Browne family helps give good night’s sleep to Third World children

As posted on Mississauga.com on December 13, 2013.

By Joseph Chin

MISSISSAUGA — Thirty-three years removed from his goaltending days in the National Hockey League, Dave Dryden still cuts an athletic figure, albeit with greyer hair.

Last night, reminiscent of the old days, he was caught in a scrum — only this time he wasn't mobbed by sports writers jostling for a post-game quote. This time he was surrounded by ordinary folks who care deeply for children half a world away.

Dryden was lending a bit of star power to Jim Browne’s fundraiser, held at Walkers Fish Market in Erin Mills, for Sleeping Children Around the World (SCAW), an organization that donates bed kits to children in underdeveloped and developing countries. Each kit contains a mat, pillow, sheet, blanket, clothing, towel, school supplies and a mosquito net, if needed.

“A good night’s sleep really prepares these kids for school next day,” said Dryden. “It’s amazing what a world of difference a donation of $35 — the cost of a kit — can make in a kid’s life.”

Dryden notes that SCAW, unlike most charities, doesn’t incur any fundraising expense. Instead, it relies solely on word of mouth for donations, and fundraisers such as the Browne family’s Holiday Cheer.

What started out 11 years ago as a holiday get-together with neighbours and friends (hence the name Holiday Cheer) for the Sherwood Forrest family has developed in the past seven years into a fundraising juggernaut for SCAW.

“So far, I believe we’ve raised enough funds to equip 650 kits,” said Browne.

Last year, the kits were donated to Togo, a country in western Africa.

“If children in impoverished countries like Togo don’t have the money for a school uniform, they can’t go to school — it’s as simple as that,” Browne said.

The kits, he says, go a long way because they can benefit the entire family and a lot of the stuff can be handed down to younger children.

Since SCAW’s founding by Dryden’s parents, Murray and Margaret, in 1970, it has provided bed kits, at last count, for 1.3 million children in 33 countries.

“My father understood how vital a few hours of comfort and sleep are to help a child forget extreme temperatures, sickness, and pangs of hunger,” said Dryden. ”Every day SCAW works towards fulfilling his dream of a world in which every child benefits from the comfort of a good night's sleep.”

Officially, Dryden is SCAW’s chairman of the board since his dad’s death in 2004, “but mainly, I’m a volunteer,” he said.

Under his leadership over the last 12 years, SCAW has grown to distribute some 70,000 bed kits annually.

It’s this dedication of volunteers like himself that makes the organization successful. SCAW now operates out of the modest Dryden home in Etobicoke. It's staffed by women who have volunteered for decades, and any administrative expenses and the pay of the lone salaried employee is covered by an investment fund Murray Dryden left the charity. Every cent of each donation goes to the cause, says the younger Dryden.

“We want this charity to go on forever,” he said.

Local woman helps children get safe, comfortable sleep

As posted by the Kitchener/Waterloo/Cambridge Record, December 12, 2013.

Volunteers are leading social change right before our eyes. While we worry about Christmas shopping, the newest fashion trends and what our weekend plans are, there are 40,000 residents of Cambridge and North Dumfries thinking about how to help someone through their volunteer work this coming year.

Local resident Helen Scutt is a volunteer member of the United Way’s Community Impact Council.

She is also a “travelling volunteer” with a Toronto-based charity, Sleeping Children Around the World (SCAW).

Her first trip with SCAW was to Kenya in 2010. She and her husband, Jim Howley, travelled with a team to India this year to distribute bedkits to 7,000 children identified in the greatest need.

The bedkits include a mosquito net to prevent malaria, sleeping mattress, blankets, school supplies and new clothes for the children.

The organization works with overseas partners, such as Rotary Clubs, who purchase the bedkit materials locally, identify bedkit recipients, and arrange volunteers for the distribution days.

Why does Helen volunteer?

“I volunteer with this organization because I see firsthand the positive impact it has, not just for the child who receives it, but the whole family. The smile on each child’s face as they receive their gift is such a joy!”

Helen set a personal goal to raise $50,000 for SCAW – that would be 1,429 bedkits, and in three years, she’s almost reached her goal with the support of family and friends.

“Each of us can make a difference – one child, one person at a time.”

United Way’s Volunteer Centre is here to help you connect to causes that matter to you.

Search our online volunteer opportunities database by visiting www.uwcambridge.on.ca and clicking on the Volunteer Centre tab. Or call 519-621-1030 ext. 253.

Jennifer Annett works for the United Way of Cambridge and North Dumfries. This column shares stories of volunteers who are inspiring positive change in our community.

Dave Dryden receives Lifetime Achievement Award

As posted on The Etobicoke Guardian, December 10, 2013.

The Rotary Club of Toronto West Hosts the 15th Annual Rotary
Youth Impact Awards Dinner Friday, January 31st, 2014 at the Old Mill Inn

Dave Dryden to be honoured

The Rotary Club of Toronto West is proud to present its 15th annual Rotary Youth Impact Awards dinner and we need your support to make this a rousing success.

At this event, we recognize the efforts of individuals who, and organizations which, make a positive impact on youth.

The highlight of the evening is the presentation of a Lifetime Achievement Award, and this year’s recipient is sportsman and humanitarian Dave Dryden. For more than 20 years, Dave has committed himself to Sleeping Children Around the World a remarkable charitable organization which has distributed over 1.2 million bedkits to needy students in many parts of the world. These bedkits contribute to the children’s well being and gives them a better start in their education.

Five other awards are also presented during the evening, including two designated specifically to individuals under the age of 25 who have already displayed significant leadership and passion by serving others in their respective communities.

This event is a fundraiser for the Rotary Club of Toronto West and over the years we have used the net proceeds raised to fulfill our commitment to help youth achieve their potential in our local community and worldwide. We have, among other things, funded recreation programmes for physically and mentally disabled children at the YMCA, and skill training and counseling programmes for juvenile offenders. As well we have funded literacy programmes in Northern Ontario, distributed free dictionaries in our local elementary schools and purchased paediatric chairs for the Etobicoke General Hospital.

We want to continue serving our community in ways that give our most vulnerable children a better opportunity to enjoy their lives and a better opportunity to make a positive contribution to our society.

With your attendance at our event, we will be able to fulfill our goals. In fact a significant amount of the net proceeds raised from this year’s event will be used to purchase and distribute a large number of bedkits through Sleeping Children Around the World.

We look forward to your attendance at our event. For $150 per person you can enjoy a dinner and silent auction and have a lively and entertaining evening at the Old Mill Inn.

Please contact me for tickets and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to call.

Sincerely,


Willis Rudy
The Rotary Club of Toronto West ● Tel: 416-233-3123 ● email: willis.rudy@sympatico.ca

Helen Scutt -- Focus on Volunteering

Submitted by the United Way Volunteer Centre, Cambridge and North Dumfries

As posted by the Kitchener/Waterloo/Cambridge Record, December 3, 2013.

Focus on Volunteering

December 2013: International Volunteer Day – celebrating grassroots change

International Volunteer Day is a global celebration of volunteers. Founded in 1985 by the United Nations, it takes place annually on December 5 to recognize volunteer efforts in our community, in our provinces and territories and across the world. Volunteers are leading social change right before our eyes. While we worry about Christmas shopping, the newest fashion trends, and what our weekend plans are, there are 40,000 residents of Cambridge and North Dumfries thinking about how to help someone through their volunteer work this coming year.

Helen Scutt is a volunteer member of the United Way’s Community Impact Council. She is also a ‘Travelling Volunteer’ with a Toronto-based charity, Sleeping Children Around the World (SCAW). Her first trip with SCAW was to Kenya in 2010. She and her husband Jim Howley travelled with a team to India this year to distribute bedkits to 7,000 children identified in the greatest need. The bedkits include a mosquito net to prevent malaria, sleeping mattress, blankets, school supplies and new clothes for the children. The organization works with Overseas Partners, such as Rotary Clubs, who purchase the bedkit materials locally, identify bedkit recipients, and arrange volunteers for the distribution days.

Why does Helen volunteer? “I volunteer with this organization because I see firsthand the positive impact it has, not just for the child who receives it, but the whole family. The smile on each child’s face as they receive their gift is such a joy!” Helen set a personal goal to raise $50,000 for SCAW – that would be 1429 bedkits, and in three years, she’s almost reached her goal with the support of family and friends. “Each of us can ‘make a difference’- one child, one person at a time.”

