Note: Due to the theft of my Macbook Pro and it's files (all photo/video footage), I have had to adapt the way in which I share and reflect on each organization that took part in the Roadtrip with Reason. You can view a few video profiles that were already posted prior to the theft here. Thanks for your support!

I made a stop in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan while on my Roadtrip with Reason and was thoroughly impressed. It's a little prairie city with a big prairie personality, and one that showcases a lot of diversity. I was extremely surprised (and puzzled) to discover representation of so many cultures in Saskatoon, until I later learned that Saskatchewan is "making efforts to attract at least 5000 newcomers each year to contribute to its growing economy."

Ah, hah! Puzzle = solved.

I had made plans to volunteer with the Global Gathering Place, a "non-profit drop-in centre that provides services for immigrants and refugees in Saskatoon." The reason for their existence (in Saskatoon) became much clearer once I was introduced to this culturally diverse city, placed in the Canadian Prairies.

The Global Gathering Place (GGP) are committed to providing “holistic, adaptive and person-centered services to support the efforts of refugees and immigrants to overcome challenges and participate fully in Canadian life as equal members.” They also “educate the public about refugee immigrant issues, address misconceptions, and highlight the valuable contributions that refugees and immigrants make to our community.” Essentially, they act as a support system for immigrants and refugees by creating a community-like atmosphere and by offering programs and services that help them adapt comfortably to their new home.

From the planning stages of the Roadtrip with Reason, I knew I wanted to include an organization that dealt with diversity in some way. Diversity plays an extremely important role in defining Canada and I felt that it was a necessary subject to cover. The Global Gathering Place was the perfect fit!

One morning I arrived to a classroom, knowing that I would be volunteering to help the Instructor with her English Level 1 class. There were approximately 10 students, probably between the ages of 30 – 70, who were newcomers to Canada and were proactively trying to learn the language. They were all from different countries, different educational/professional backgrounds, and were at different levels of English skill. The similarity between every single one of them was the amount of hard work they were putting into the class, the frustration they displayed when they would make a mistake, the pride they felt when they did well on an activity, and the absolute desire to master the English language.

As the girl who did very poorly on her Spanish Level 1 in University (who, me?! heh), I really appreciated their commitment and overall attitude to what was clearly going to be a serious challenge. It is also important to mention that they were incredibly genuine and sweet human beings who were so excited about their new learning opportunity. I left the class hoping that they would eventually succeed and lead a happy life here in Canada.

I also took on the (extremely fun) task of assisting with the first cooking class of the year. Myself, the instructor and the 15 participants sorted through the recipes as a group and chose our favourite main course, salad and dessert – which were all going to be made during their following classes. It was really interesting to sit down with a group of people from all over the world and talk food. Many of the participants were curious about ‘Canadian’ food and had a good giggle over some of the recipes, which sounded so foreign to them. They also shared great stories of eating their favourite meals from home, and by the time we were heading out to the grocery store, I felt really comfortable with my group.

Who needs to worry about language barriers when food is the subject?
It’s an international language, it seems.

We all went over to the local grocery store with a task of finding the items necessary to create the meal. I had never thought about how difficult grocery shopping would be to someone who had no experience in a big-box store. Some of them had journeyed to this grocery store already, where as others (who had only been in Canada for a very short period) had steered clear and were baffled by its size. Many of the people in my own group spoke reminiscently of shopping at little markets, but were also so excited to find items from home in the ‘International’ section. Overall, it was a successful shopping trip and I am sure they had a great time cooking (& eating) their recipes in the following class.

Spending time at the Global Gathering Place was one of the volunteer experiences that affected me most as an individual. Each participant that I met showcased so much bravery, strength, excitement, and pride for their Canadian journey. Because I was on my own (and very different) Canadian journey, I was humbled by their determination and inspired by their willingness to conquer the challenge.

I left feeling so grateful to live in a country where diversity is encouraged, and for places like the Global Gathering Place who help newcomers feel at home in their new home.

For more information on the Global Gathering Place, please visit their website HERE.

Note: Due to the theft of my Macbook Pro and it's files (all photo/video footage), I have had to adapt the way in which I share and reflect on each organization that took part in the Roadtrip with Reason. You can view a few video profiles that were already posted prior to the theft here. Thanks for your support!

For the first time in my 24-years of living, I journeyed to Winnipeg, Manitoba.
People who had made the trip before had given me their not-so favourable opinions.

