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Canadian Tire Money: More than a Rewards Program

Mar 9th, 2010
by Emily Hazell.
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Canadian Tire Money

Canadian Tire Money

Anyone that lives in Canada, knows of (and maybe uses) Canadian Tire money. Alongside hockey and maple syrup, Canadian Tire Money is a classic Canadian tradition, that is a nationally recognized rewards program – yet I know few people that actually redeem their CTM for anything these days.

In fact, the inspiration for this post, was my acceptance of more CTM from a colleague, while knowing I will probably never actually use it. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a day at Canadian Tire as much as the next person, but the same reason I have approximately 100 reusable canvas bags, I generally forget to bring my CTM with me.

It got me thinking… can you donate your Canadian Tire Money?

I was happy to find out that you can not only donate your Canadian Tire Money, but many local schools, hospitals, spca’s and other charitable organizations love receiving a wad of colourful Canadian Tire denominations. And while the connection between social services like animal shelters, schools and Canadian Tire is not immediately obvious, it exists. These initiatives and institutions can use Canadian Tire money for much needed supplies and services provided by CT.

So dip in to that stash of Canadian Tire Money, you know you’ll never use, and donate it to a local cause today. Simply perform a quick web search for “donate Canadian Tire Money” and discover which local organizations accept this kind of donation.

Other Rewards Programs with a Conscious:

Air Miles:

Many of us collect Air Miles but never use them. You can donate your Air Miles to a number of charities such as World Literacy of Canada and Kids Help Phone are two examples.

America Express:

The GivingExpress® program from American Express connects you to important causes including education, health, human services, and more. Redeem your rewards points to over 1 million charities world wide.

Shoppers Drug Mart:
Shoppers Drug Mart is pleased to announce that Shoppers Optimum Members® will now have the opportunity to donate Shoppers Optimum Points® to various organizations online. These points can be redeemed on behalf of the organization for discounts on purchases at Shoppers Drug Mart stores, according to the terms and conditions of the Shoppers Optimum Program®

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Footage from the 2nd Ottawa Timeraiser

Mar 5th, 2010
by Jen Grebeldinger.
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Recently as we were creating and publishing new CivicFootprint TV videos, we unearthed one of our favourite Timeraiser videos.  Produced by Meg Wilcox, Nina Soboczynski and Radka Zitkova for Capital News Online, the video is from the 2nd Ottawa Timeraiser last November.  It perfectly captures the vibe (I’ve heard the description “trendy but authentic”) and explains the various elements that make the Timeraiser such a unique event.

In truth, while videos and pictures are a great way of telling the Timeraiser story, you really do have to actually attend a Timeraiser in person to fully understand its impact.  It’s in chatting with an artist about the story behind his or her piece.  It’s hearing the passion in the voices of agency reps as they describe their programs or striking up a conversation with someone about what brought them to Timeraiser.  It’s watching anxious bidders during the silent auction and then hearing the jubilation when winners are announced.  But what eclipses everything is noticing your own excitement when you hear about a volunteer position that speaks to you and your interests.

But don’t take my word: read what other people have to say and more importantly: experience it for yourself!  The 2010 Timeraiser season starts Saturday March 20th in Toronto for the 7th year in a row.  Tickets are already more than 60% sold out, so giddy-up!  Following Toronto we have:

  • 2nd Hamilton Timeraiser: Thursday April 22nd
  • 1st London Timeraiser: Thursday May 13th
  • 5th Calgary Timeraiser: Thursday June 17th
  • 3rd Vancouver Timeraiser: Thursday September 23rd
  • 2nd Edmonton Timeraiser: Saturday October 16th
  • 3rd Ottawa Timeraiser: Saturday November 13th

So check out that video from the Ottawa Timeraiser and make a comment!  There are some great interviews including one from the evening’s emcee, CBC Radio Host Amanda Putz, our E.D. Anil Patel, and Ottawa artist Paul Sharp.

Happy viewing!

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Timeraiser Fever Spreads Through the Hoods of Toronto

Mar 2nd, 2010
by Theresa Wetzel.
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On this past snowy/rainy Saturday, a group of our great volunteers hit the most vibrant neighbourhoods in Toronto on our annual Neighbourhood Day to help promote and spread the word about the upcoming 7th Toronto Timeraiser: happening Saturday March 20th in the Distillery District. Our volunteers met for brunch at Free Times Cafe on College Street and had a brief orientation outlining the strategy for the day.

