Toronto Uncovered » Charitable

You In!?

hmorrison — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 13:49:39 +0000

Yahoo Canada (a client of ours at Sequentia) unveiled a new social program this week called You In! I don’t usually cover clients on this blog, however, I do feel like this particular cause is well worth talking about.

The program is simple – Yahoo is looking for Canadians step forward and get involved in a new movement dedicated to kindness in Canada. Your participation and planning over the next few weeks will then roll into a larger national program in October. The goal is to inspire at least 80,000 individual acts of kindness in one week.

If you’re looking for a way to get involved in community, promote social acts of kindness, brainstorm and share ideas with others about a national kindness campaign, and most of all feel like you’ve made a difference this may be perfect for you. Yahoo has set up a sign up on their Facebook page.

Good luck!

Dance The Night Away

hmorrison — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:13:59 +0000

I’ve never been one to turn down a good dance party, hell, I throw my own dance parties for one whenever I am lucky enough to have my condo to myself. I love house music, I love playing it loud, and I love to dance.

This weekend I went to one such dance party at Tequila Bookworm, a venue that until recently I had no idea was so awesome! The party was held on the upper level which feels like you are actually at someones house – a few rooms with couches, a bar and a well-sized dance floor.

Toronto has some awesome DJs that don’t get nearly enough credit. I have been a friend and devoted fan of DJ Lee MacDonald ever since I first heard him spin in first year university. He kicked off the party, mixing in tons of great old school 90′s dance tracks and overlaying them with more recent beats. DJ Rich Hope took the party into the late hours of the night, each track making you dance harder than the track before. We were cheering and clapping with each new mix. I honestly didn’t want the night to end, and wished we really were at a house party so our lame 2:30am bar closures didn’t apply.

If you’re looking for some new Toronto DJs to support here are some sessions from Lee and Rich.

Lee MacDonald (download from this site)

Rich Hope (right click, save as)

Who is your favourite Toronto DJ?

Get Your Mmm On For Charity

Aliana — Thu, 06 May 2010 17:35:21 +0000

This Saturday, May 8th from 10am to 4pm M&M Meat Shops will be hosting a charity BBQ. For the minimum price of $2.50 you’ll receive a drink, a bag of chips and your choice of either a burger or a hot dog. All proceeds go to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada.

The 2010 coast-to-coast fund-raising goal for this is 2 million dollars so maybe find it in your heart shell out a little something extra than just the bare minimum. Don’t worry about some fat cat using your donation to pad his or her pockets because every penny raised goes directly to the CCFC!

M&M’s has 4 locations here in the T-dot. I’ll save you the effort of going to their website to do a store search because I’m really that wonderful. The locations are as follows:

Toronto – Blue Jays Way
340 Front Street West
(Corner of Blue Jays Way and Front Street)
(416) 506-1793

Toronto – Church
92 King Street East
Corner of King St. E and Church St. (between King and Adelaide)
(416) 364-8999

Toronto – Danforth
3003 Danforth Avenue
(Shopper’s World Plaza)
(416) 694-7634

Toronto – Pleasant
11 Pleasant Boulevard
(inside Mac’s Convenience Store, 1 block South of St. Clair Avenue East & Yonge Street)
(416) 925-2407

While you’re there, since you’ll likely already be in a charitable mood, feel free to pick me up a box of those BBQ Marinated Chicken Breasts. What? I’m a starving artist. It was worth a shot.

Movember in Toronto

hmorrison — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 02:34:45 +0000

One of my favourite games to play in November is: “Movember moustache or every day?” Sometimes, it really is hard to tell. I honestly believe you guys dress up the m0ustache throughout the month, matching your clothing with your ever evolving facial hair. If you’re sporting a Tom Selleck that day, maybe you throw on a blazer with your jeans. If its a little more of a Burt Reynolds stache, maybe you go a little cowboy. Either way, its a hilarious month, filled with giggles, double takes and maybe even the odd quick pic when you’re not looking. Now that November has come to a close, leaving your razor blades dull and upper lips smooth, Ive compiled some pictures that I thought you would appreciate… Enjoy! If you have some classic shots you want added to the real email them to me at hmorrison@torontouncovered.com.

[cincopa 10523321]

Party on a Streetcar

hmorrison — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:31:08 +0000

For the last gazillion years my friends have organized a streetcar party on Halloween. The idea is simple: charter out a streetcar and bar hop until you can bar hop no more. Its always a smashing success. This year, I helped organize and recruit people, which wasn’t hard since I have been raving about it since last year. One thing that most people (including myself) didn’t realize is that you can charter out a streetcar for your own personal partying pleasure anytime you want. If you’re interested in organizing a similar type of event, here are some things you should know:

1. Cost: A single streetcar, which has capacity of about 70 people, is about $1000.00 for 4 hours. A double streetcar, which can hold upwards of 110-120, is about $1600.00 for 4 hours. Additional TTC info can be found here.

