How to Get Corporate Support for Community Fundraising Events

In my retirement life, one of the main activities is to get involved in my community and try to do what I can to help.  I am no singer, dancer nor a fast talker to dazzle potential donors to contribute towards worth charity work. One thing I can do well is letter writing.

I am delighted that my research and writing skills have paid off in our recent efforts to raise funds for our community centre. We visited a few large companies in the area and met with the administrative staff. Many local stores told us in order to donate or support us, we needed to go beyond their stores to approach their headquarters.

We got McDonald's support last year for our Walkathon. 

Approach we did.  We called the head offices of a few of these big corporations, made appointments to meet with the proper dept. Before we went, we prepared a comprehensive  power point to introduce our charitable organization and the work we were doing..

After a period of building community relations, we finally received our first donation for our community wide event last year. We were ecstatic! This year, our community centre is entering into the phase 2 expansion to meet the demands of the needs of residents.
We are holding our annual Walkathon, one of the major fundraising events for the centre.

We are getting McDonald's donations again this year!

We wrote to McDonald's asking for their support again. We have not heard from them after almost a month. I sent the letter again for the second time just in case the owner who donated to us did not receive the letter. We just heard back and they accepted our request for help and they would do that again!

I am just beside myself. We are getting donations and support from McDonald's for the second year.! Praise God for his provision and thank God for McDonald's generosity!

R.T.
Happy to hear back from McDonald
Toronto

A Personalized Functional Fitness Program Reduces Pain & Improves Quality of Life

TRX Row

I have been training with a personal fitness trainer for the last few years. I look great and feel great.

I love my personalized training program as it enables me to carry on my daily activities painlessly. While friends of my age often complain about suffering from pains on various parts of their body, I have been fortunate that I have not experienced the same pains on mine.

The stretching exercises feel so good on my body!

However, I was travelling overseas and away from Toronto for the last two months, I took a break from my regular personal training sessions.

Boy! Did I ever notice the difference! I started feeling pain on the right part of my body especially my right foot and knee. When I was going up and down stairs, my right knee hurt so bad that I had to compensate it with the left side of my body.

Stretching one foot at a time

As soon as my summer schedule ended, I returned to my less hectic fall schedule last week with three weekly workout sessions with my personal trainer. Today was my fifth sessions since resuming my personal training exercise program. I felt so good!

Michelle, my personal trainer,
designed a functional fitness program for me helping me to perform my daily chores and activities easily and with as less pain as possible.

I love stretching on the TRX equipment under my trainer's supervision.

I have learned that stretching exercises are very important and can help me to avoid getting injured easily.













Today in my training session, my personal trainer taught me a few stretching exercises which I can do myself on the TRX equipment. I felt so good afterward and  I would like to share some of these exercises here.


R.T.
At A Fitness Gym
Toronto
Picture Credit - Google images

Farewell to Arnold Chan, M.P., a Passionate Canadian Parliamentarian

Saturday, September 23, 2017

We paid our respect to Arnold Chan, M.P., at his funeral held at the Bloor Street United Church, Toronto

Of all the activities we participated in the past few months, last Saturday's event was the saddest and most touching one we attended.





We did not have to be there, but I wanted to be. I wanted to pay respect to the man who bravely fought cancer and served Canada with his last ounce of energy possible before his passing.

CTV reported Arnold Chan's passing on its national news       Photo credit - CTV

Mr. Arnold Chan, a Member of Parliament for Canada represented the people of Scarborough/ Agincourt, died of cancer last week; he was 50 years old.

 Although I did not know Arnold Chan personally, I did meet him twice. Once in a community BBQ event and another time at a community dinner for youth leaders.

Arnold Chan's love for politics was evident at the dinner where he passionately spoke of the needs for young people to be engaged in politics in all levels of government and he invited them to be involved in civic matters regardless of their party affiliations.

Arnold was first elected in a federal election in 2014.

Arnold was involved in politics all his life. He was first elected into the House of Common in the 2014 federal election and later also won the 2015 election.

Unfortunately, shortly after he took office in the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa, he was diagnosed with cancer.

People packed the church in Toronto to attend Arnold Chan's funeral.

Although I did help in four previous federal elections in the past, I was not involved in either of Arnold's elections.

I was looking forward to help with his next election and trying to get to know him better.









Unfortunately, I would not have this pleasure of knowing and working alongside this wonderful passionate politician.

We attended Arnold Chan's funeral last Saturday in Toronto.

Prime Minister Trudeau paying tribute to Arnold Chan, M.P.      Photo credit - CTV

We were deeply touched by all the tributes paid to him., including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's tribute.

Jean, Arnold's wife remembered him at the funeral.   Photo credit - CTV

The most touching moment for many of us was when Arnold's wife, Jean, talked about Arnold's passion about politics as he called it his mistress just after their marriage.

Prime Minster Justin Trudeau presented flags to Arnold Chan's three sons at his funeral last week.

Arnold's youngest son remembered his father.  Photo credit - CTV

Jean's speech was followed by his three sons' each taking turns to remember their father's life.