“It’s a flat, windy, chilly city.”  “It’s full of homeless people.”
“It’s COLD.” “The only worthwhile place in Winnipeg is ‘The Forks’.”
"Don't bother."

In my first few days as a visitor, I was beginning to fear that their not-so favourable conclusions were true, but then I found Winnipeg Harvest.

Winnipeg Harvest (WH) “is a non-profit, community-based organization committed to providing food to people who struggle to feed themselves and their families.” They opened their doors in 1985 and have since been striving to not only feed the hungry, but are also working towards finding long-term solutions to hunger and poverty in Manitoba.

Meghan Pesclovitch (Volunteer Services Coordinator) took me on a tour of the fantastic WH space and shared some scary statistics, before putting me to “work”.

1. Winnipeg Harvest provides emergency food assistance to almost 58,000 people a month across Manitoba

2. Last year 51% of food bank recipients were children.

3. 1/3 of families experiencing hunger are dual wage-earner families, ie: the working poor

4. In 2010, Winnipeg Harvest moved almost 11,000,000 lbs. of food

Scary statistics, indeed.

I had never experienced the fear of going hungry (thankfully), and had definitely never been exposed to such staggering numbers. I was ready to offer my helping hands more than ever, and was wishing that I had the ability to help on a much larger scale.

While volunteering with Winnipeg Harvest, I ended up with two main roles. Firstly, I assisted Dave, a long-time volunteer, in taking phone calls from clients who were in need of emergency food. There were about 6 other people in the room answering calls for the same reason, and the phones never stopped ringing. Because I was not trained, I mostly sat in silence and listened while Dave made the appropriate responses. I was extremely impressed with the efficiency of their tracking system to ensure that no one was taking advantage of the services provided by Winnipeg Harvest and their 320+ partner agencies.

One phone call really struck me. A single mom, who was a first time caller, was looking to make an appointment with her local agency because she was almost out of food for herself and her two children. You could hear the panic, stress and absolute fear in her voice. After Dave booked an appointment for her (while also offering some encouraging words), we hung up the phone and I asked him how he felt about his role at Winnipeg Harvest. He made it very clear that although he feels great about being able to calm clients’ fears and help them feed their families, he ultimately wishes that he didn’t have to be there at all (meaning that no one would be going hungry in Manitoba).

I also had the chance to help a team of volunteers sort food donations and put them in their appropriate boxes (I wish I still had my pictures, the efficiency of this place was truly incredible). It was here that I saw the magnitude of food that was being donated, sorted, packed and distributed on a daily basis. It seemed that the WH fleet of trucks never stopped coming to pick up more pallets of food.

While taking on this task, I casually spoke with the other volunteers to learn why they chose to give their time to this particular organization. I was surprised to find out that many of them were clients of Winnipeg Harvest and just wanted to give back. I later learned that more than 50% of volunteers at WH are people who use a food bank.

Amazing, I thought.

My time at Winnipeg Harvest was short, but really eye-opening and impressive. I left the building with an overwhelming sense of gratefulness for my own circumstances, and appreciation for the hardworking group at WH. Every single staff member and volunteer displayed so much passion and were 100% committed to fighting this issue.

Fighting hunger and feeding hope.

Their goal at Winnipeg Harvest is to “to reduce by half the need for food banks in our province by 2020.”

To learn more about Winnipeg Harvest, please visit their website HERE. I also encourage you to read "the Myths" about hunger HERE.

This is long overdue, but I am so glad to finally share with you a little bit of the magic that is Apathy is Boring. From the moment I stepped into their office in Montreal, I felt like one of the gang. From the executive director (Ilona) who has achieved so much good in her 31 years, to an amazing artist (Moe) who offers her artistic expertise on an (often) volunteer basis, to a lovely staff member (Devon) who doubles as a food blogger -- they were all so incredible. 

For anyone who has negative thoughts or doubts about the youth population today, I suggest you take a trip to Montreal and visit the A is B team. Seriously. They are a breath of fresh, inspiring air. Enjoy!  

It's time for the newest volunteer/non-profit profile video, featuring Farmers Helping Farmers from Prince Edward Island. This organization has been around since 1979 and is 100% volunteer-based - completely impressive. Their hands-on commitment to helping farm families in Kenya is admirable, and I really love that they involve PEI's youth in the process. It was a pleasure to spend time with Farmers Helping Farmers while on my favourite island! I am excited to see them continue their journey of international philanthropy. Enjoy!!