Peterborough this Week -- What's On

As posted on My Kawartha, November 20, 2013.

By Paul Rellinger

• STUART McLEAN: Author, journalist, humourist and CBC Radio Vinyl Cafe host presents his unique take on life and current events, Showplace Performance Centre, 7 p.m., tickets at the box office or order at www.showplace.org

• INTERNATIONAL NIGHT OF MUSIC AND DANCE: 3rd annual show in support of Habitat For Humanity and Sleeping Children Around The World featuring B Flat Jazz Ensemble, Accademia Musica Violin Ensemble, Mercy Steelwood, Alan Godfrey, Water’s Edge, Dub Trinity and the Kenner Dance Team, Kenner Collegiate, 633 Monaghan Rd., 6 p.m., tickets $20 ($10 students) at Kenner

• CATFISH WILLIE & THE BUCKLE BUSTERS: At the Black Horse, 450 George St. N., 7:30 p.m.

...

A sound sleep and a little hope

As posted by Halifax Herald News, the September 23, 2013.

By Kelly Shiers, Staff Reporter

Charity provides sleeping kits, clothes to desperately poor children around the world

Clarence Deyoung understands what $35 can buy for a needy kid in a country like Sri Lanka.

The list goes something like this: A ground mat, sheet, towel, pillow and pillowcase. One pair of new shoes. Two skirts for the girls. Two pairs of shorts for the boys. Two T-shirts. Seven school books. A mosquito net to ward off malaria-carrying insects.

And hope.

“The smile that $35 brings to these kids’ faces is unbelievable. It’s like Christmas over and over again,” said Deyoung, who just returned from his 26th trip as a volunteer with the Canada-based charity Sleeping Children Around the World.

“In many cases, this will be the only thing these kids will get new in their lives.”

Deyoung, a retired businessman from Pomquet, first heard of Sleeping Children Around the World (www.scaw.org) from his daughter, who had learned about the organization at school.

The idea appealed to him, he said. A $35-donation provides one bed kit with bedding, clothes and school supplies for a child in a developing country. Volunteers who distribute the bed kits pay their own travel expenses and no part of the donation money is used to cover administration costs, he said.

In 1989, after meeting the charity’s founders, Deyoung went on his first trip.

Now 26 trips later, Deyoung has to stop to think when asked what countries he’s visited.

“India, Bangladesh, Honduras, Nicaragua, Ecuador, the Philippines, Togo and Sri Lanka,” he says.

There have been five trips to India. This was his fourth trip to Sri Lanka.

He was two weeks in that country, with the other volunteers. It took 26 hours to get to Sri Lanka from Toronto, and then there was a nine-hour bus drive from its capital to the rural areas where 4,000 kids waited for their kits.

The kit items were purchased locally by Rotary club volunteers there, after consulting with parents to see what the children needed. The Rotary, using the charity’s criteria, also picked the recipients.

Sleeping Children Around the World volunteers were on hand to make sure the kits were distributed properly. They also take pictures of each child with the donated kit, which is sent back to the kit’s donor.

“We go over there as travelling volunteers to be the eyes and ears of our donors. We want to see that it’s a good bed kit. We want to see that it’s a needy child. We want to see that the items in the bed kit are of good quality,” he said.

This trip, the children’s feet were measured for shoes. Deyoung says he watched as many of the children, wearing the only clothes they owned, picked out the first pair of shoes they’ve ever worn.

Deyoung is already thinking about his next trip with the charity — likely back to Sri Lanka. In the meantime, there are plenty of local projects that he also is involved with.

“I have a belief that whether you are in Canada or in a developing country, there are people in need. I believe that all of us who are able to do so, should do whatever we can to help the less fortunate, whether it’s in our backyard or across the world.”

And that comes with its own reward, he said, recalling the looks on the children’s faces in Sri Lanka.

“It just gives these people such a boost and a little bit of hope that there is someone out there who cares about them,” he said.

Sleeping Children Around the World will have a table at the

North American Festival of Wales

Fairmont Royal York Hotel

August 29 - September 1, 2013.

Click graphic for larger size.

Cancer moved her to help others

As posted on the Niagara Falls Review website, July 26, 2013
By Grant LaFleche

It sounds like a cliche but it is true nevertheless. Surviving cancer changes a person.

More than most, cancer survivors possess a keen sense of their own mortality. They know intimately the fragile and transient nature of life. Maybe it ends tomorrow, maybe a decade from now. But it will end. So the desire not just to live, but to do something meaningful, can come sharply into focus.

"Everyone always does it. I did it. There are things you want to do, but you always think there is time. You put it off to some time in the future when you think circumstances will be perfect. But then you never do it," says Joan Hatcher. "After my experience with cancer, I couldn't wait anymore. There wasn't time to wait anymore."

Knowing time was no longer her ally, Hatcher boarded a plane to Africa to help children in need.

Five years ago, Hatcher's life stepped through the Looking Glass when a routine mammogram discovered she had breast cancer.

At the time, she believed herself to be indestructible. Even though the disease killed her sister, Hatcher refused to accept cancer could touch her.

Until it did.

A double mastectomy followed. Chemotherapy. Hair loss. Breast reconstruction surgery.

It redefined Hatcher's entire life. Knowing how quickly sand could run out of the hour glass, the Niagara Health System physician recruiter started doing things she always wanted to do. Including going to Africa.

"While I was going through all my chemo and surgery in 2010, I had some very good friends who went on a bed distribution trip with the Sleeping Children Around The World organization," Hatcher said. "I had always said I was going to go to Africa someday. I heard them talk about and saw their pictures and when I went home I realized that someday is now."

Hatcher says she had long known about Sleeping Children, a charitable organization that provides bedding, clothes and school supplies to children in need in Third World countries. A family friend had once donated a bed kit to the group in Hatcher's late father's name.

She's made donations to the group, but now she wanted to be part of the front line, distributing the kits in some of the poorest areas of the planet.

Hatcher was interviewed and accepted as a volunteer quickly, but it took two years of waiting before she was able to go on a trip.

"They have a number of volunteers and they can only take one first timer on a trip," Hatcher said.

She left on May 22. She returned three weeks later with a new perspective on the world.

The conditions many of the children in Ugandan villages are living in were shocking to Hatcher. No utilities. Sometimes, not even a floor. She even saw once shack a family called home that featured a massive anthill in the living room.

Although she stayed in conditions better than the children, Hatcher — who admits to being attached to her creature comforts — had to go without most of the amenities of home.

"You'd shower, but it was so hot that the moment you got out you were sweating again," she said. "Uganda is covered in this fine, red dirt and by the end of the day it was everywhere. You were covered in it."

It didn't matter. The Sleeping Children group she was with handed out 500 kits a day. They would travel to drop-off locations and people from nearby villages would walk to meet them.

Hatcher said the bed kits were a vast improvement over what the kids already had, but they were not about providing luxury, but saving lives. Mosquito borne malaria is a killer in Uganda.

"So it was a matter of life and death in some cases," she said. "We saw so many children with malaria."

Although the netting might be the most critical part of the kits, the school supplies were what put smiles on the children's faces.

"They went crazy for that. Absolutely nuts," Hatcher says. "They don't have anything like paper. This meant they could go to school."

Hatcher says education has allowed some Ugandans to start to break the the cycle of poverty, and the younger generation knows it.

"It's one thing to go and do something you've always wanted to do, but it is another to something that really has an impact, that makes a difference in the lives other people," Hatcher says. "I would go again in a heartbeat."

It was only three weeks. But much like the disease that drove her to go, those weeks in Africa changed the way Hatcher viewed her place in the world.

Sleeping Children:

Sleeping children is a not-for-profit that delivers bed kits to children living in poverty around the world.

A donation of $35 provides a kit of a mattress, sheets, clothes, a mosquito net, pillow and school supplies to kids. The 43-year-old organization has provided kits to children in 33 countries.

For more information go online to www.scaw.org

Goulash Cookout for SCAW - August 24

The Third Annual

Manning & Tolnai
Goulash Cookout

Homemade Pies, Cakes, Cookies,
Salads, Bread, and
Hungarian Goulash

Hastings, ON

Saturday August 24, 2013

$15 per person

(Children under 12 free)
100% of money will be donated to
Sleeping Children Around the World

Click graphic to see a larger version
and directions.

Quilt Show for SCAW - July 20 & 21

---

The Healing Gardens of

Rural Rootz

Nature Reserve

Second annual "Block Party"

Quilt Show

Saturday & Sunday:
July 20-21 - 10am to 5pm

Admission by donation to
Sleeping Children Around the World

Click graphic to see a larger version
and driving directions.