Postering Toronto

Postering Toronto

The Neighbourhood Day Strategy gives volunteers the opportunity to explore the city in which they live as well as give back to the community. The main objective of the day is to target 5 to 10 key neighbourhoods in the city where young professionals live, work, and shop to promote the Timeraiser.

This strategy goes beyond the typical flyer drop as we train our volunteers to communicate with local business owners and their employees about all the working parts of the Timeraiser in order for them to help us spread the word about the event. Every year we run this grassroots campaign about 3-4 weeks before the Timeraiser in order to engage store owners, managers and employees to empower more citizens to get involved directly to stimulate community development.

With a campaign in every city we hope to better understand how our city is promoting community development and to see first hand how local businesses are contributing to thriving communities.

Emily outside Kalendar, College Street

Emily outside Kalendar, College Street

Next time you are in your local coffee shop look out for our Timeraiser flyers and posters and remember to buy your tickets today for the 7th Toronto Timeraiser.

You can view all the pictures from our Toronto Neighbourhood day here.

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Notes on #ChangeCampTO

Feb 19th, 2010
by Amanda Grainger.
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Anil and I attended ChangeCampTO, held Tuesday Feb 16th at the Toronto Public Library in the Bram & Bluma Appel Salon room. I’m so glad we went. Mark Kuznicki, ChangeCamp founder, Ryan Coleman and all the volunteers put together a really interactive, fast paced event.

During our roundtable discussion, we talked through the idea of mobilizing people around a cause or issue – in this case using the Toronto 2010 municipal elections as the focus.  We discussed ways to engage the community and the barriers that might exist in doing so.  It was wonderful to sit around a table with different members of the community with unique perspectives and expertise.  Of course, that means in some cases an idea would bubble to the top and then quickly fall, but then, I enjoy a little healthy debate.

The four scenarios to discuss around “co-creating a toolkit for a self-organizing movement of engaged citizen led dialogue and action” were:

  • Same time, same place
  • Same time, different place
  • Different time, same place
  • Different time, different place

Our table was given the task of preparing a toolkit for mobilizing people together at the same time, but in a different place. Naturally, technology becomes the top discussion.  We discussed how best to use technology, language and access barriers, and anonymity versus identity.

As I’m sure you know, we are big fans of opening up our information and processes. I’m very excited that ChangeCamp follows the same ideals. You can follow our table’s conversation thread (and the conversations of the other 20+ tables) at this link.  I would also encourage you to review ChangeCamp’s official wrap-up and analysis of the event, here. We talked about inclusivity being a top priority, and also acknowledged that if we could increase civic engagement by even 20% in each ward, what a huge success it would be.

One thing I will take away from the second table I was at was the idea of “reclaiming the community center”.  In this discussion someone threw out the notion that we could rethink how the community centers are used, what our ideas of them are, and how we can better promote programs within a community center. It got me thinking.  I deeply value our local community centers – and there are also conversations happening in bars, coffee shops and on the TTC.  Are those conversations and social gatherings happening at community centers? Could community centers become the next hot spot? Should they?

It is something I’ll be thinking about as I continue to work with ChangeCamp and other agencies in our community.

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Mercy, Mercy Me

Feb 17th, 2010
by Anil Patel.
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I remember when Marvin Gaye’s dad shot him dead. It was April 1st, 1984, I was 10 years old and was very upset by what happened. Although Marvin’s dad was suffering from a long bout of mental illness and drug abuse, he had a history of dishing out verbal and physical abuse to the Gaye family. A toxic mix.

I listened to a lot of Marvin growing up.

Rolling Stone magazine rank’s Marvin Gaye’s album What’s Going On as album of the year in 1971. Mercy, Mercy Me was one of the three #1 hits on the album.

Mercy, Mercy Me is as relevant today as it was +30 years ago. So to is the not-so-talked about mental illness that Marvin endured prior to his death.

Mood Disorders of Ontario and Canadian Mental Health Association researchers have documented that one in three Canadians will suffer from a mental health issue in their lifetime.

The loss of a loved one. A mid-life crisis. A work related episode.

Some cases more severe than others. Many simply requiring that people in need find help, just knowing that it is OK to talk about it without fear of stigmatism.

Issues of mental wellness is something that we want to actively promote as part of our Timeraiser and Civic Footprint programming.

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