 organizations, and we are truly proud to have made it to that level. All six were worthy community projects, as Don Fysh from Dow Chemical pointed out and I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to select one. As an organization that makes funding decisions on an annual basis, I know how difficult that whole process can be. The advantage United Way has, is we can spread out our funding over 27 agencies and not have to be in a position to pick one.
I would also like to thank Dow Chemical for this community gift, and for providing all of us in the community the opportunity to present proposals.
In addition, Dow Chemical has supported the United Way as has the employees and retirees since our very first campaign in 1957, and continue to do so. I want to thank Dow again for that support. Dow has been a great friend to the United Way and their support has contributed greatly to our overall success.
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( 3.5 / 4 )
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