Dave Dryden continues to make Sleeping Children Around The World a success

As posted on the Pros Give Back website, July 6, 2013.

POSTED BY: CHRISTIAN MARIN

Dave Dryden split the 14 seasons he played as a professional goaltender between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the World Hockey Association (WHA). Since the Edmonton Oilers were part of the World Hockey Association for most of the years he spent with them, he appeared in more NHL games as a member of the Buffalo Sabres than any other team. While Dave was off to a fresh start with the Sabres in 1970, his parents, Murray and Margaret Dryden, were off to a fresh start of their own. That year they founded Sleeping Children Around The World, an organization that provides bedkits to children in underdeveloped and developing countries.

“Well, I remember when I was playing with the Sabres and Dad was talking about this idea. He didn’t really talk about it much the first couple of years, he wanted to sort of see if it could work, I think, before he even mentioned it to Ken or I or my sister, Judy,” explained Dave Dryden.

“When he started it and told me about it I thought it was a neat idea, but I was unsure of how much it was going to accomplish. In every way we were supportive but we weren’t involved, simply because we were involved in our own lives at the time,” he continued.

“The way it worked was the administrative stuff was done by my mother and father from their house, but when it came to going overseas to distribute the bedkits my dad went away sometimes for one month, sometimes two months and sometimes for three months to give these bedkits out and to travel. It was something that was going on in the ‘70s, but something that Ken, Judy and myself didn’t know all of the details about.”

As something that started off so small with distributions of 50-100 bedkits, Sleeping Children Around The World has been able to grow over the years and donate more and more bedkits to underprivileged children around the world. Dave believes that it wasn’t only the hard work that his parents put forth to make Sleeping Children the success that is today, but it was also the passion that they had for what they were doing.

“As I’m finding now, when I go around and see people who knew my dad back in those early days, he really did motivate them to get involved. He was very passionate about what he did, very ethical and very upfront and he made people want to help out,” explained the Hamilton, Ontario native.

“I’m in a position now where maybe 75 or 80 times a year I’m out going to churches or rotary clubs to speak to people about Sleeping Children and so many times people will come up to me and tell me about how my dad spoke to them 25 years ago and they still remember it and I think it’s great. I’m learning a lot about my mom and dad right now than I would normally know because these are people that saw them in a difference perspective from how I saw them,” he continued.

“I like how much people actually want to get involved and help people. They’re not sure where they want to put their support, but they do want to do something and my dad’s approach to it with 100% of the proceeds going towards the cause really won people over and they became really passionate about this.”

Dryden may not have understood his parents’ passion when this all began when he was younger, but throughout the years, as the President of Sleeping Children, he has really started to understand why they started it in the first place. The passion that his dad once had for Sleeping Children is now being mirrored through him.

“What I’m noticing now after being involved for over 20 years is that it’s the passion that is most needed out there. When people have a passion to do something it seems that the money falls along. If you have all sorts of money and no passion then nothing positive happens out of it. The people that I’m involved with on a day-to-day basis at Sleeping Children are so passionate about what they do and it goes a long way.”

Dave’s favourite thing to do through Sleeping Children is going overseas to give out the bedkits. It usually takes 2-3 weeks to distribute all of them, but it’s a unique experience.

“It’s thrilling to actually hand a bedkit to a child because it’s like Christmas, it’s like handing them a Christmas present.”

Throughout the years Sleeping Children has given out kits to nearly 1.3 million children. The kits go a long way because they can benefit the entire family and a lot of the stuff can be handed down to younger children.
“The biggest impact that I see is that a bedkit is given to a child and a family. It has bedding, clothing, school supplies and mosquito net. Right off the bat the mosquito net is going to be something that the entire family can use because it’s so large. You give them the bedding and you just know that a lot of them are going to get a better night’s sleep because many of them were sleeping on the floor and on the mud,” stated Dryden.

“Their parents tell me they get a better night’s sleep and you and I both know how much better we feel after a decent sleep. Our thing is, if a child is safe and healthy and getting a good night’s sleep, you want them to get up in the morning and do whatever they need to do so that they end up, you know, maybe getting out of the poverty trap,” he continued.

“Every country we go to, I find this to be the most uplifting thing actually, every country we go to when we talk to the parents or caregivers of the kids getting the bedkits they tell us the same thing, they want their kids to go to school and in a lot of these countries you can’t go to school unless you have the school uniform or supplies so we put the supplies where it’s possible in the bedkits because we know we’re helping kids go to school. When you realize what your donation gets, it is totally worth the $35. Your donation purchases a kit that will make an impact on a kid’s life and make them feel good and confident about themselves.”

Each year, Dryden and members from Sleeping Children return to areas that they previously visited to see the kind of impact that the kits have made. Dryden enjoys going to the distribution sites to give out the kits because he gets to see the smiles on all the faces.

“What we do is we get our team to unpack a bedkit to hold up all of the different items so that the kids and parents can see what they’re getting and we let them know everyone will get the same item so there’s no scrabbling or anything like that, and the cheering that goes on is unreal,” he explained.

“I mean, you hold up a package of pencils and they really go wild about it and the thing that typically draws the most cheer is the school supplies, not just from the kids, but from the parents as well, because now that money that would have been used on the supplies can go towards food to feed the family.”

For an organization that Dave Dryden wasn’t too sure of in the beginning, it now amazes him how much of a difference his parents were able to make. He understands the vision that they had when they first started Sleeping Children Around The World and it’s safe to say he now shares the same one.

“What I’m amazed about is that I used to say to my dad I don’t know if this works or that works but I’m finding out now that he really came up with a good system. The fact that we buy all of the goods overseas or get them made in the country that we are in makes a huge difference in their economy and gives them the jobs that they need.”

To learn more about Sleeping Children Around The World, visit http://www.scaw.org/about/index.html

Students use pennies for a good cause

As posted on the Collingwood Enterprise Bulletin, July 4, 2013
By Emily Innes

COLLINGWOOD – Students from a local elementary school turned pennies into a gift for a child in need in a developing country.

Students at Connaught Public School held a penny drive to raise funds to purchase a bedkit from the not-for-profit charity Sleeping Children Around the World.

Albert Gardiner, a local volunteer with SCAW, gave a presentation to students in Grades 2 to 4 to show them the difference their pennies are making.

Gardiner laid out the contents of the bedkit: a mat or mattress, a pillow, sheets, a blanket, a mosquito net, clothes, a towel and school supplies.

“These things we take for granted that we have them every day of the week, but they have never seen these things,” said Gardiner.

The bag costs $35 and is assembled in the country where they are distributed.

He said it is a rewarding experience to bring the kits to the children because they are so grateful.

“They kissed our feet like we are a god,” he said. “But, that’s all thanks to you guys.”

The students watched a short video about the history of SCAW.

Founder Murray Dryden travelled east from Manitoba during the Great Depression in the 1930s and had to endure many nights without food or a bed and vowed to one day to help others who didn’t have a place to sleep.

Dryden and his wife, Margaret, began the charity in 1970 and after he died, he donated his home to be used for the organization, therefore 100% of donations go straight to the bedkits.

SCAW has raised more than $23 million to provide bedkits for children in 33 countries. They have delivered more than a million kits.

Connaught has been supporting the charity for more than 12 years and has donated about 500 kits.

One student after the presentation said he wished he could give $20 to SCAW.

IPL Supports Sleeping Children Around the World

As posted on YouTube by the Innisfil Public Library, July 2, 2013.

This summer the Innisfil Public Library is once again participating in the TD Summer Reading Program. In addition to supporting literacy through the months of July and August, IPL will be supporting a very worthy cause - Sleeping Children Around the World.

Keep reading Innisfil and help us reach our goal of purchasing 4 Bed Kits for this amazing cause!

As posted on the Orillia Calendar, May 30, 2013.

Orillia Today

Friday, May 31

• The Sleeping Children Around The World Annual garage sale, with bake table is on May 31, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and on June 1, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sale is at 1917 Ridley Blvd., Bass Lake Woodlands. Rain date is June 8.

• St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church presents a roast beef dinner on May 31, at 6 p.m. Tickets are $14. Call Alma at 705-327-2725 to reserve tickets. St. Mark’s is located at 429 Jamieson Dr.

• The Orillia ANAF presents the Fig Leaf Quartet on May 31, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. All welcome. Admission for non-members and guests is $2.

