Walk the Wall for International China Concern

Saturday  Septmeber 22nd, 2012   9:00 am-1:30 pm  Stanely Park

Each year, International China Concern (ICC) organises a walk-a-thon called Walk the Wall. The walk is 10km long and participants from all over the world sign up, get sponsors and walk, raising money for the many abandoned and disabled children in China.

Walk the Wall raises the necessary funds to give life to hundreds of children and adults with disabilities by providing full-time care. ICC works to end abandonment by providing supports to families with disabled children, proving that there are ways to keep families together.

Visit www.chinaconcern.org to learn more about ICC and visit www.walkthewall.org to sign up for the Walk!

1 School 1 Day

Saturday September 22nd, 2012  1:00-2:00 pm Dance Class   Jack Poole Plaza

1 School 1 Day is a unique event inspired by imagine1day’s goal that all Ethiopians have access to quality education funded free of foreign aid by 2030. The event will call upon the vibrant health and fitness community of Vancouver to participate in an hour of movement and raise enough funds to build a school in Ethiopia.  Activities include yoga, dance, circuit training, running or cycling at Jack Poole Plaza. All proceeds go directly towards a 3 year, self-sustaining community education project that will result in a community in Ethiopia leading a legacy of quality education for the rest of time.

Goals

• To raise $100,000 – the cost of a 3 year, self-sustaining community education project in Ethiopia
• 2,000 Participants moving at Jack Poole Plaza on September 22nd
• To unify the Health & Fitness community to support the universal right of quality education for all

Visit www.imagine1day.org to learn more about imagine1day and visit 1school1day.org to register for a class and donate!

 Scotiabank AIDS WALK for LIFE Greater Vancouver

September 23rd, 2012  10:00am-1:00 pm  Sunset Beach

Living with HIV/AIDS is not a death sentence, it’s a battle. It’s a battle that doesn’t need to be fought alone.Support, passion and love can make a difference, and 27 years ago the Positive Living Society of BC launched the first Canadian AIDS WALK to prove it. Since then they have been walking strong. They have been walking for a change. They have been walking for life.

All proceeds raised by the Scotiabank AIDS WALK for LIFE in Greater Vancouver become part of Positive Living BC’s Complementary Health Fund (CHF).

The CHF reimburses low-income HIV-positive members for health expenses not covered by other plans ─ up to $35 monthly. Even little things such as drinking filtered water and getting the right vitamins can determine the fate of someone with a compromised immune system. Positive Living BC has over 5000 members, many of whom can’t afford the high costs of staying healthy. Currently they can only meet the needs of 583 members per month – only 12%.

Visit www.positivelivingbc.org to learn more about the organization and visit www.aidswalkvancouver.ca to register for the Walk!

Join us at all these Charity events this weekend and create your own “LotToGive weekend!” Hope to see you all there!

What do you think about this reality of life for youth on the streets…

75% of street youth panhandle for money

94% have made money through criminal activities

40% have attempted suicide at least once

90% have spent atleast one day without eating

95% have walked all night at least once

Scary? Dreadful? It is all this and more, but instead of walking by and ignoring the reality, Covenant House Vancouver has reached out and dedicated themselves to creating a better tomorrow for these youth!

Since 1997, Covenant House Vancouver has been dedicated to serving suffering youth on the street and to protect and safeguard young people. Today, Covenant House is the largest privately-funded agency in the Americas providing food, shelter, immediate crisis care, and essential services to homeless, throwaway, and runaway kids.  Covenant House Vancouver relies on the generosity of over 50,000 individuals and organizations to provide shelter, food, clothing and counselling to over 1,400 young people each year.

Covenant House Vancouver provides three core services designed to provide each young person with a continuum of care or “one-stop shop” approach to leaving the streets:

These core services are supported by several in-house programs including:  mental health counselling and access to psychiatrists, housing workers, drug & alcohol counselling and pastoral counselling.

Over the past year, Covenant House Vancouver has been able to:

• provide 15822 nights of shelter
• serve 522 youth in the residential shelter
• serve 1403 youth in all their programs combined

Hat’s off to the Covenant House Vancouver! Our team at LotToGive.com is so proud of their successes and we are so delighted to have them on board as a charitable partner!

