Grassmonkeyz's Blog

Donations Drive - Spare The Cold

Grassmonkeyz — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 17:17:51 -0800

Hey all, there is 12 more days till Christmas and we are attempting one final push to collect items for Spare The Cold 2007! Remeber the items we are hoping to receive are

1) 1-2 pairs of socks

2) 1 hat/toque

3) 1 pair of gloves

4) 1 scarf

5) 1 100g jar of vaseline

6) 1 stick of deodorant

7) Little chocolate treats

8) Christmas cards on behalf of the community

9) New or used backpacks

If you would like to donate remember that material and financial donations are welcomed. You can find out all the details at www.sparethecold.org! We really need your help to make this another great success that benefits the homeless on Christmas day. Thanks for your compassion

Gab

P.S if you have any questions please don't hesitate to email at gab@sparethecold.org

Spare The Cold 2007

Grassmonkeyz — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 13:57:36 -0800

Hey Change Everything community,
I would like to let you all know it's about that time of year again. Spare The Cold (www.sparethecold.org) has launched it's 2007 initiative.

In 2006, Spare The Cold successfully distributed 102 backpacks to individuals in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Spare The Cold is 100% dependent on community support, it was all made entirely possible by generosity of a caring public. A big thanks to the people of Vancouver and the www.changeeverything.ca community for having made this a reality!
This year we are upping the ante, with a project debut in both Victoria and Toronto. We are looking to put together a total of 150 packs in Vancouver, 150 in Toronto and 100 in Victoria. I was shocked to see how fast 102 backpacks went last year (20min total!). This year we would love to reach more people!
The list of items that we are looking to collect are:
1) 1-2 pairs of socks2) 1 hat/toque3) 1 pair of gloves 4) 1 scarf 5) 1 100g jar of vaseline 6) 1 stick of deodorant7) Little chocolate treats9) Christmas cards on behalf of the community10) New or used backpacks
We hope that you will help us out make Christmas a better time for those in need! Please don't hesitate to contact me (Gab) directly at gab@sparethecold.org with any questions you may have and don't forget to check out our awesome new website at www.sparethecold.org for donation information!
Our partners this year are:www.deyas.orgwww.peers.bc.cawww.dera.bc.cawww.retrix.comwww.cieocreative.comwww.wendellphillips.com

Spare The Cold - 2007

Grassmonkeyz — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 12:04:28 -0700

Hey All,

For those of you that remember, last Christmas an initiative called Spare The Cold blossumed.

Spare The Cold has now become an annual initiative that aims to bring Christmas to
those less privileged in our local communities, such as people facing homelessness, working in the sex trade and struggling with addictions.

Christmas is a time where families and friends come together and
celebrate, but sadly not all of us are that fortunate. Spare The Cold
wants to make Christmas as inclusive as possible by providing
backpacks full of necessities to marginalized people within our
respective communities.

This year the project is making it's debut in both Victoria and
Toronto due to a sparked interest in people who were inspired to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate in their respective cities. This year we will be serving 4 times as many people as in 2006, therefore needing that much more community support!

A little bit of History:

The inspiration for Spare The Cold's founder Gab Laurence, came from her
experience with the Downtown Eastside Youth Activities Society (DEYAS)
for the Needle Exchange Program. "Gab's" vision was to create an active
community program that serviced the needy during the holiday season. Her
focus was clear: make people feel valued and remembered as well as
keep people warm through Canada's cold winter.

With the momentum of last years success, Gab decided to expand the
programs reach into Victoria, as well as partnering with corporate
friends Cieo Creative to spearhead the initiative in Toronto. This
years, her goal is to prepare 150 backpack for Vancouver, 100 for Victoria & 150 for Toronto.

Hope we get your vote this year and good luck to all other GREAT causes!

Bet ya'all thought I was dead

Grassmonkeyz — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 17:12:56 -0800

Hello everyone,

It's been quite some time since we've last spoken. No I am not dead, just recovering from a insane Christmas season.

I would like to update you all on what happened with the Christmas packages for the residence of the Downtown Eastside. It was an INCREDIBLE success! This a HUGE thanks to everyone that contributed to the SPARETHECOLD.ORG project! Thanks Thanks Thanks! All 102 backpacks held: 2 pairs of socks, deodorant, 100g jar of vaseline, hygene products a hat, a pair of mitts and treats!

These packs were welcomed with grateful hearts. If only I could transmit the image of the beautiful and grateful faces. We saw everything from ecstatic reactions to tears of joy it was truely amazing! This is community support at it's finest! You all made a huge difference in the lives of these individuals. Again thank you!