• A Spring Rummage Sale will be held in the Guardian Angel’s church hall on Friday May 31, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• The Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Nurse Alumni reunion dinner is on May 31 at the Mariposa Inn. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and tickets are $35 (they must be ordered in advance). Call Pat at 326-3916.

• The Guardian Angels Spring Rummage Sale is on May 31, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• The Moose Lodge hosts a fish and chips dinner on May 31 at 6 p.m. There are also meat draws. The lodge is at 6 Kitchener St.

Saturday, June 1

• Anyone interested in trying lawn bowling is invited to attend a Lawnbowls open house on June 1, at 2 p.m., at 5 Commerce Rd. Instructors will be on hand.

• The Mariposa Grandmothers host a plant and garage sale on June 1, at 432 Mooney Cres. The event runs 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and proceeds help women in Africa who have lost their children to AIDS and are raising their grandchildren.

• A free lunch is offered June 1 at Free Methodist Church on the Hill. The event runs 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and all are welcome.

• The Orillia Lions Club Spring Classic Golf Tournament is on June 1 at the Couchiching Golf and Country Club. Tickets are $70, which includes golf, dinner and prizes. For details, call Bill Belfour at 326-0931.

• The Orillia Wind Ensemble hosts its Sounds of Summer concert on June 1, at 7:30 p.m., at St. Paul’s United Church. Tickets are $20 adults, $17 seniors and students are $5. Purchase them at the Orillia Opera House box office or at the door.

• Davenport Subaru is the site of a ‘Teddy Bear Hospital’ event on June 1, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. “Bring that special friend to get their blood pressure and heart rate checked. We will also have our doctor and nurse do stitches and eye surgery, what ever needs done,” organizers said. There is also a CRA rally scavenger hunt event, starting at 9 a.m. All donations go to the Teddy Bears of Hope Foundation.

Sunday, June 2

• The Orillia Youth Symphony Orchestra’s spring concert is on June 2, at 7 p.m. Admission is by donation. The show is at St. Paul’s United Church.

• Tex and Friends provide the music at a jamboree at Warminster Legion on June 2. Event is from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and admission is $6.

• North Country Baptist Church hosts its 14th anniversary on June 2, at 11 a.m. There will be music and lunch. The church is at 4011 Burnside Line.

• The Coldwater United Church Choirs’ spring concert is ‘Broadway and Beyond’ on June 2. Tickets are $10 adults, $4 children and $20 for families. They will be available at the door.

Tuesday, June 4

• The next Ladies Coffee Hour at Hillside Bible Chapel is on June 4 at 10 a.m. Lunch and childcare available. Last session until September.

Thursday, June 6

• The Lagoon City Follies take the stage at Beaverton Town Hall on June 6-8. Tickets are $15. The show is part of a range of events planned throughout June in honour of the 50th anniversary of Lagoon City.

• The Orillia Stroke Survivor and Caregiver Support Group meets the first Thursday of the month, from 10 a.m. to noon, at Helping Hands (210 Memorial Ave.). For information, call Louise at 326-2553.

Saturday, June 8

• The annual garage/plant and bake sale at Eady Community Hall is on June 8, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Refreshments will be available. A garage sale only will be held June 15 (same hours). Eady Hall is on Eady Station Road, between Oro-Medonte’s 10-11 Concessions.

• A spaghetti dinner will be held at Free Methodist Church on the Hill on June 8, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 ages 11 to adult, $3 for ages five to 10. Under age 4 admitted free. To order tickets, call 325-8762.

• A dance will be held June 8, at the Longford Community Centre. Music by Country Memories. The event is from 8 p.m.-midnight. Admission is $5.

• The Brechin-Mara Legion, hosts a dance on June 8, featuring the ‘Newfie Chicks’. Tickets are $10 per person and are available at the Legion. Doors open at 8 p.m. Call 705-484-5393 for details.

• A concert at Heritage United Church on June 8 features Fern Glen and Fiddle Heads. Tickets are $12.50. Call Harry at 689-1700.

• Held in support of Camp Couchiching, the Orillia Vocal Ensemble’s We Sing concert is on June 8 at St. Paul’s United Church. Admission is by donation and show starts at 7:30 p.m.

• The Butterfly Luncheon and Bake Sale at St. David’s Anglican-Lutheran Church is on June 8, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Lunch is $6.

Service club news

As posted on Northumberland Today, May 27, 2013.

COBOURG - The Rotary Club of Cobourg has three major fundraising events each year; The Waterfront Festival Arts & Crafts Festival held on the July 1 weekend; Sporstman’s Night held in February and Ribfest held in August. These three events raise nearly $200,000 each year and these dollars are held in a separate account and then invested in a wide variety of projects -every thing from The Cobourg Community Centre all the way down to providing dollars towards the purchase of new uniforms for the Cobourg Legion Pipes and Drum Band. None of the dollars raised are used for club costs, which are covered by annual membership fees.

All funds are administered by various Rotary Club Committees dealing with the individual resident’s (Special Needs Committee) ; youth work (the New generations Committee); international needs (World Community Service Committee); youth education (International Youth Exchange Committee); local literacy initiatives (Literacy Committee) and for major projects, the Club’s Projects and Community Events Committee.

Cobourg Rotary Club members serve on as many as three different committees during each year. Dollars to be invested are and administered by individual committees for amounts up to $3,000 and those over $5,000 must be approved by a majority vote by all club members.

If you have ever wondered just where all the dollars raised go, the following will provide a clear picture of the dollars provided during the first ten months of the Club’s current year which runs from July 1 to June 30.

August

• $3,000 to the United Way Backpack program.

• $1,000 to the Cobourg Clippers Midget Softball Team to help offset costs for the Canadian Championships in Fredericton.

• $500 to the Cobourg Dragon Boat and Canoe Club to assist young members attend the National Championship.

September

• $7,736 towards the cost of Camp Enterprise.

October

• $3,200 towards the Water in Honduras project, in cooperation with the Toronto Rotary Club, CIDA and Care Canada.

• $1,500 to the Rotary Club of Battambang, Cambodia, to assist in the purchase of a Tuk Tuk to be used by the Battambang Women's Shelter for transportation (in co-operation with Rotary Club of Whitby Sunrise).

• $3,000 to support of the Port Hope High School, East Northumberland Secondary School and Cobourg District Collegiate Institute West High School "sweat equity" project in Kilema, Tanzania, for school maintenance materials and travel assistance for 18 students.

• $3,500 to Sleeping Children Around the World for the distribution of bed kits in India.

• $5,000 to MSF (Doctors Without Borders) to assist with the medical needs in a terrible situation in the Upper Nile State, South Sudan.

• $2,500 to the Medical Brigade/Friends of Honduran Children for the purchase of medical supplies, drugs and support supplies to be distributed during a medical visit to Gracias Honduras.

• $1500 towards the construction of a wheel chair ramp for a handicapped person.

• $717 to the Salvation Army to assist with cost of dental work.

• $1,500 to the Cobourg Library to support their annual Share Your Stories contest.

December

• $14,605 to the Transition House Coalition of Northumberland for the purchase of 15 metal bunk beds and 10 vinyl mattresses following an outbreak of bed lice.

• $587 towards the repair of a furnace for an elderly woman.

• $1,000 to the The Giving Tree with matching donation from the Port Hope Rotary Club.

• $60,000 to the Cobourg Community Centre. This the third of five $60,000 installments. Rotary has now paid $180,000 of its $300,000 commitment

• $1,000 to the Giving Tree for their clothing collection program (This was matched by the Rotary Club of Port Hope)

• $1,000 to the Santa Clause Parade

• $2,400 to the Church on the Hill for an inflatable obstacle course.

• $1,490 to the Amarok Society to support their “Teach a Mother – Change the World” program. Amarok Society teaches uneducated mothers how to read and write, and then teaches the mothers to be neighbourhood teachers – educating their own and their neighbours’ children every day in their homes, with astonishing result.

• $1,450 to support the Cobourg Festival of Poetry including a workshop to be held by award winning Canadian poet Ken Babstock to be held in April (Poetry Month)

• $1,000 to support the Guatemala Literacy Project. This project qualified for matching grants so the Literacy Committee’s donation was leveraged up to $3,500 as follows: Cobourg Rotary donation $1,000, 50% match from the Rotary Foundation, 100% match from District 7070 Dedicated Funds, 100% match of the D7070 Dedicated Funds from The Rotary Foundation.