For more information about Covenant House Vancouver visit www.covenanthousebc.org.

So for all you online shoppers out there… shop till you drop to give a lot to Covenant House Vancouver today!

Yoga Aid is an international yoga relay that creates opportunities to give back to communities in need. Join hundreds of yogis and some of Canada’s most influential teachers on Sunday, September 9th in the Yoga Aid World Challenge: beginning in Sydney, the World Challenge will follow the sun west, tour through 20+ countries, and end at sunset in Los Angeles. With one central event in Ottawa and a network of simultaneous community events across the country, the event will celebrate the collective power of yogis by practicing yoga together and fundraising for charity. Our goal?$1 million for charity.

The wonderful Thea Gow-Jarret, an imagine1day Creatributor and Imagine Ethiopia 2012 participant, is raising funds and awareness for imagine1day through Yoga Aid and you can join her and the relay here in Vancouver!

All you have to do is attend a Semperviva Yoga signature all-styles class set to the sounds of DJ Urn, featuring teachers Bernie Clark, Cameron Gilley, Whit Hornsberger and Gloria Latham. The class will start at 3pm and will end at 5pm. A minimum donation of $25 to imagine1day is required for registration. If you wish to make further contributions to imagine1day, you may do so at the door.

So far Semperviva Yoga has raised $1348.oo for imagine1day!

Contact Semperviva Yoga at 604.739.2009 or email at info@semperviva.com, so you can join in and raise more funds for imagine1day, while practicing yoga with some of Canada’s best teachers!

For more information visit http://www.yogaaid.com/canada.

All of our partnered retailers have some AMAZING specials for you, so shop till you drop to give back to charity.. It’s a win win for all!

By shopping online with LotToGive.com you can donate to charity at no added cost to you. It’s so simple! Here’s how…

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

Not every student fits into the mainstream school system. 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.

Inside Take a Hike

The ultimate goal of the Take a Hike alternative education program is that barriers to learning are minimized, personal issues are addressed, and students achieve a greater level of social and academic success. The program combines the following four aspects:

Adventure-based Learning (ABL):
An ABL Specialist guides students through outdoor day trips and multi-day expeditions. ABL uses physical activities to help youth develop self-directed goals, trust, communication, teamwork and problem-solving skills in a safe, supportive environment.

Therapy: Two program therapists provide youth with individual, group, and family counselling in both outdoor and office settings. The therapists aim to change the negative impact the past has on the present, become a better choice maker, increase self-esteem and accept and take responsibility for their own actions.

Academics: At the beginning of the year, the Take a Hike staff meet with each student to assess their academic level and work with them to plan a path that leads to graduation.The outdoor trips also serve to reinforce academic lessons.

Community Involvement: Every student in the Take a Hike program performs a minimum of 60 hours of community service a year. The purpose is to demonstrate to youth that, as members of a larger community, they have a responsibility to others and that their help is needed. Valuable work experience is also gained.

This unique, alternative education program has been very successful in helping Vancouver’s at-risk youth work through their emotional issues and addictions, and to develop confidence, teamwork, and leadership skills, and graduate.

RainCity Housing and Support Society, is a grassroots organization built around compassion, purpose and a commitment to delivering progressive housing and support solutions for people living with mental illness, addictions and other challenges.

The people who benefit from the services of RainCity Housing are treated with dignity and respect, and are offered a safe place to live, independence and improved quality of life.

Since 1982, RainCity Housing has provided shelter and housing for thousands of people in the Lower Mainland. With a proven track record, a strong leadership team, and a clear vision for the future, RainCity Housing is a leader in finding workable, cost-effective solutions that ultimately benefit everyone in our community.

RainCity Housing is an independent, non-political, non-religious, charitable organization based in the Lower Mainland. Canadian Registered Charity #12711 5780 RR0001

Diversity at RainCity Housing

People who access RainCity’s services come from a wide variety of backgrounds, orientations and ethnicities. It is incredibly important at RainCity to not only recognize and embrace this, but that the services they provide every day are sensitive to the needs of each individual.

