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

It's hard not to have fun on the road! In addition to the volunteering, organization profiling and other project related tasks, I try to squeeze in as much exploring as possible. Below is the second travel video from the road, featuring the rest of Atlantic Canada. Be sure to check out my first volunteer video, too! 

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 officially back in Nova Scotia after an amazing last few days in Newfoundland. I am so, so sad to leave that magical province behind, but excited to see what Nova Scotia has to offer! Volunteering with For the Love of Learning was a great experience and I am excited to share it with you in video form on Friday!

I also had a great time exploring the city of St. John's. One of my last few evenings was spent getting 'Screeched In' with Mayo, my couchsurfing host, and some other surfers. It was an awesome night and I am glad to now have a certificate that says I am an "Honourary Newfie"! Check it out :)

Hey Friends!

I have now officially been on the road FOREVER - 5 whole days!!
Justtttt kidding. I can't believe it's only been 5 days - I feel like the "road life" has been my reality for 5 months (in a good way). 

I wanted to share with you the Top 5 things I've learned thus far...

1. Tim Hortons' coffee loses it's charm after multiple cups. Blasphemy, you say? Just try it!


2. XM Radio is awesome (Thanks for the hook-up, Chevrolet!) - I am especially loving the comedy stations. Pretty sure everyone who drives past me thinks I am a little loopy, but I can't help but LAUGH OUT LOUD every.single.time.


3. My terrible sense of direction isn't getting any better. Sometimes even OnStar (the human GPS, as I lovingly refer to them) struggles to save me. In fact, I just returned "home" from another LOST adventure and missed out on ice cream with Blair & Stef from the Empathy Factory. Huge bummer. Instead, I drove on the highway (heading to P.E.I?!) at 12 a.m. So yeah, I guess I learned that it's not TOO scary driving through moose country at night. Actually, I am starting to think the whole moose phenomenon is a big eastern conspiracy. There are a billion warning signs, but where are the moose?!


4. New Brunswick is beautiful and Fredericton is a great city. Who knew?! I didn't. It was a pleasant surprise!


5. There are SO many people doing cool Canadian tours! I have come across 3 different projects, including a group doing a documentary on family farming - they had a TRACTOR pulling a mini-house/trailer/thing....it was the coolest! I also had a chance to meet Scott, Meghan & Sabrina from Run to Live - 42K a day....unbelievable! Man, Canadians are cool. 
I am so proud to call this country my home!

Ta-da! I bet by the end of my 4-month journey I will have have a Top 1004493902394394034 things I have learned list...... Hah!

Heading to Newfoundland via ferry on Sunday! Project begins on August 1st! Life is good!

Happy trails & travels.

LOVE,
Becky xo

Hi Friends,

As mentioned in a previous post, I am going to be announcing (over the next couple months) the different non-profit organizations that I will be spending time with when I am on the road! I am SUPER excited to share one of the non-profits that I have connected with from Nova Scotia...

I cannot tell you how excited I am to meet this amazing group. I LOVE their idea (so much) and think a program like The Empathy Factory could work wonders in communities across the country. I actually came across their project via twitter and have been in close contact with them ever since. Blair & Stef from The Empathy Factory have been INCREDIBLY supportive of the Roadtrip with Reason and I am so grateful. Totally proving that classic stereotype that people from the East coast are super nice. It seems to be true! Haha.

I am so happy to be able to play a small part in The Empathy Factory this coming summer - they are just in the pilot stages of their project and I cannot wait to watch them grow! Be sure to check out their Facebook page to keep updated on their current student project. So exciting!

Happy trails & travels,
-- Becky xo

P.S. Don't forget to vote vote vote in Pepsi Refresh Canada. It's time for us to hop, skip and jump out of 8th place!!! 4 weeks. 4 spots. PLEASE keep up the support! Love!

It's time for another Tune-eee Tuesday - Nova Scotia addition! I had a really hard time choosing only 5 songs to feature because there are a ridiculous amount of incredible artists from Nova Scotia...so I chose 6! Talented with a CAPITAL T! Haha. I will absolutely be adding a whole bunch more Nova Scotian (?) songs to my grande list of Roadtrip with Reason tunes! For now, this is what I came up with...

1) Joel Plaskett -- Soundtrack for the Night

2) Buck 65 -- Paper Airplane (with Jenn Grant)

3) Amelia Curran -- Hands on a Grain of Sand

4) Old Man Luedecke -- I quit my job

5) Wintersleep -- Oblivion

6) David Myles -- Cape Breton

Next week I will be featuring songs from Prince Edward Island. I don't think I generally listen to many artists from P.E.I so this will be a fun discovery.

Thanks for listening!

Much Love,
-- Becky xo

P.S. Don't forget to get your DAILY vote vote VOTE vote vote in for Pepsi Refresh Canada. Our project is currently in 10th place - only 6 more spots to jump! We can do this!!!!!! Thank you!!