• $132 for tread for the ramp built by Rotarian Al Rose for a disabled resident.

• $7,737 is Cobourg’s share (almost 50%) of the amount provided by the six Rotary Clubs in Northumberland to Camp Enterprise.

January and February

• $12, 962 to Transition House for new bunk beds and mattresses.

• 5,000 to the Cobourg Legion Pipes and Drum Band for a new uniform.

• $1,000 to support a nurse in Cobourg to go to Argentina for the Work the World program.

• $1,068 to purchase teaching aids for the Lawson Outdoor Education Center.

• $2,000 to the 6th Cobourg Scouts to attend the Canadian Scout Jamboree in Alberta in July

• $500 a year for five years for fees for a child to join La Jeunesse Choir

March

• $1,489 for the purchase of an electric wheel chair for an MS patient in Cobourg.

• $750 to assist with funding for a special bed and mattress for another MS patient in Colborne.

April

• $2,500 to the Center for Individual Studies for their academic awards program. The Center helps individuals who need training, retraining or upgrading in todays information based society.

• $1,500 to support Emma and Julia Mogus with their "Book with No Borders" program. Following their presentation to the club, members coughed up another $1,500 in cash! The program donated 15,000 books to First Nations in Northern Canada.

• $1,000 to help with expenses for student Rebecca Lasaer to do a sweat equity "Me to We" program in Ecuador.

• $1,695 to support a local Community Safety Net program - a unique safety awareness and educational program that saves lives.

• $4,430 to Rotary International Polio Plus.

• $5,000 to Emmanuel International Canada for materials and services to construct classrooms and latrines in Malawi.

Bill Johnson is a member of the Rotary Club of Cobourg.

Seaforth man distributes 6,000 bed kits to children in the Phillipines through Sleeping Children Around the World

As posted by the Seaforth Huron Expositor May 24, 2013.
By Susan Hundertmark, Seaforth Huron Expositor

After a first visit to Sri Lanka distributing bed kits to needy schoolchildren a year ago, Chris Hills couldn’t wait to get more involved with the Canadian charity Sleeping Children Around the World.

The Seaforth man volunteered to take on the responsibility of team leader and just returned from his first of many trips over the next three years to the Phillipines.

“These trips are beautiful and tragic all at the same time,” says Hills, adding that a $35 bed kit can improve living conditions for an entire family in the Phillipines.

Sleeping Children Around the World was founded in 1970 by Murray and Margaret Dryden, of Etobicoke, who wanted to see every child in the world benefit from the comfort of a good night's sleep. The bed kits provide a mat or mattress to get a child off the concrete or dirt floor, a pillow, sheet, blanket, mosquito net, five t-shirts, three pairs of shorts, a rain poncho, a towel, flip flops and school supplies and are made in the countries where they are distributed to support the local economy.

“Murray started the organization after tripping over a child sleeping on pavement and he thought that he could help that child get a better night’s sleep, he could do better at school and be more successful,” says Hills of the organization’s beginnings. “I met a guy who still had his blanket and bed mat from a bed kit he got in 1998 – he’d been through university with it. The fact that somebody did something for him changed something for him. ”

In the Phillipines, the children who receive the kits are living in 10-foot by 8-foot tin shacks with dirt floors and no running water or toilet. Many of the families earn enough to spend $1 a day on the family’s food.

“They live in absolutely desperate circumstances and it’s quite tragic when you talk to the parents. They are dirt poor and get embarrassed talking about it,” he says, adding that Sleeping Children representatives talk to the families to find out what they can add to the bed kits that would be helpful.

“In the Phillipines, they all said Vitamin C because they can’t afford fruit. They eat mostly rice and sometimes fish. All these mangoes and beautiful fruit around them and they can’t afford it,” he says.
While the Sri Lanka trip took Hills took a rural area where the residents were subsistence farmers, in the Phillipines, he saw poor urban families who can’t grow their own food.

Hills and his team, which included Sharon Flanagan, of Mitchell, helped to distribute 6,000 bed kits during their most recent trip.

While each family will only receive one bed kit, Hills says the mosquito netting, which is specially treated with insect repellant, is large enough to cover most of the dwellings the families live in.

“I saw one family of seven living in the space the quarter of my kitchen. We don’t realize we’ve won life’s lottery living here in Canada,” says Hills.

Describing the slums as “totally Dickensian,” he says he’s still never seen happier children than those living in the slums of the Phillipines.

“They didn’t beg – they just wanted to be picked up and hugged,” he says. “In the slums, they still have their family around them and family is everything there.”

As team leader, Hills has the job of taking photographs of each child who receives a bed kit and them sending those photos to the donors who are usually in Canada or the U.S. He points out that 100 per cent of the $35 donation that buys a bed kit goes directly to the bed kit, none of it to the administration of the organization.

“Photography is accountability – it shows where the money went. Everyone gets a photo with a bed kit with their name on it,” he says.

While there’s more work and responsibility in the role, Hills says the perk is more opportunity to travel and distribute more bed kits. He will distributes thousands of bed kits over the next three years but points out that the actual number will depend on the number of donations the organization receives.

“My only regret is I didn’t start doing this sooner,” he says. “It does give a lot more meaning to life. It’s good for everyone to go somewhere else in the world so they can appreciate what they have.”

Because he and his wife Gail made several speaking engagements after returning from Sri Lanka, Hills says he is available to spread the word about the work of Sleeping Children Around the World to any interested groups in Huron County.

“The expectation is that you’ll spread the word,” he says.

Chris Hills can be contacted at kithills@hotmail.com or 519-522-1913.

Dave Dryden and Sleeping Children Around The World Charity

As posted at the Empower Network, May 18, 2013.

I had the privilege and honour to attend a Probus meeting where Dave Dryden, former NHL goalie for the Chicago Black Hawks in the 1960′s, was the guest speaker. The topic was Dave Dryden and Sleeping Children Around The World Charity.

Dave Dryden and Sleeping Children Around The World Charity

The link to the video on YouTube is here.

Sleeping Children Around the World (SCAW), a charitable organization, was founded in 1970 by Murray and Margaret Dryden. This charity is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and provides bedkits to children in several developing countries.

In return for each $35 CAD donation, SCAW provides a child with a kit consisting of a mat or mattress, pillow, bed sheet, blanket, mosquito net (if required), clothes outfit, towel and school supplies. The kits are created in the country where they are to be distributed. This helps reduce transportation and material costs as well as providing an economic benefit to the targeted area. The organization reports that since 1970, bed kits have been provided to 1,300,000 children. More…

All charitable contributions go directly to purchasing the bedkits. The expenses connected to the volunteers who distribute the bedkits are paid by each volunteer. Administrative costs including the sole paid employee are paid from a legacy fund set up by Murray Dryden specifically to defray the costs of administration and to ensure that all money donated goes towards purchasing the bed kits. There is no promotional budget as advertising is only by word of mouth

Thanks Dave Dryden for showing us a truly worthwhile cause that is making such a difference to so many lives!

What is so great to me is that through this blog I am able to share videos like this, things that I have learned or stories that have touched my heart. What is even more amazing to me is that I get paid very well to share these wonderful stories with you from the comfort of my home and I am having fun doing it! To learn how my online business runs in the background while I have a life click here.

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Bed kits for kids

As posted on Inside Halton, May 17, 2013
Oakville Beaver

At St. Joseph Catholic School in Oakville, the annual Lenten initiative was held to raise money to support the organization Sleeping Children Around the World, which purchases bed kits for children in underdeveloped countries.
With each donation of $35, one child gets a foam mattress, pillow, sheet, blanket, mosquito net, school clothing, towel, backpack, and school supplies.

Each year, the students at St. Joseph’s have the chance to collect donations towards purchasing bed kits on behalf of their class or family.

This year, the staff and students raised enough money to purchase 140 bed kits.

Sleeping Children Around the World celebrates the 100 per cent charity with fifth annual Pinehurst

As posted on Blog.TO, May 14, 2013

Sleeping Children Around the World (SCAW), a Canadian international charity dedicated to providing bedkits (bedding, clothing, school supplies and mosquito nets) to children living in underdeveloped countries, will celebrate the fifth annual Pinehurst Club Breakfast on May 14, 2013.

Canadian hockey legend Paul Henderson will act as keynote speaker. Paul is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, was named to the Order of Canada in December, and will be inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in May 2013. His personal story of triumph, including a battle with leukemia since 2010, will set the stage for a presentation on innovative insights and humourous anecdotes not to be missed. Paul's personal connection with the charity began early in his NHL career, playing against Dave Dryden, current SCAW Chair, and brother Ken Dryden.