Ta-da! The 2nd volunteer/non-profit profile video is complete, featuring The Empathy Factory from Nova Scotia.

I am so very glad that I was able to visit The Empathy Factory while on my Roadtrip with Reason. This organization is going places - mark my words - they are going to do incredible things for the youth in this country. It's an honour to know them - they have inspired me, that's for sure. 
I sincerely cannot wait to watch them grow. 

Please do yourself a favour and check them out on Facebook & Twitter -- also, if you happen to be in the Halifax-ish area on October 8th, attend this event: Breathing Empathy. Sounds incredible!

Enjoy xo

I am officially back on the road. Yippee! 
I spent the last few days driving through Northern Ontario and I am now in Winnipeg preparing for the week.

Some thoughts....

1. Northern Ontario is b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l. I was genuinely surprised! I had anticipated three days of long, miserable drives and boy, was I wrong. Holy wilderness, batman! It was lovely. I highly suggest taking the drive one day, especially for those of you who think Ontario is "Onterrible". 

2. Fall has arrived and it makes me so very happy. It's my #1 favourite season and it's perfect for road-tripping. The leaves have even begun to change up North, which made the drive that much more beautiful. Manitoba, however, feels especially chilly.....uncomfortably chilly? Perhaps it's because Mr. Sunshine is taking a break today, I hope. Brrr!

3. Wildlife is abundant in Northern Ontario. I (almost) hit a deer and I saw a black bear. A REAL bear! I have a terrible track record for viewing wildlife (i.e. it never happens) and I had prepared myself for this curse to continue as I headed West....but just as I was about to pass over into Manitoba I saw a beautiful black bear on the side of the road. Sadly there was no opportunity for pictures so hopefully there is a next time. So exciting!

4. Don't ever set up your tent the lazy way, ever! I arrived to a strange little campground last night as it was getting dark, so I decided to throw up the tent sans pegs. Why not? This morning when I awoke at 7 a.m. to high winds, rain and tent collapse, I had an idea as to why I should've pegged myself down. You should've seen me trying to pack up as everything blew all over the place - running around in my purple sweatpants. Hilarious! Lesson learned.

5. My creative juices are flowing. I just completed my second volunteer/non-profit profile video, and I am working on my third. Check out The Empathy Factory VIDEO & look for a post tomorrow.

You have no idea how great it feels to be posting this video (below) up. It has been a long, overwhelming and frustrating process to rifle through but the first non-profit profile video is finally complete. The most important thing to note is that For the Love of Learning is a fantastic, worthy and change-making organization in St. John's. Although I arrived during an unusual week - I was still able to grasp the importance of their programming and see the pride and dedication everyone had for the organization. I was particularly impressed with the extremely open and welcoming environment - it didn't matter if you are a University grad, a person struggling with homelessness or a University grad who is homeless.

Some may not understand how art, theatre and creative writing helps at-risk youth, but I can assure you that this program and similar programs do. After meeting some participants, hearing some stories and reading some of the work that was created in the space - there is no doubt in my mind that FTLOL is an organization who is doing great work in St. John's. "A lot with a little" as Peter (in the video) said - I couldn't agree more.

Hi Friends,

So, it's Thursday and the weekly Random Act of Kindness has yet to be posted. I am feeling a little bit like a failure at this moment and wondering if I have bitten off more than I can chew. I had a serious footage/technology screw-up on Thursday that took the entire day and night to work out, and it has forced me to fall behind on a lot of my duties. I just want everyone to know that I am trying my hardest to keep on schedule and am 100000% committed to what this project is all about.

Yesterday I spent the entire morning/day/evening volunteering with the Empathy Factory here is Nova Scotia. They threw a lobster dinner fundraiser and a team of us spent the day creating the ENTIRE meal from scratch - coleslaw, potato salad, apple pie (including the crust), biscuits etc. It was an awesome day of prep and night of lobster dinner-ing with 100 new friends. I left feeling mighty inspired by the Empathy Factory - can't wait to share it with you.

ANYWAY, at the event I was given the opportunity to make a little presentation about my project. I decided to make the Random Act of Kindness as a part of my chat -  a room of 100 and it was Wednesday? Perfect! I had picked card #5 - Give five genuine compliments in one day .... an awesome card for a room of 100. I told everyone to give at least ONE genuine compliment to the people at their tables, and the rest is history!