Arnold Chan and his family

Many of us marveled at the strength and grace shown by Arnold's family when faced with such a huge loss.

I felt a tremendous sense of sadness at Arnold Chan's funeral, the same feeling I had while watching Princess Diana's funeral on TV many years ago.






I can't help but wonder why does God allow some wonderful people to be taken from us at such an early age?  God, is there a message you wanted to tell us?



Arnold, we will miss you, but would not forget you. Thank you, for all you have done for the people you represented in Scarborough/ Agincourt, especially, the youths who you had supported over the years.

Rest in peace, my beloved Member of Parliament, Arnold Chan.

R.T.
Toronto
Feeling a sense of tremendous loss

More Effective Strategies to Help Motivate Reluctant Writers

Here are more good strategies to motivate reluctant writers:


1. Playing games - One of the games I played with students was having  2-6 students standing together in a circle. Each put  a finger out to the centre of the circle.  I put an object ( a ball or a pen, anything) sitting on those fingers. With the object resting on all the fingers, the students worked together to lower or raise  the object without it falling off the fingers. It was a fun game for students. 

After the game, students were asked to write about the game and what they liked about it.

2. Reading a Book to students

In one particular lesson, I read to students a story that talked about a scary event which happened in a child's family. The students liked this story and we had a discussion afterwards about the scary things that happened in their lives.  

I asked students to take turn to share their scary experiences and also the things that were frightening to them. Share they did!

After hearing everyone's sharing, then students started writing their own scary story. Wow! They liked this topic and they wrote and wrote!

3. A Word Search Activity

I got a word search book with various topics. I went through the book and found the topics in which I thought my students would be interested.  I photocopied that particular page and distributed to students to do the word search.  I asked students to work in pairs so that they could discuss and had more interactions with each other. They did and enjoyed this activity.

 I went over the new words with students making sure that they knew the words and their meaning before they started looking for them in the Word Search.

After the word search activity, students were asked to write a story incorporating the words they had just learned and finished searching.







All the students were engaged in their writing activity including those reluctant writers in my class.

R.T.
Toronto
Picture credit - Google images

Motivating Activities for Reluctant Writers

When I was working as a school administrator in a public school in Toronto, one of my daily responsibilities was dealing with disciplinary issues in school.

I found that often students were sent down to the principal's office by teachers citing that these students were uncooperative in class, i.e. not doing what they were supposed to do.









These kind of scenarios play out many times in schools across Canada.  When asked to write in class, some students scratch their heads and have not a clue about what to write. After a few minutes, if students are still unsure of their writing topics, some will start getting fidgety in class. What follows often is that the teacher would get mad at the children complaining that they are not paying attention and wasting time in class.


Unfortunately, some teachers are unaware of the following fact: students don't know what to write as some of them have limited experiences outside the classroom. Teachers need to give their students tools so that they can be stimulated and have something to write about.

Having worked with students for over thirty years, I have found that playing games with students is one of the most effective strategies to get students start thinking and putting their thoughts in writing.

The second game I used with students to give them something to write about was the Square Game.
You will need a good open space to play this game such as in the gym. It is suitable for a small group of students if played in a classroom.  Here is how to play the game:

1.  The games starts with a student assuming the role of  " It". Choose any student in class.
2.  The It"" student stands in the middle of the room.
3.  The rest of the students spread out and stand at one of the four corners in the room.
4.  Students standing at the 4 corners trying to switch places without the IT looking.
5.   The "It" tries to catch the students while they are switching places.

After a fun game like this, I often find that the students become more relaxed and can easily relate to an experience they just have had. This is when I ask them to write or describe something and students would happily recount the experience they have finished a few minutes ago.

R.T.
Toronto

Picture credit - Google images

Effective Strategies to Motivate Reluctant Students to Write

Very often, I have many parents and teachers expressing their frustration of gettng their children to write. Recently, I demonstrated at a learning centre on how to help students who found writing difficult.

Writing is like exercising. You cannot just go in and start writing. It is best to start with some warm up activities such as a discussion with students or playing a game with them. In the next few days, I will write about some of the effective strategies I have used to successfully motivate reluctant writers to get interested in writing.

One of the activities I used was:

A Game  - Playing a game to get students excited about the lesson

There are many games one can play with the children in class or at home to get their attention and interested in the lesson that comes after. One such game is Air Ping Pong.

I brought with me a package of straws and some ping pong balls. Students played a game of air ping pong on their desk with a partner. They had fun; they were happy and excited about the game.

Students playing air ping pong with a partner

After we played the games for a few minutes, we sat at the table and talked about the game. 

We discussed ideas of what were the material needed for the game, the rules to follow, strategies used to win and how did they feel about the game etc.

4.     Some students drew a picture of the game. I asked them to describe in their writing the things needed for the game, the rules, how to play it etc. 
\
      My students responded to this game well and wrote a lot to describe this game and how they felt about it.  
I     Below is another entry I did with more strategies to motivate students to write.

http://rtam1206.blogspot.ca/2017/09/more-effective-strategies-to-help.html
      
      R.T.
      Love to teach!
      Toronto, Ontario
      Picture credit - Google Images

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Adventure Rooms, Kitchener - Another Way to Have Fun with a Small Group of Friends or Family

I have been privileged to have the opportunity of working with a fabulous group of young people last summer in Waterloo, Ontario.