2. Bars: My friends contact different bars (along streetcar routes) ahead of time to make sure they are bar hop friendly. Any bar owner with even the slightest iota of business sense will jump at the chance to have 100 drunken patrons brought their bar. Make sure you choose bars that don’t get too crowded as it can be difficult to round everyone up to head to the next stop. Some good bars include: Raq n Waq, The Rex, Midtown, Prohibition, and Bovine Sex Club.

3. Bar Treats: Most of the bars will offer complimentary shooters and/or food. Don’t be scared to ask for some extras, including easy entry and no cover.

4. Timing: We usually start early. If you only have 4 hours of streetcar, 5 bars to hit, and the last bar closes at 2am (making your latest arrival time 1am).. carry the 3.. and that gives about 1 hour at each bar when you factor in travel time. This year’s meet time was 6:30. Of course we didn’t actually leave the first bar until just after 7:30. We arrived at the last bar around 12:30. Make sure to time everything out.

5. Theme: For Halloween, no other theme is necessary. If you are going to plan a streetcar party on a normal night a theme is a good idea. Its way more hilarious for everyone to dress up, not to mention far more interesting for everyone on the streets and in the normal streetcars to see a TTC vehicle come to a stop and unload 100 dressed up, rowdy partiers.

6. Make it charitable: The cost per person is usually around 40.00. After all the expenses (ie. streetcar, wrist bands, on-street-car jello shots) are taken care of, you will definitely have some extra cash left over. We always donate the proceeds to a local charity.

The Streetcar barhop is a great time and an experience most people have yet to come across. Let me know if you want any more info or details on how we organized things this year.

The Koski Kup

hmorrison — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:36:25 +0000

I have often said that there are tons of amazing people doing amazing things in Toronto. Last weekend I was invited to participate in the 3rd Annual Koski Kup, a full day ball hockey tournament in support of Lupus Ontario. It is hosted and organized by Jordy and David Koski, who lost their dad to Lupus a few years ago.

Arriving at 9am on Saturday October 3rd, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I like to play sports and end up signing myself up for enough teams here and there, but I wouldn’t really call myself ‘naturally athletic’. I had briefly grazed the website and looked at pictures of previous years: crazy outfits, lots of laughter and hilarious pictures were front and centre. It was clear that fun and charity were top of mind, followed closely by a healthy dose of competition and trash talking.

Five teams, 8-10 players each, participated in the tournament. The top four went on to playoff rounds. Our team, Les Tabernouches, went all the way to the finals, clinching first place bragging rights and the Koski Kup. Money was raised throughout the day byentry fees and selling raffle tickets, hamburgers and hot dogs to spectators who came out to support the cause – or maybe they were there to laugh at us as we attempted to play ball hockey on a soaked rink all dressed in wigs. Either way, the total amount surpassed the $2500.00 mark.

The entire event was well planned and a lot of fun. I laughed so hard my sides hurt, and could barely walk the next day from running so much. Many thanks to Jordy and Dave for an amazing day and for having such a great outlook on life.

Pedro's Run: Toronto to Vancouver

hmorrison — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:07:01 +0000

How many people do you know who would run 4492 kms from Toronto to Vancouver for a good cause? I am happy to say that I know at least one. I met Torontonian Pedro Lopes about a month ago, and was instantly inspired and intrigued by his plans to run across the country to raise money for charity and pursuit of a personal challenge. He plans to leave Toronto on August 30th, running North along Yonge Street until he reaches his first checkpoint in Barrie. From Barrie he will head west into Manitoba, Saskatchewan and finally BC. Pedro’s goal is to arrive in Vancouver within fifty to sixty days from his departure date (that’s 70-80 kms each day!) but admits he will be at the mercy of his body and mother nature.

I met up with Pedro over a pitcher of sangria last night to get some last minute answers:

Q: Which charities are you raising funds for?

A: I will be giving a portion of funds raised to Spread The Net, an international relief effort to provide malaria nets to individuals in Africa. $10.00 buys a net and directly saves lives. On a local level, I am raising money for a non-profit I hope to start called Message Causing Motion, which will focus on engaging ourselves to be our best and challenge the world around us. I hope to spread awareness and generate campaigns that shine a spotlight on relevant and topical issues for our generation.

Q: What inspired you to run across Canada?

A: I have always been one for the flare of extremes and dramatics. I knew that this was something I wanted and needed to do at this stage in my life. It allows me to challenge myself mentally and physically more than ever before.

Q: What preparation have you taken so far?

A: How can you really prepare for something like this? I feel like the previous 26 years is my preparation: mind, body and soul.

Pedro plans to reach certain checkpoints each day and will have a GPS following his exact location. He has a few sponsors on board at this stage, many of which are friends or fans of his determination. He has yet to reach out to media but plans to contact local media and bloggers along his journey. Pedro will also have a camera with him throughout his run to document key moments and experiences. A website, blog and Twitter account will be up and running by September 10th (which I will post here as well). PayPal and a mailing address will be set up on his site to facilitate support and donations.

It always amazes me how many inspirational and outright amazing people we have living within the confines of our city. If you want further information or to contact Pedro let me know.