So, this is your chance to be kind too....one day later! Go give 5 genuine compliments out today. Make someone smile! Write about your experience on www.boomboomcards.com & let me know how it goes via Twitter (#randomactwed), Facebook, this blog or e-mail.

Thanks for your patience. I am off to edit edit edit so that I can get this Travel Tuesday video up.....soon!
Tomorrow I leave for Prince Edward Island & on to another volunteering adventure. Hurrah!

Warmly,
Becky :)

Hi Friends,

I am 19 days away from departure. Can you believe it?! There are so so so many little bits & pieces that I need to tie together, and that includes the announcement of some more non-profits. I am so grateful that I found out about this organization from Vancouver, BC and I can't wait to visit in October. I have a feeling that I am going to learn a lot...

What is the Take a Hike Youth at Risk Foundation? 
The Foundation was established in 2000 to support the Take a Hike program. In partnership with the Vancouver School Board, the Foundation provides the resources and funding for programs operations, therapists and outdoor activities. The Foundation has raised over $1 million in support of Vancouver's at-risk youth.

What is the Take a Hike program?
It's an alternative education program that engages at-risk youth through a unique combination of adventure-based learning, academics, counseling, and community involvement.

Take a Hike guides and empowers these youth to blaze a trail, a positive path with positive outcomes. With Take a Hike's guidance, every youth will have an opportunity to blaze their own trail--one that is right for them, that empowers them, that gives them survival skills for life.

Who participates in the program?
Students in the Take a Hike program often struggle with issues that have inhibited their success in the mainstream school system such as drug and alcohol addiction, physical and mental abuse, criminal activity, low self-esteem, depression, and/or trauma. Most students are referred to the program by school counselors or social workers for an opportunity to make lasting change in their lives.

How can we help?
a) Volunteer - be a positive role model in the classroom & outdoors
b) Donate - spare some "change" to help Take a Hike make change
c) Spread the word - join their online community

Incredible, right?! I haven't even volunteered with them yet and I already feel inspired. Take a Hike has some similarities to a program that I took in Grade 11 called the Bronte Creek Project. It had such a positive affect on my life - an unforgettable experience. I am so glad that similar programs exist in other locations across Canada and I can only imagine how amazing the Take a Hike program and foundation are. I simply cannot wait to learn more about their program when I role into the Vancouver area in October.

Take some time to read more about them. They are a special group to follow!

Happy trails & travels!

Warmly,
Becky xo

Hi Friends,

It's time for another (long overdue) non-profit announcement! As mentioned in a previous post, I am going to be sharing with you some of the different non-profit organizations that I will be spending time with when I am on the road! This organizations home base is in Montreal but they provide services all across Canada. Here we go...

What is Apathy is Boring?
"Apathy is Boring's mission is to use art and technology to educate youth about democracy."

What do they do?
"Apathy is Boring accomplishes its goals through the following program areas:

Concerts & Events that encourage youth to get involved in their communities, survey them about their democratic participation habits, and create an opportunity for dialogue between elected officials and youth.


A Youth Friendly Program including workshops, tools, and resources to engage youth in decision-making and educate decision-makers about how to engage youth.


Apathyisboring.com which provides youth with information, "how-to's", and support to get involved in democracy.


Election Campaigns that reach out to youth and give them the information they need to make an informed vote."

What are their goals?
"Apathy is Boring aims to meet the following Youth in Democracy Goals:
a) increase youth voting rates
b) increase youth engagement in their communities
c) build a sustainable dialogue between youth and elected officials"

I love this organization...L-O-V-E them! I can't wait to hang out with them when I make it to Montreal.
They are too cool. Am I right?!

Due to the upcoming election on May 2nd, I am certain that their office is full of that buzzing bee sensation...working hard to ensure that youth are voting! I STRONGLY advise you to check out their incredible website and make use of their Political Parties guide. It will able you to make an informed decision when you vote - and please, please, please do VOTE! Make use of your voice... it's an important one! 
 
Speaking of voting, don't forget to get your daily vote in for my Roadtrip with Reason in Pepsi Refresh Canada. Only TWO spots to go until the $5,000 grant is achieved. Amazing! Please, please, please keep up the daily vote until April 30th and spread the word.

Happy trails & travels!

Much Love,
-- Becky xo