Last Sunday, we had a youth meeting and I did an encouragement game with them

They were to write down some positive descriptions about each of the young people in the group. They did that exercise using each other's back as the surface on which to write.

At the end, each person shared what other people wrote about them in the group.

Adventure Rooms. Kitchener, Ontario

This was a special celebration meeting with pizza dinner followed by an activity at the Adventure Rooms in Kitchener, a twin city of Waterloo.

Hot beverages provided at the Adventure Rooms

The Adventure Room is a new concept of entertainment providing detective like activities to people in special designed rooms.

I heard of this new entertainment concept but never took part in it.

Board games proved for visitors waiting for their turns for the Adventure Rooms activity

I was excited to experience this new recreational activity with the young people from the Waterloo church.

Since we arrived at the facility a little early, the young people kept themselves busy playing the board games and video games set out on the main floor.

Our young people waiting for their turns for the Adventure Rooms activity

When the time for our game to begin, we were divided into two groups randomly. Our team had four females and two males while the other team was composed of five males.

We called our team the Blue Power Rangers. We were taken to the second floor of the building. Both teams were placed in different rooms. Our team was locked in the Mayor's Office while the other team members were handcuffed in another room trying to figure their way out.

The objective of the game was to look for clues in our rooms for secret codes and keys to escape from the locked room in the shortest time possible.


I cannot write more about what we did in the two different locked rooms as I would ruin this game for future players if I do. I can tell you that it was a very fun experience, working with our own team trying to figure out all the clues and secret codes.

We screamed with delight when finally we figured out the secret code and the secret door in the room opened right in front of our own eyes!

It was an adventure trying to solve the mystery existed in each room. A great experience!

R.T.
Adventure Rooms
Kitchener, Ontario

2017 Royal Medieval Faire, Waterloo - A Number 1 Waterloo Attraction in My Book

The Royal Medieval Faire has been held annually in Waterloo for the past few years.

Visitors lining up to get into the Royal Medieval Fair, Waterloo Park

It is getting popular and attracting many people to attend this event.

Add caption

The Medieval Festival is a fun gathering about all things Medieval.

We have been going to Waterloo monthly for many years.

We did not know about this new annual event until a few weeks ago. 

It was held last weekend and it could not have been held on a better day. 

As we were going into the Waterloo park where the event site was, we kept coming across people dressed in various beautiful and colourful Medieval costumes.  

People really got into the mood dressing for this Medieval  Festival. 

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Not only did we run into many people who dressed their part as ladies or knights.

We ran into someone dressed as soldiers or hunters carrying their hunting gear.

Adults were not the only ones dressed for this fun festival.

A family in Medieval costumes

Numerous children dressed up as well in Medieval clothes. 

The Medieval Festival is a fun way to teach kids and adults alike about life, people and their customs in the Middle Ages.

Climbing up to the top of the tower.

There were a lot of activities and demonstrations for visitors to enjoy a the festival. 

Trying to ram open a castle door

One of the popular activities for children was the simulated castle siege attack activities in which they learned about how enemies attacked the castles and tried to ram down the castle door.

There were marksmanship activities such as  archery lesson.

The archery activity was another popular one among the visitors to the festival.

A sword fight demonstration

There were a lot of going on at the festival.

Sword fighting and duel were fun activity for boys ( girls too) and men alike.

An attack demonstration

This pair got an attentive audience for their demo.

They demonstrated to an intriguing group of boys how they worked together with an axe and a pick to break through the attackers' shields.

A  Medieval duel

There were quite a few costumed demonstrators entertaining festival goers with skills and humour.

People who preferred quieter and gentler activities could also take part in such games.

One of the catapult games at the Waterloo Medieval Festival 

Trying to construct a device that would carry as many gold coins as possible

Children were not the only ones having a lot of fun at the festival. One of the booth setups involved a hands on science activity that got many of the parents and grandparents engaged in it as well.

When completed, the transportation devices were floated down

Participants were challenged to help the king to transport as many gold coins as possible down to the bottom of the river by constructing a transportation device able to carry a load.

The carrying vehicles were put to a test.

After building their floating device people could let them float down the river meeting obstacles on the way.

It was a lot of fun for kids and adults alike!

A booth selling Medieval clothes

There were many interesting booths displaying and selling crafts and items related to the Middle Ages era.

Miniature plants in cute tiny containers such as thimbles at one of the booth

One of my favourite booths was the one selling miniature plants in tiny cute planters.

Some plants were planted in thimbles
glued to either rocks or pieces of wood.

I remember how much our children were mesmerized by Medieval things when they were in grade school.

I could imagine how much fun our young children and other kids would have at this fun festival.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Medieval Festival and had a blast with the activities and displays.


This is the number one attraction in my book for the city of Waterloo!


R.T.
Royal Medieval Faire
Waterloo Park
Waterloo