The Pinehurst Club Breakfast is held annually at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel and raises operational funds through the local business community for SCAW to sustain the organization's strength as it continues its vital work with children in need around the world. This event has heightened awareness around one of Canada's truly exceptional charities within the business community while raising more than $400,000. All of the proceeds from The Pinehurst Club Breakfast will support SCAW’s Legacy Fund, of which the interest supports the operating expenses of SCAW so it can continue to be a 100 per cent charity.

Since SCAW’s founding in 1970, the charity has raised more than $23 million to provide bedkits for more than 1.25 million children in 34 countries. For every $35 bedkit donation, 100 per cent reaches a needy child. For more information on SCAW, please follow the team on Facebook (facebook.com/SCAW100), Twitter (twitter.com/scaw100) or visit www.scaw.org.

Sleeping Children Around the World on YouTube

As posted on YouTube by Sleep Country Canada, May 10, 2013.



Christine Magee talks with Debbie Will-Dryden from the charity Sleeping Children around the world.

'Inner Wheel' Forum At 88th District Conference

As posted on Coastweek Kenya, May 3, 2013.

Coastweek -- Inner Wheel Club of Mombasa President Poonam Thapa presenting the club banner to R.I.P.P.R. Rtn Steve Brown while Susan Brown and DG Geeta Manek looks on.
There was lots of fruitful input from various members. The points raised were :

• The membership being open to spouses of Rotarians, Rotaractors, Lady Rotarians, Female relatives of Rotarians or Inner Wheel Ladies and even members of the community showing keen interest in social work.

• There is only one general meeting per month and additional committee meeting if one is on the committee.

• Inner Wheel offers a tailor made outlet to all those ladies who would rather do small projects than get too deeply involved in community service.

• Inner Wheel friendship and communication between Clubs.

• Kenya and Uganda joining hands to create an Inner Wheel District.

The open session was followed with a talk on Breast Cancer by Antonetta Acharya. She outlined the work undertaken by Breast Cancer Support Group in early detection and prevention of Breast Cancer.

The forum then continued with service reports of the various clubs. It was indeed quite a revelation how much Inner Wheel helps the community in the District 9200.

Various projects were mentioned like supporting old people’s homes, donating bed sheets and blankets, helping the cancer patients, donation of maternity equipment, donation of wheelchairs etc.

• IW Club of Kampala works with SCAW “The Sleeping Children Around the World” project to donate bed kit, (a mattress, pillow, pair of bed sheets, mosquito net, blanket, school bag, towel, basin, a pair of pyjamas, and a pair of slippers) to school going children.

• Other Clubs from Uganda mainly donate food items and assist in medical help wherever necessary.

• IW Club of Nairobi mostly supports Cancer patients.

• The Inner Wheel Club of Mombasa has three main projects; Microfinance, Breast Cancer treatment and support and Secondary or Vocational Education of girls.

They also hold eye camps and provide for the surgery of any cataracts detected during the camp. They hold their annual Christmas party for a Children’s Home, donate wheelchairs and give support to the HEART foundation by donating sanitary napkins to girls.

They raise funds through a Charity walk and depend on the well wishers and friends in the community.

District Governor RTN Geeta Manek in her address appreciated the service to mankind done by the IW ladies.

She reiterated the point put across by IW Club of Mombasa President Poonam Thapa that be it Inner Wheel or Rotary, whichever banner the ladies worked under it was eventually service to the community.

She was emphatic about IW supporting the Rotary in Eradication of Polio. She also stated that more enthusiasm was required to increase the membership of all the clubs.

She planted the seeds of the idea that IW works for a cancer hospital in Mombasa and offered full support after the IW initiative.

DG Geeta Manek was accompanied by Rotary International President’s Personal Representative RTN Steve Brown and his wife Susan.

He shared his experiences of his visit to Afghanistan and the circumstances of girls and women there. He was highly appreciative of the role women play in moulding the society.

The official business of the forum was closed by IW President Poonam Thapa with a few words and quotations.

“Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day”. So give a smile to someone and a helping hand to the needy. Be a friend to someone...

“Be an opener of doors for such as come after thee, and do not try to make the universe a blind alley” for “Real joy comes not from ease or riches or from the praise of men, but from doing something worthwhile”.

Do not think you cannot move forward as you may be alone. “I am only one, but I am one.

“I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.”

Our aim in life should be “I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.”

As long as we are ready to share happiness “The flower of kindness will grow. Maybe not now, but it will some day.

“And in kind that kindness will flow, for kindness grows in this way.”

After lunch Shamim demonstrated fruit carving and salad decoration in the afternoon session of the forum.

The IW ladies were impressed by her expertise and felt contented on having learnt some skills.

The forum was indeed a great success.

Special thanks go to IW Club of Mombasa Secretary Nafisa Khanbhai and Vice President Gursharanjeet Kaur Sur, committee member Antonetta Acharya and all the members who attended the forum.

Islington Golf Club turns 90

As posted by the Etobicoke Guardian, April 25, 2013.

By Tamara Shephard

Its location is a mystery to many.

But its members would like its secret to become better known.

Islington Golf Club celebrates its 90th anniversary this Sunday with an open house from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Riverbank Drive club tucked off Islington Avenue just north of Dundas Street West. Tour the facility, meet staff and members, sample the club’s cuisine and join a complimentary spring swing clinic by club pro Phil Kavanagh.

A draw will award one attendee a year’s trial membership valued at $5,000.

Tracing the Mimico Creek, the 18-hole, par 72 championship course retains many of world renowned golf course architect Stanley Thompson’s original elements, a challenge for even the most experienced golfer with water hazards in play on 12 of the 18 holes, Dave Fox, general manager said.

“There are a lot of little nuances that make it interesting each time you play it. It’s challenging,” Fox said. “The green surrounds and the putting surfaces can make it difficult even for the most experienced golfer.”

Its 585 members appreciate the absence of a tee time on the course, Fox said, which is a 30 minutes’ drive from downtown Toronto.

Its club house was renovated in 2011. A year earlier, the club partnered with Golf Canada to host a practice facility for the 2010 RBC Canadian Open, played at St. George’s Golf and Country Club.

In 2009, 60-year plus member John Tyers and Toronto police’s 22 Division launched the then-newest chapter of the National Junior Golf Academy with founder Kingsley Rowe for 16 youth from the Mabelle highrise neighbourhood around Islington and Dundas.

The free, six-week program taught kids every Thursday night at Islington Junior Middle School and at Driftwood Community Centre the fundamentals of golf and its discipline, including honesty, integrity, respect for self and others, punctuality, decorum and sportsmanship.

“It elevates their lives, exposes them to a different lifestyle, something they can strive for, and gives them goals. It works,” Tyers said at the time.

A celebrity classic golf tournament every May teams former athletes, Olympians, singers and actors with members in foursomes with funds raised donated to Sleeping Children Around the World.

The charity founded by the late Murray Dryden, father of NHL stars Ken and Dave, has provided more than one million bedkits consisting of a mat or mattress, pillow, blanket, mosquito net, outfit of clothing and school supplies to children in 33 countries since its inception in 1970.

Last year, the club launched a limited time, one-year trial membership for $5,000, which returns this spring.

“I think more clubs are going that route. It’s an opportunity for someone to kick the tires and test drive it for a year,” Fox said.

“The membership committee feels by engaging people in the environment and atmosphere of the club, an understanding of the dynamics of the club and the lifestyle, they’ll fall in love with the place...There are a lot of public golf courses where you can play if you just want to play golf. But a lot of social networks tend to form at the club; there are a lot of events. It’s a home away from home. Everyone is friendly and familiar with one another.”

Doug Eaton joined Islington Golf Club as a caddy at age nine in 1969. He joined as a junior member in 1972 and has played the course ever since.

Eaton’s father, John and mother Shirley both played, as did the couple’s four children. In fact, Shirley and daughter, Cathy, are the club’s only mother-daughter club champions, Eaton said.

“Some of my lifelong friends are people I’ve known there since I was little kid,” Eaton said. “The great thing about being a member of a club like Islington is the people you meet and the lifelong friendships. Some people I’ve ended up doing business with.”

Eaton calls the club “an oasis” and marvels that more people don’t know where it is.

