Sorry I've failed to post in such a long time. The reality is that there isn't much news, or change since my last post. Work at the Canadian Red Cross continues to be busy. The Donations have tailed off a little bit, but the paperwork remains...
NOTE: I've recently been told that 94% of Haiti funds donated to the Canadian Red Cross make it to the ground. The Operating costs for this disaster will not exceed 6%. The 85% figure applies for general, unspecified donations.
Josue is doing well, as usual. His language is always improving, and he's seeming more and more comfortable and accustomed to Canadian life. If I didn't know him (and he didn't speak to me) I would assume that he has lived here his entire life. I'm so impressed by how open to new experiences he has been.
Kayla, Catherine and I, along with our respective counterparts, have been working on a fundraiser which is to be held on the 7th of February. It is to consist of a night at 'Amy's Restaurant on Second' Complete with live jazz music, cheesecake & coffee, and a series of silent auctions/raffles. We have dubbed this event "Evening at Amy's". It has been my job to organize the collection of donated products for our silent auction. The generosity of this town is one of the many things that remind me of my home community. It seems that the majority of businesses which we have canvassed have contributed a significant donation of some sort. Why, just today we had one of the local cafe's offer to provide us with all of our coffee for the night. Kind of restores your faith in the kindness of people and the power of a tight community. Everyone seems keen on our program, and what it has to offer Prince Albert within the next 4 years of its presence here. I'll let ya' all know how it goes!
Like I said, nothing much new here in PA. But with that being said, everything is still excellent!
I hope everyone is well, and I can't wait to see you all soon! (1 Month...wow)
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Canadian Red Cross..
Work at the Red Cross has been hectic since the devastating earthquake in Haiti. During our work day we don't even have time to go for lunch, having so many walk-in's. Over the past two days in which the Red Cross has been open we've raised over $13,000 dollars for the Haitian earthquake fund, $10.9 million dollars Nationally (as of noon, Friday). I would encourage everyone to make some kind of donation to the Red Cross for the Haitian Earthquake fund. I know that almost all of the funds that are donated to the Red Cross make it to the people in need, only 15% lost through transportation and administration costs.
I couldn't be more happy about my workplace, because unlike some of the other volunteer placements I KNOW that I'm making a difference in the lives of others. I plan to continue volunteering for the Red Cross when I return to Ottawa. Also, one of the ladies who used to work out of our office now works in Ottawa. There's a good chance that I may be able to get a summer job at the Red Cross and work full time.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Olympic Celebrations, featuring Buckles.
This weekend in Prince Albert there was a large bash held to celebrate the 2010 Olympic games, and the passing of the torch through town. The best part of these celebrations was the large number of mascot oriented activities, especially given the fact that I had the opportunity to wear the Red Cross mascot, 'Buckles' (The Giant life preserver). Along with me in costume were 3 other members of my group: Kayla was Pat, the PA Tourism squirrel; Michel was Fat Cat for North Western Credit Union; and Luis Carlos wore PA tourism's old Scoobi-Doo outfit, which we decided to make our CWY mascot.
We began the events during a game hosted by PA's WHL team, the Prince Albert Raiders; PA vs. Moose Jaw. There were about 12 mascots who were able to participate in a events throughout the night, including a giant tricycle race on the ice during the first period and greeting all of the fans. Too fun for words. Not to mention the fact that it was a fantastic game.
The second day was even better. It was held at 'Little Red Park', which is about 5 minutes outside of PA. This venue has, among other things, an ok little ski hill which was available throughout the day. I spent the day participating in the "Mascot Olympics". The Mascot Olympics featured an ice hockey game, rubber chicken toss, and toboggan race; all while in costume. I spent the rest of the day giving out hugs to little kids, and trying my hand at Skiing while in costume.
Tonight was the actual torch run, and there was a large show downtown. Basically an hour and a half of advertising on behalf of RBC and Coca-Cola. By the time the torch actually made its way into the downtown square we had had about enough of "our fabulous sponsors", and were ready to head home. Good thing to have experienced, but I don't think I would do it again. Kind of ruined the concept that I had fashioned for myself regarding what the Olympic Games symbolize.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Josue's First Skate
We just took Josue skating for the first time in his life. He hasn't even walked on ice yet, let alone skate on it. This experience was worth a blog post by itself. He did great, and really enjoyed it! By the end we had him skating around, shooting pucks back and forth. I got a great sample video that I'm uploading onto this post.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Happy 2010!
Had a couple significant events since I last posted. Christmas was pleasant. We had our extended family celebration on Christmas Eve, along with the big Christmas dinner. It was very strange to participate in another family's holiday traditions. On Christmas morning we opened presents, and watched Don Cherry's ' Rock 'em Sock 'em Hockey', as is tradition in the Longlitz family. Following Christmas we had many lazy days of Chocolate and Wii/Wii Fit.
New Years was another interesting change. We attended a Latino party, near downtown Prince Albert. There was dancing, eating, drinking, and many were merry. Our hosts prepared a dinner to eat at midnight, as is tradition within their circle. We were once again a minority, and the only language spoken outside of our CWY group was Spanish. We finally crashed at Alex's house at 5:00AM. Still recovering from my sleep loss.
MOST IMPORTANTLY! I finally got ALL of my pictures online! Keep in mind that they are un-edited, so there are many bad photographs. I'll try to tag as many as I can over the next couple of days, but there are oh-so-many. I hope you enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)