Week 46

We had such a fun day today filled with a lemonade stand and good laughs with friends. Paige learned a great deal too; its hard work to make money but worth it once you see the results of your work and that giving to others who are in need feels good. We had a crew of girls out to help raise money for Sick Kids. There was Taylor, Kenzi, Jordan, Kate, Anderson, Kamryn and Peyton. This was the foundation that Paige and the girls could relate to. We started by making the signs and bringing the tables and chairs up from the basement, then we stacked the cups and got an ice bucket for the lemonade. Everyone needed ice with their lemonade...that was Paige's idea. Lastly we decided to also offer popcorn. I think mainly because they all wanted to eat some.

We got started and it wasn't very busy...let me just say it was drizzling rain which didn't make for lots of people outside. That didn't bother us though, we just decided to knock on doors and tell them about it. It was so funny to watch them run from house to house. They were little negotiators by saying they would bring them the lemonade if they bought it. How smart is that. Anderson was telling people it cost $50 instead of $.50.

In the end the girls made over $40 and were more than happy to donate it to charity. We went to get our nails done later and I knew they learned something when they were telling people about the charity. I was so proud and I know Mer would be too.

Thanks Paige for teaching me so much today too! xo Kristen

Week 45

April 22nd, Good Friday

Paige, Emma and I started our shift at the church at 3:30!! The girls set the tables, 135 place settings. Once they finished that they were asked to make treat bags to go on top of each plate. So they got busy making 135 candy bags!! After about 30 minutes the girls were off to get the craft table ready for blowing out and dying eggs. The children guests tried blowing out the eggs for the first time ever. They were so happy and excited to do a new craft! It got messy but never once did Paige complain. When we invited a new 10 year old girl to try dyeing an egg, she shook her head and sat at her table quite nervously. By the end of the night she came up with a big smile on her face and told us about the egg she had made. So great! Dinner was served at 6:00. So many guests arrived that we had to take down the art tables to accommodate more families. We forget that for some this Easter tradition is not a number one priority, as many of our families are struggling to make ends meet and don't even have enough to feed their children and pay rent. Once everyone had gone up for their hot meal of turkey, veggies, stuffing, etc. Emma and Paige walked around and gave every child a goody bag and card that they had made. It was such an amazing thing to watch. All the kids put on their masks and gave the girls a big smile!! They worked hard until 6:45 and we finally were able to sit down and enjoy the turkey dinner too!! What a great way to spend GOOD FRIDAY!!

Week 44

Cute picture eh?? Hard to see who it is behind those cute little bunny masks. That's Paige, Abbie, Emma, Brock, and Jack!!

In March when we were at church volunteering, Jack and Emma offered to make goody Easter bags for the children who came to the hot meal service on Friday nights. Paige has been to church with us before so we thought it was fitting that she and the other kids could help make these bags for the Easter dinner on April 22nd. Inside the bags the kids decided to get pencils, silly bands, stickers, bunny masks and of course lots of chocolate eggs. They worked together as a team and set everything up on the table and made 30 goody bags. We tied them up with a nice ribbon and put them in a big Easter basket, ready for church. Then Paige had a great idea!! She wanted to make Easter cards for all the children that we would hand out the bags to. So the girls sat down for a couple hours and made 30 Easter cards! They did an amazing job. We talked a lot about why they made the goody bags and cards for the children. The families that visit the church for a hot meal on Friday nights may not have enough money to be able to buy special treats, or cards for their families. Paige and the girls quickly realized just how lucky they are!! As I was bringing home Paige that day she asked if she could come to the church too, the following week. So we booked our next date, April 22nd to prepare a hot turkey dinner and hand out the great goody bags they made:) Till next week Paige!! xoxo

WEEK 43

Thursday April 7th, 2011 Today Paige and I got together to continue her 52 weeks of giving. It never ceases to amaze me how excited she gets to go and do these events. She really loves going out and helping people and her community!! The weather seemed to be holding out for us so we decided to go to the Hamilton Beach strip (by hutches-- oh ya!!) to clean up some of the litter that had been uncovered by the melting snow. With Earth Day just around the corner it seemed fitting. We were surprised at how much garbage was on the beach considering that the weather hasn't even been nice yet. We figured that some of it had washed in from the water and that some had just been moved and uncovered by the winter. The weather down at the beach was not so nice to say the least - super windy and chilly. Not the best for this event. However, Paige..in what seems to be true Paige fashion...totally trooped it out with me to gather enough litter to fill one black garbage bag. Can you believe that it only took us 20minutes to do it?? How sad is that?? Not sad for us..we rocked it..but sad for the environment!! And of course...after our lightening speed garbage pick up...we needed to warm up with some classic Hutches fries and icecream!! Perfect way to end a hards days work I say!!! Good Job Paige!!!Jo

Week 42

A dear friend of mine Diana is a teacher in a 'rough' downtown Toronto school and is one of those people who always seems to be on an adventure!!