“It’s such a great spot. People don’t know where it is and that’s what shocks me the most. The only major artery where you can see it is Kipling north of Burnhamthorpe where you can see the 15th hole. It’s so secluded,” Eaton said.

“People need to know about this amazing place. It’s an oasis in the city. It’s close to the airport, close to downtown. You can go for dinner. It has the most incredible patio and a world-class fabulous golf course.”

People interested in attending this weekend’s 90th anniversary celebration, are asked to RSVP online at www.islingtongolfclub.com

**

Islington Golf Club celebrates its 90th anniversary with an open house this Sunday from 1-3 p.m.

The Stanley Thompson-designed 18-hole, par 72 championship course has a storied history, including:

* 1913: the club was the vision of entrepreneurs Col. Bill Rogers, E.H.A. Watson, Riverdale Collegiate principal and local realtor Mr. Chadwick.

* 1923: IGC officially established

* 1928: Millar Cup established and became the premier professional match play tournament in Canada for four decades

* 1954: Hurricane Hazel caused significant damage as members pitched in to clean up

* 2010: IGC partnered with Golf Canada to host a practice facility for the 2010 RBC Canadian Open

Ken Graham Delivers a Sermon

As published on the St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church website. Click on the March 17, 2013 sermon.



Ken Graham at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Fergus, ON on March 17, 2013.

Maritimer of the Week | CTV Atlantic News

As posted by Maritimer of the Week | CTV Atlantic News, April 19, 2013

Click graphic or link above for the video.

Clarence DeYoung believes in giving back to his community. What makes Clarence special is he sees the world as his community, and he wants to make it a better place.

For more than a quarter century, Clarence has organized efforts to send essential supplies to various countries in Africa and Asia, while at the same time, working for various causes in his home community of Pomquet, N.S.

“I certainly do enjoy doing volunteer work and I’ve been doing that since 1989, with various organizations. I seem to have the need to give,” says Clarence.
For most of that time, Clarence has been part of a group called Sleeping Children Around the World, which distributes bed kits to children in Asia and Africa.
His latest project started after Clarence and his wife hosted a mature student from Ghana, who had connections to an orphanage, school, and hospital.

“Through those conversations, the seed ended up being planted that, maybe we should think about putting a container together to help the kids in Ghana,” says Clarence.

Family, friends and neighbours help collect and sort donations from around the region.

Tiffany Hallett says her uncle Clarence has always been a role model for helping those in need, whether at home or abroad.

“Our trips always included going to, you know, the food bank and packaging food with him and his wife,” says Tiffany. “So, it’s always been part of our lives, for sure.”

Raymond DeCoste says Clarence’s giving nature is contagious.

“It’s just so meaningful, anything he does. You couldn’t say no to him,” says Raymond.

Congratulations to Clarence DeYoung, our Maritimer of the Week!

If you know someone deserving of our Maritimer of the Week award, we want to hear about it. It doesn't matter how old they are, the nature of the "good deed" they've done, or what part of the region they live in – we want your ideas!
Please send your nomination to:
maritimer@ctv.ca
or
Maritimer of the Week, P.O. Box 1653, Halifax, N.S.
Read more: http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/ctv-news-at-5/maritimer-of-the-week-1.1245758#ixzz2RJTo0uqP

St. Joseph Catholic Elementary School Supports 'Sleeping Children Around the World'

As posted on the Halton Catholic District School Board website, April 18, 2013

St. Joseph School in Oakville recently participated in their annual Lenten initiative to benefit children in under-developed countries.


Every year, during the season of Lent, St. Joseph Catholic Elementary School in Oakville runs a fundraiser in support of Sleeping Children Around the World, an organization that purchases bed kits for children in under-developed countries around the world.

The annual Lenten initiative provides students and staff at St. Joseph School with an opportunity to contribute towards purchasing a bed kit on behalf of their class. Students may also purchase an entire bed kit on behalf of their family.

With each donation of $35, a child receives a foam mattress to sleep on, a pillow, sheet, blanket, mosquito net, school clothing, towel, backpack and school supplies.

This year, the students and staff raised enough money to purchase 140 bed kits! For a school community of only 370 students, this is a wonderful success!

Click graphic to see larger size.

Sleeping Children Around the World - The 100% Charity

As published in District 22 Retired Teachers of Ontario newsletter, April 13, 2013.

by Sally Jo Martin

Sleeping Children Around the World - The 100% Charity

“Hasa”, “Chakka” - How many ways can you say “Smile”? Hoping to send photographs of smiling children to donors of the Toronto based charity Sleeping
Children Around the World (SCAW) it was important for me to learn these translations.

Since retiring in 1999 from the TDSB after 34 years of teaching, I have been fortunate to join 6 SCAW distribution teams in India, The Philippines, Uganda and Bangladesh.

The goal of the charity is to provide “the comfort of a good night’s sleep” to children in developing countries by distributing bedding, mosquito nets, clothing and school supplies in a parcel known as a “bedkit”.

Begun in 1970 by Murray and Margaret Dryden, parents of NHL stars Dave and Ken and daughter Judy, Sleeping Children Around the World has so far provided 1,230,330 bedkits to children in 34 countries. Each year another 72,000 kits are distributed by SCAW volunteers.

Donors purchase a kit for $35, receive a tax receipt and a photo of the sponsored child. Many donations are gifts to friends or relatives who then receive the photo. Christmas, Hannakah, birthday, retirement and “in memoriam” gifts are popular.

What makes Sleeping Children Around the World unique? It truly is “the 100% charity” since all administrative costs are covered by a legacy fund created by Murray and Margaret. Volunteers process all donations in the family’s Etobicoke home which was donated to the charity and travellers pay all their own expenses. Overseas volunteers from organizations such as Rotary and Kiwanis source all items locally, often from cottage industries, which encourages the local economy. These groups choose the recipients with help from local schools and social agencies. The children are 6 - 12 years old, attending classes and have at least one parent to ensure that the bedkit contents are used well.

The role of the travelling volunteer is to ensure that all recipients meet the guidelines of the charity. They take photographs to be sent to the donors and personally hand over the bedkit to each child. A careful check is made to ensure that only children identified by the overseas group receives this “gift of love from Canada”. The work is quite physically demanding, especially in the hot climates where most of the kits are distributed. But the rewards are great.

Why have I enjoyed being a Sleeping Children Around the World volunteer? In The Philippines, “Salamat Po”, “Thank you very much”, spoken by a shy child or a grateful parent conveys the importance of this gift. My years of teaching brought much satisfaction and this volunteer activity is a continuation of that enjoyment. Sleeping Children Around the World is grateful for a grant of $10,000 from the provincial RTO office in 2012. That gift will result in 285 more children receiving “the gift of love”.

For more information about The 100% Charity, go to the website www.scaw.org.

Submitted by Sally Jo Martin District 22

Margaret Crossling in Markdale

As submitted by SCAW Volunteer, Margaret Crossling on April 8, 2013

I gave a presentation today to an after school group of children at Christ Church, Anglican in Markdale.

Here are 2 photos from there. The first shows the Rev'd Yvonne Summerfield, her helpers and the children, with me in the background. The second photo is of some of the kids under the mosquito net!

All told there were 10 people at the presentation. Apparently the number of kids fluctuates from day to day, and unfortunately, there weren't very many there today. The children did enjoy learning about SCAW, and asked quite a lot of questions.

MacDougald switches continents for latest mission for Sleeping Children Around the World

As posted on the Stratford Beacon Herald website, April 5, 2013.

By Mike Beitz, The Beacon Herald

After five trips to south Asia to help some of the poorest children on the planet, Doug MacDougald is switching continents as he continues his charity work abroad.

The Stratford man will be travelling to Togo, Africa next week to volunteer with Sleeping Children Around the World, a Canadian-based charity that distributes bedkits to young people in impoverished nations around the world.

The organization was founded on the idea that every child deserves a peaceful night’s sleep.

“It’s a different continent, a different country, a different culture,” said MacDougald Friday, “but the work is the same.”

He will lead a team of seven volunteers that will hand out some 5,000 bedkits to 5,000 needy children in Togo, a west African nation bordered by Ghana, Benin and Burkina Faso.

A bedkit, which can be purchased with a donation of $35, typically consists of a mosquito net, bedding and a groundsheet or mattress, as well as clothing and school supplies.

MacDougald recently made a presentation to students at Upper Thames Elementary School in Mitchell about Sleeping Children Around the World, and they responded by holding a fundraiser that brought in enough to donate 26 bedkits for the Togo trip.