Christmas in the Downtown Eastside - SPARETHECOLD.ORG

Grassmonkeyz — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 10:40:54 -0800

Hello Everyone,
Well it's been a crazy ride! We've been extremely successful with our SpareTheCold project. This is a quick update to let everyone know that we will be packing the backpacks at DEYAS (612 Main St.) at 1pm on Friday Dec. 22nd. For those of you who are interested let me know ahead of time so we don't over load the space! Big thanks to everyone out there who has made Spare The Cold a huge success!!! Merry Christmas!

Christmas in the Downtown Eastside - SPARETHECOLD.ORG

Grassmonkeyz — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 20:43:13 -0800

Hey Everyone,
So the 22nd is getting closer and closer and this project (Everyone Deserves Gifts AKA Spare the Cold)is become more and more of a reality thanks to the community. I would like to ask everyone who has any donations to please drop me an email at gab@sparethecold.org. If you can let me know how many items you have, which ones they are and where you are dropping them off then that would key!!! Check out a our kindly donated website (by http://www.retrix.com/) at http://www.sparethecold.org/ for the projects cool poster and info about donations!
So of course in all my craziness I forgot to ask if anyone has BACKPACKS to stuff the items in??? I will try and buy as many as I can... but if you have any used ones lying around feel free to drop them off.
New Numbers
100 out of 100 treats
100 out of 100 Vaseline jars
71 out of 100 toques
38 out of 100 pairs of socks
63 out of 100 pairs of gloves
24 out of 100 sticks of deodorant
*Plus some extras of other items that people had available!
Yay, its looking good! So please let me know WHERE you drop off the info. And please visit www.sparethecold.org for drop off info. Thanks everyone for making Christmas a reality for so many!

Xmas in the Downtown Eastside - Project Everyone Deserves Gifts

Grassmonkeyz — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 13:29:09 -0800

Hey Everyone,

There has been great response for this initiative. I am so happy to see everyone coming together to brighten up the lives of people in need! As promised I have put together an inital tally-up of what people had commited to donating. So far we have:

100 out of 100 Treats (Woo Hoo quota met!!)

100 out of 100 little jars of Vaseline (Woo Hoo!!)

100 out of 100 Pairs of Socks (Yay, Keep Em Coming)

64 out of 100 Toques (Mmm warm head)

10 out of 100 pair of Gloves (Remember Magic mits are great to for all-season wear)

15 out of 100 Sticks of Deodorant

We have recieved a very generous $100 donation from Victoria, BC to buy any last minute supplies. If you are interested in participating we have till the 22nd to collect items. Please indicate what you can commit to so I have a clear number so I can update accordingly. Again, here are the Drop Off spots for Donations:

DEYAS 612 Main St. (9am-5pm) Attn: Gab Laurence

VanCity 183 Terminal Ave. (9am-5pm) Drop Off at Sercurity Desk Attn: Kate Dugas

SHRA 306-1212 W.Broadway 9am-4:30pm) Attn: Gab Laurence

Federation of BC Youth In Care Networks (9am-5pm) 55-8th St New West Attn: Gab Laurence

Retrix Hosting (9am-5pm) 675 West Hastings Studio 1615 Attn: Jamie Lubiner

AFTER HOURS: send me a private email and I will come and pick the items up from you!

Thanks and keep it all coming.

Christmas in the Downtown Eastside

Grassmonkeyz — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 21:57:18 -0800

Hello dear bloggers,
My name is Gab and I helped Kate with the clothing drive on Nov. 28th. The response and generousity has been overwhelming. Thank you to all who have contributed to saving lives. The reason for my post today is a call out for help. I work in the downtown eastside with a couple different organization. I am working with DEYAS (Downtown Eastside Youth Acitivities Society) in the Needle Exchange Van throughout the Christmas season including Chritsmas Day. The holiday season is a especially a hard time for people in the DTES. My goal is to organized packages to hand out to people on xmas as gifts. I am trying to reach 100 packages because that is how many people I tend to see in a night. I've done some consultations and here is what was said that was most needed.
-Gloves (100 pairs)-Toques (100)-Socks (100 pairs)-Small Jars of Vasaline (100)-Deodorant (100)-Treats (chocolates, sweets etc...)
Resource cards will also hopefully make there way into these packages.
So what I'm wondering is if anyone out there would is able to contribute to the DTES xmas packages in any way shape or form. Contributions are greatly appreciated!!!
If you have anything from the list to drop off(financial or material) here are a couple places to do so:
DEYAS: 612 Main St. (Hours: 9am-4:30pm) Attn: Gab LaurenceVanCity: 183 Terminal Ave. Security Desk (Hours: 9am-4pm) Attn: Kate Dugas SHRA: 306-1212 W. Broadway (9am-4:30pm) Attn: Gab Laurence
If you feel comfortable doing so, please write down any contact info so I can follow up with everyone!
Again, Thank you all for you time! I hope we will be able to talk soon.