So it came as no surprise when she told me that she was heading to Ghana to volunteer for six weeks in a little village called Dekpor where the population lives well below the poverty line. The school is overflowing with students who come from around the local region to attend class, many orphaned but despite this, they have made school a priority in desire to better their lives through education. There is no electricity or running water in the village, let alone a proper school building.

Diana along with other teachers were heading over to help finish build a library as well as classrooms. The kindergarten class is held underneath a tree and there are 140 children in that ONE class!!

So where does Paige fit into all this, well Diana was looking for donations of anything; school supplies, books, summer clothing, etc.. so when talking to Paige, her response was "Well don't we have lots of clothes and books?" Paige along with Oliver, Brendan and I decided to go through the boys clothes and make a pile, we covered everything from newborn up to size 7 (a lot still with tags on) and trust me the pile was HUGE!! Along with the clothes, we gathered school supplies, books and baby supplies and along with all the clothes made a big care package for Diana to take to Ghana. Paige was so proud of how big the pile was....the boys were a little concerned where their stuff was going...

Paige was a little upset that she didn’t get to go to Africa and see all the kids (well maybe one day), but Diana was thrilled and has said that the village was blown away.

The headmaster at the school told Diana that this group of volunteers was the first in history to help this village and told them of a Ghanaian saying

“god helps tail-less animals” meaning that animals who have tails are able to swat the flies from their backs on their own but god doesn’t forget about the animals who don’t have tails and steps in to help" They felt that god intervened and sent them as help (i'd like the think Mer had a part in it too!)

The village now has a library filled with books and the classrooms are in a more presentable state thanks to Diana and friends. I’d like to think that because of that one afternoon spent ‘making piles’ we’ve put a smile on a little boys or girls face that will last a lifetime.

I’ve included some photos of the school and the village rather than Paige standing by a pile of clothes so we can see how fortunate we are here with our education! More information can be found on their website http://dekporschool.org

Thanx Paigee

Mel xo

Week 41

So I know we don't normally post two pictures but I thought it was important for you to see just how much trouble we had making something that I thought was simple!

In thinking of something for Paige and I to do, a very nice girlfriend, Donna, thought of this great simple idea! To make dog treats, and then take them over to the Animal shelter to visit with the dogs and have a tour. Donna was even nice enough to bring all the cooking materials and ingredients over to my house for us to do with Paige.

So Jack, Emma and Paige mixed and measured all the ingredients together, but they were so mushy and messy! Paige thought that they were just disgusting! Anyhow, finally we created some sort of shapes out of the goo. Paige dared Jack to taste our blend, and he did!! GROSS.

Needless to say we baked them and they didn't turn out so well. Braddock (our family dog) gave them a taste and he was looking for more so they must have been alright! Our baking took a little longer than normal so we still need to do the visiting part for this week!! We will keep you posted!

Week 40

Paige and I were talking about all the wonderful things she has done with all her friends by paying it forward. She gladly told me them with a cute little grin and a sparkle in her eye. Olivia and Reese (my girls) sat back and listened to all of Paige’s opportunities and wanted to do the same. How great is this! Thanks Paige…xo.

Today is February 10th and Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. I told Paige that I have the opportunity to make people smile every day. She looked at me puzzled and asked, “how”? I told her that I am a nurse for many Long Term Care homes who have many wonderful people live in them. I told her of a man named Jack who once earned medals by helping us save our country and is now living with his wife in one of our villages. I also told her of all the special caregivers that care for people like Jack and his wife by cooking meals, taking them shopping and even take them on special trips. I then asked her if she would like to pay it forward by giving “candy grams” to all our residents and caregivers at our villages for Valentine’s Day. Paige thought this was a great idea and then the fun began….HA! Paige, Olivia and Reese we so excited to put together these candy grams. I have to admit they enjoyed a few treats of their own as we made over 50 candy grams. Way to go girls!!

Thanks for a great day Paige!! All our residents and caregivers are thankful for you and your amazing heart…xxoo.

Melanie