Leading the way in developing solutions to end homelessness RainCity Housing recognizes that the homeless are not homogenous. By offering a variety of housing and support options, RainCity Housing can ensure that appropriate, supportive environments are available to their clients.

The RainCity Housing family of programs includes emergency housing, transitional housing, women’s housing, long term housing, outreach programs, food services and community living support. Once an applicant and our staff determine which is the best housing program for that individual, the applicant is shortlisted.

Many of the RainCity Housing programs operate from a low barrier, housing first perspective – meaning that they do not require that people meet certain standards of behaviour, or are compliant with mental health or addiction treatment plans, to receive services and housing support from RaiCity. Instead, they welcome them to a community of people experiencing similar challenges.

Housing First

RainCity Housing has been a leader in developing a ‘Housing First’ approach with its clients, providing supported housing to those with challenging behaviours, active substance use, and no psychiatric treatment links or medication use.

RainCity Housing is unique in their ‘Housing First’ philosophy, as the majority of the current supported housing programs in Vancouver require that applicants achieve a substantial measure of “housing readiness” before they can access the housing. Typically this means the client must be stable, linked with treatment services, able to self-administer medications and have minimal levels of challenging behaviour.

By providing services to those who are not considered ‘housing ready’ by other organizations, RainCity Housing has been successful in breaking the cycles of chronic homelessness, instability and substance use for their clients by providing assertive interventions within a high tolerance environment.

The goal is not simply to get people off the streets but to provide a comprehensive array of supports that assist people in achieving stability which allows them to move forward with their lives. By providing housing and support in a client-centred environment, RainCity Housing engages clients to create an atmosphere of trust where opportunities for change can be discovered.

While most current RainCity Housing programs accept people who actively use substances or choose not to receive mental health treatment, the Princess Rooms and The Vivian are explicitly designed as Housing First programs. They provide housing and intensive support for some of the most chronically homeless and challenging people in our community.

To date, the outcomes of these two programs have exceeded Raincity’s expectations. They have seen that with the right supports and opportunities, people will choose health and stability and to move towards a better life for themselves. In this way, Housing First programs make an effective and necessary contribution to the health of any large urban community.

Making Canadian cities more livable since 1991, Evergreen’s vision is to create a Healthy Planet for all of us to live in.  Their programs bring people together to work on shared goals, building community pride, and creating vibrant, inclusive urban green spaces. They endeavor to solve today’s critical environmental challenges by bringing diverse groups of people together, inspiring them with ideas and engaging them to take action.

Helping to create sustainable cities, Evergreen also brings together environmental innovators, city builders and researchers at the forefront of the emerging green economy, and engage Canadians to be part of the conversation and solution,

Evergreen offers a range of services, resources and funding to people interested in greening across the country. We have three main areas of programming: for school grounds; for community and public spaces, and your grounds at home.

Evergreen Brick Works is Canada’s first large-scale environmental community centre–a national centre for exploring, debating and taking hands-on action to create more sustainable cities.

Evergreen BC has inspired people to connect with nature since 1995. Through our unique programs and activities dedicated to creating and maintaining urban green spaces, Evergreen BC is on the ground in your community, fostering tangible change for the health of our cities

Evergreen offers countless ways to make a positive change.

Seva believes that giving sight to a blind person is the most effective way to relieve suffering, reduce poverty and transform lives. Seva works in 11 of the world’s poorest places: Nepal, Tibet, India, Africa, Guatemala, Cambodia, Egypt, Malawi and Madagascar.

Choosing to shop online in support of Seva will generate donations that will have an impact for decades to come. When you help Seva you are giving the fishing rod, not just the fish. Seva works with local partners, trains eye specialists and empowers communities to create eye care programs that will serve people both year-round and for generations to come.

Blindness and low vision are global health problems causing untold suffering and costing the world billions annually. However, 200 million people could see tomorrow if they had access to eye care. A $50 cataract surgery taking 10-minutes will restore sight. A $20 pair of prescription glasses will bring the world into focus.