The kits makes a big difference to the children who receive them, said MacDougald, who has already participated in five distributions in places like India and Bangladesh.

“It is very rewarding work,” he said, “but it’s also humbling, and it sets all of us back on our heels because there’s so much need.”

People often don’t realize how fortunate they are to be born in developed nations until they see the crushing poverty of underdeveloped ones, he suggested.

Sleeping Children Around the World is a “100% charity,” which means that every dollar donated to the cause goes to help the children. There is no overhead and volunteers pay their own expenses to travel abroad to distribute the bedkits with the help of overseas volunteers.

More information about the charity’s work can be found at www.scaw.org.

Where Internet access is available, the team will also post blog entries about the Togo distribution to that site.

mike.beitz@sunmedia.ca

Pennies aid developing countries’ children

As posted by the Welland Tribune, March 25, 2013

By Victoria Gray, The Tribune

Fitch Street Public School's junior and senior
kindergarten students including Aaron Roubitaille,
left, Sage Desroucher and Danika LaBonte deliver
almost $500 in pennies to CIBC to help other
children. (VICTORIA GRAY Tribune Staff)

WELLAND - A penny saved is a penny Jeannette Andrea MacGregor’s kindergarten class knows can help a child live a better life.

MacGregor’s 21 junior and senior kindergarten students, some dressed as Brinks guards, walked from Fitch Street Public School pushing and pulling a wagon with all their might across the Fitch Street Plaza parking lot on Monday morning to deliver $475 in pennies to CIBC.

“With pennies going out of style it seemed like it was time to bring them in,” MacGregor said.

For just more than five years, she and her students have collected the coins from parents, students and businesses for Sleeping Children Around the World.

The charity gives children in developing countries a bed kit that includes a mat or mattress, pillow, sheet, blanket, mosquito net, clothes and school supplies.

Fitch Street Public School’s donation will help purchase 13 bed kits.

“It’s important to teach (students) that this money can buy something for someone else because when you’re young like them it sticks,” MacGregor said.

She said collecting, counting and rolling the money helps the kindergartners with math skills. She also teaches them about what it’s like to live in different countries.

“I think it’s good for them to know Canada is a wealthy country and they are lucky,” she said. “Some people aren’t, and they seem to understand that.”

Melissa Kuczera, the assistant branch manager at CIBC, said having children into the bank teaches them it’s a friendly place with real people.

“It’s never too early to start learning about money,” she said.

Moksha Yoga West Island of Pointe-Claire QC

Submitted by SCAW Volunteer Nicole Jones, March 14, 2013.

We spoke a month or so ago in regards to our yoga studio doing charity classes to support SCAW. Well I'm excited to tell you that over past two months our charity classes raised 1474$. I will be sending the cheque in the mail shortly but I was wondering if you could let me know who/where to send it?

I'm going to email a few pictures from one of our special classes that took place on Feb 24. Monica Healey and Myself team taught for this wonderful cause!

Have a beautiful day.

Nicole Jones

Click images to see a larger version.

Santa's gifts keep on giving: Donation helping kids

As posted by Mississauga.com, March 6, 2013.

By Chris Clay

Visits to Santa at Sherway Gardens over the holidays helped raise more than $40,000 for a charity that works to help children around the world.

Officials from Sherway Gardens were ecstatic after its award-winning Santa Experience, which comes to the shopping centre at Christmas, raised $40,726 that was donated recently to Sleeping Children Around the World. It's an organization that provides bedkits for needy children in developing countries.

"It's great to think that a happy time such as Christmas, where our children our celebrating and having their pictures taken with Santa, can lead to many kids overseas getting bedkits," said Sleeping Children chairman Dave Dryden. "As a result of Sherway Gardens' support, Sleeping Children Around The World has been able to provide approximately 6,000 bedkits to children in countries around the world including India, Kenya, the Philippines, Uganda, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Honduras and Bangladesh."

The Santa Experience is an interactive play session that includes sing-alongs, dancing and stories and a chance for children to speak with Santa Claus and pose for a picture.

"Since 2002, Sherway Gardens has proudly donated 100 per cent of the proceeds from the Santa Experience to Sleeping Children Around the World," said general manager Andy Traynor. "To date, $245,551.88 has been raised through ticket sales for the Santa Experience which has gone toward helping over 5,000 children worldwide."

For more on Sleeping Children Around the World, visit scaw.org.

Chris Clay

Sherway shoppers support children’s charity with $40K donation

As posted on the Etobicoke Guardian website, March 4, 2013.

by Cynthia Reason

It was Christmas in February for Sleeping Children Around the World this week, as Sherway Gardens presented the Etobicoke-based charity with a cheque for $40,726.88 – the proceeds of the shopping centre’s award-winning Santa Experience.

Dave Dryden, chairman of Sleeping Children Around the World, said those funds will translate into 1,164 bedkits (consisting of a mattress, pillow, sheet, blanket, mosquito net, clothing, towel and school supplies) to be distributed to children from countries all around the world – from India, Kenya, and the Philippines, to Uganda, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Honduras and Bangladesh.

“What I love is the fact that it’s because of kids and Santa Claus that that many kids in other countries get a gift – so it’s just like Christmas for them, too,” he said at Thursday’s cheque presentation, noting the organization distributes bedkits to more than 70,000 kids each year.

“I’ve been on probably 20 distributions and it’s always a humbling experience. What I get out of it more than anything else is a sense of respect for the children and their parents and caregivers, because of what they are living through – and the fact that they are still living through it in a positive way.”

Since 2002, 100 per cent of proceeds from the wildly popular Santa Experience at Sherway Gardens have been donated to Sleeping Children for a grand total of nearly $290,000. Those funds have gone towards bedkits for nearly 6,000 children worldwide over the years.

“What I love about it is that we’ll get pictures soon of the children who have received the bedkits, so it becomes personal. We get to see the looks on these children’s faces when they receive them,” said Lisa Resnic, Sherway’s senior marketing director. “For that, we thank our customers, because they’re the ones raising the money. They’re very loyal to the Santa Experience.”

Twelve years ago, at the behest of their then-resident Santa, Sherway Gardens evolved past the traditional photo-with-Santa and developed an interactive, half-hour Santa Experience whereby kids get to participate in sing-a-longs, dancing and story time alongside Santa, plus get the opportunity to share their Christmas wishes and pose for informal pictures with the big guy.

And the results have proven positive: “I heard this year that for some families, it’s now part of the Christmas tradition in their home to come and visit Santa at Sherway because it’s so theatrical,” Resnik added, noting that what she likes best about the program’s partnership with Sleeping Children is its ‘children helping children’ focus.
Sleeping Children Around the World provides bedkits to children of any race and/or religion who will benefit most – typically those located in underdeveloped and developing countries. No portion of any bedkit donation is spent on administration, as 100 per cent of all monies donated reach needy children.

For more information about Sleeping Children Around the World, or to donate, go to www.scaw.org

Margaret Crossling represents SCAW

Submitted by SCAW Volunteer Michael Crossling.

Margaret Crossling presented SCAW to up to 200 students at Holy Name of Mary College School in Mississauga today.

The students were attending their Justice Day exhibition of various charities, one of which, by invitation, was Sleeping Children. All girls were most interested to hear about the work of Sleeping Children.

Click photo to see a larger version.

Students, teachers do Durham proud

Letter to the Editor, Durham Region website, January 27, 2013.

To the editor:
It is so great to hear that Durham Region consists of such helpful and caring people.

A job well done to the staff members of Courtice Secondary School for raising $2,280 for the Sleeping Children around the World organization.

It seems as if this team of people put a lot of time and effort into raising such a large amount of money. It's impressive that these staff members had the will to undertake such a large effort towards this organization even though they were going through difficult times due to the work-to-rule campaign.

This project has definitely made Courtice stand out and has made Durham Region proud.

Romaisa Pervez

Ajax

Have You Heard what's happening in Durham Region?

As posted on the Durham Region website, January 20, 2013.

DURHAM -- Through Courtice Secondary School's recent Casual for a Cause campaign, staff raised $2,280 for Sleeping Children Around the World. The money bought 65 bed kits for children in developing countries. A Toronto-based organization, SCAW uses $35 donations to provide bed kits for children in 33 countries. Depending on local needs, the kits contain combinations of a mat or mattress, pillow, sheet, blanket, mosquito net, clothing and school supplies.

Donors receive photographs of children receiving their kits or special occasion message. For more information, visit www.scaw.org.