Take the example of Irma Top, a young girl who has suffered from severe corneal opacification in her left eye. She is from San Juan Sacatepequez, a poor community in Guatemala. She received a corneal transplant from Visualiza, a dedicated team of eye care professionals and a local partner of Seva Canada.

Children in Irma’s situation often have vision as low as 20/200 before surgery. However, most of them regain vision to 20/40 or better with a corneal transplant. Irma recently came in for a routine follow up of her corneal transplant and we are happy to report that her vision is 20/20 in both eyes.

So… shop til you drop to give a lot and restore sight to others like Irma.

Spellbound by the dedication, kindness and passion behind DFS Vancouver, the LotToGive.com team knew that they had found another deserving charitable partner! Deborah Twocock and her Vancouver team work tirelessly day and night to help women in need, to make a difference.

We all have extra clothes in our closet.  Those that are still fabulous as can be but not the right size, or those that we thought we would wear again but never really do.  Imagine how good it would feel to donate those clothes to a charity that makes a HUGE difference in the lives of disadvantaged women.  Not to mention that you can buy new clothes that feel great on LotToGive.com…and generate even more free donations for Dress For Success!  Find out more about this great charity below.

The Mission of Dress for Success is to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.

Founded in New York City in 1997, Dress for Success is an international not-for-profit organization offering services designed to help our clients find jobs and remain employed. Each Dress for Success client receives one suit when she has a job interview and can return for a second suit or separates when she finds work.

Since 1997, Dress for Success has served more than 550,000 women around the world. Each year they reach more than 50,000 women in the United States, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, the Netherlands, Mexico, Poland and the West Indies. All Dress for Success organizations are not-for-profit entities with Dress for Success Worldwide and its U.S. affiliates having 501(c)(3) charitable status and those outside the U.S. operating as registered charities.

Dress for Success serves clients by referral only, and women must have an interview scheduled before receiving clothing. Their clients come to them from a continually expanding and diverse group of non-profit and government agencies including homeless shelters, immigration services, job training programs, educational institutions and domestic violence shelters, among many other organizations. More than 3,000 organizations throughout the world send women to Dress for Success for professional apparel and career development services.

On an initial visit a woman receives a suit appropriate for the industry in which she is interviewing and, if available, accessories. After a woman finds a job she returns to Dress for Success for additional clothing that can be mixed and matched to make several outfits, providing her with the foundation for a professional wardrobe.

While DFS may be best known for providing suits to women, it is their employment retention programs that are the cornerstone of the organization. Soon after Dress for Success was founded they came to recognize that finding work is only one step in a woman’s journey towards economic independence; remaining employed and building a rewarding career are essential if a woman is to become self-sufficient.

To meet the need for services that would help women both find and keep jobs, DFS established the Professional Women’s Group (PWG) program, which offers women ongoing support as they successfully transition into the workforce, build thriving careers and prosper in the mainstream workplace. Once a woman joins the PWG she is a member for life, able to attend meetings at any affiliate throughout the world, and can benefit from additional employment retention and mentoring programs.

Dress for Success also has developed Career Center, an initiative that promotes confidence and professionalism by providing women career guidance, the chance to acquire technology skills and assistance in their job searches.

So search through your old hidden gems and donate to DFS in person or through www.lottogive.com/shoptogive today!

LotToGive.com Retailer, Expedia.ca, Releases
2012 Insiders’ Select List of the World’s Best-Reviewed Hotels

Rankings generated by 500,000+ qualified traveller reviews;
Slovakian boutique hotel tops 2012 list; Montreal hotel ranks highest in Canada

TORONTO (ON), July 3, 2012 – Expedia.ca™ , Canada’s leading online travel provider, today announced the Expedia® 2012 Insiders’ Select®™ results. This annual global review identifies the top hotels available on Expedia.ca and all Expedia sites worldwide based on quality and value scores. Celebrating its sixth year, Insiders’ Select rankings are largely determined by the more than 500,000 Expedia customer reviews received during the course of 2011. Hotels that consistently deliver value in the form of competitive pricing, pristine amenities and superior customer service will see that commitment rewarded in their ranking.

This year, 650 hotels from among the more than 150,000 properties available on Expedia.ca are designated as Insiders’ Select hotels and made the list after receiving a minimum guest review score of 4.0 out of 5.0. On average, the designated hotels on the list earned a guest review score of 4.4 during 2011, the qualifying year. Marrol’s Boutique Hotel, a five-star property in Bratislava, Slovakia, topped the 2012 Insiders’ Select list, edging Hotel Al Codega of Venice, Italy. The top Canadian hotel was the LHotel Montreal, listed at number 59. The top ten hotels in this year’s ranking include:

1. Marrol’s Boutique Hotel(Bratislava, Slovakia)

2. Hotel Al Codega(Venice, Italy)

3. Hotel Royal Corin(Costa Rica)

4. Hilton Garden Inn Aberdeen(Aberdeen, Scotland)

5. Four Seasons Miami(Miami, Florida)

6. Madison Hotel Hamburg(Hamburg/Hanover, Germany)

7. Element Omaha Midtown Crossing(Omaha, Nebraska)

8. Sonnenalp Resort of Vail(Vail-Beaver Creek, Colorado)

9. Taj Lands’ End(Mumbai, India)

10. Mr. C Beverly Hills(Los Angeles, California)

Of the 40 Canadian hotels that made the Insiders’ Select list, five secured spots in the top 100 including:

59. LHotel Montreal (Montreal, Quebec)

64. Pan Pacific Whistler Village Centre (Whistler – Blackcomb, British Columbia)

77. Four Seasons Vancouver (Vancouver, British Columbia)

91. Prince George Hotel (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

93. Pinnacle Hotel at the Pier (North Vancouver, British Columbia)

“Expedia.ca is excited to release the 2012 version of Insiders’ Select, which is a culmination of more than half a million customer reviews received during 2011,” said Sean Shannon, Vice President and Managing Director of Expedia Canada. “We know travellers are increasingly making holiday-related decisions based on reviews – in fact, 37 per cent of Canadians we recently surveyed said that they ‘always’ or ‘often’ factor in feedback by others before booking a hotel or choosing a travel destination. This underscores the value Insiders’ Select offers Canadian travellers, giving them the options and confidence to book the right hotel for their needs and preferences.”

New to the Insiders’ Select program this year was the addition of hotel categories. For example, the 650 designated hotels may be categorized as luxury, pet friendly or family friendly – to name a few. Based on these categories:

· 35% or 229 hotels are considered luxury

· 32% or 208 hotels are pet friendly

· 18% or 116 are beach hotels, including 32 in Mexico which is a favourite destination for Canadian travellers

· 17% or 108 are considered green or sustainable

· 14% or 87 are family friendly

The 2012 Insiders’ Select list reflects a cross-section of properties in different regions, representing various accommodation types and star ratings. The 650 hotels in the 2012 rankings are found in 295 cities in 74 countries. Twenty-eight per cent of Insiders’ Select hotels are in America, 25 per cent in Europe, 3 per cent in South America, 19 per cent in Asia and 25 per cent elsewhere.

How Rankings are Compiled

Insiders’ Select ranks hotels using three sets of data:

· Customer reviews: Reviews are the most powerful testament to the quality of a hotel. Travellers submit reviews after completing a stay at a hotel booked on an Expedia site. Over 500,000 qualified reviews were used in this year’s ranking.

· Hotel Market Management team input: Expedia employs hundreds of market managers across the globe responsible for managing our hotel partnerships. The expertise of this team, who works closely with Expedia’s hotel partners, was used to formulate hotel rankings.

· Value rating: Expedia compares each property’s average daily rates to those of similar properties to assess the hotel’s relative value. This makes it easy for busy travellers to identify hotels that deliver an excellent experience at a comparatively good value. Hotels that routinely exceed customer expectations – in their customer service, amenities, competitive pricing and more – see that emphasis reflected in their rankings.

Of the properties on the 2012 list, many are included in the current Expedia.ca Bundle Your Summer Sale, which offers savings of up to 40 per cent off your stay for travel through to the end of September.

To find the complete list of Insiders’ Select properties, including a ranking by categories, visit www.expedia.ca/insidersselect.