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Greetings!
Welcome to this
edition of the Christmas Exchange Newsletter! With the arrival of the spring
season, we have many exciting events underway.
To stay up-to-date
on Christmas Exchange information and events, join us on Facebook and
Twitter. To view videos of
our public service announcements (PSA's) and events, go to YouTube. For more information about
the Christmas Exchange, click here to visit
our website. To send us a donation, click here. Please feel free to
forward this e-mail to any individual or organization you think may be
interested in receiving our e-newsletter.
If you no longer wish to receive our e-newsletter, let us know by
emailing prxmas@storm.ca |
Thank You!
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As you may heard in the media, the need for food assistance from Christmas Exchange increased considerably last year and we almost didn't have sufficient funds to assist everyone who came to us for help. Thanks to people like you, and everyone who answered our call for donations, we were able to help everyone on our list.
Last year, Christmas Exchange provided directed assistance with either a food hamper or redeemable grocery voucher to 24,393 people in 9,485 families including 10,414 children and 2,357 seniors. In addition, we co-ordinated assistance for another 3,225 families helped by other caring organizations, and referred 11,031 children to the Salvation Army Toy Centre for toys. The co-ordination service we provide to over 300 community organizations and social service agencies, helped eliminate 2,406 duplicate applications for food assistance, and 3,316 for toys, saving the community an estimated $738,000 in 2009.
On behalf of the many individuals and families who otherwise would not have been able to participate in the celebration of the season, THANK YOU!
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Lisa's Story
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Every year Christmas Exchange receives hundreds of thank you letters from people you have helped. People like Lisa* who has over 20 years work experience, 16 on contract with the federal government. A single mother of one girl and two boys; one with Autism and the other with ADHD, Lisa having been raised on a farm is used to hard work. Unfortunately, in 2000 Lisa took ill and could no longer work. Click here to read more on Lisa's story and others who have been helped by Christmas Exchange.
*The name has been changed to protect her family's privacy. |
How You Can Help
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Although Christmas is still a few months away,
you can help by making a donation to Christmas Exchange now so we can better
prepare for the December holiday season. It takes us 365 days to
raise enough money to ensure that all families like Lisa's will have the means
for a decent holiday meal. To make a donation,
click here. |
| Upcoming Events |
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Mother's Day Is Almost Here!
Celebrate Mother's
Day by treating her to a delicious brunch at the first annual Mother's Day
Brunch hosted and catered by local celebrity restaurateur Dave Smith. The event takes place at the Ron Kolbus
Lakeside Centre on May 9th from 11:00 am to 2:30 pm. This is a
family friendly event so kids are welcome! There will be activities and entertainment
for the kids, a ticket auction and raffle.
You'll also be able
to mingle with some of the local celebrities and VIPs who will be on hand to
help serve tea and coffee. Book your
tickets now by visiting www.Christmas-Exchange.com or by phoning 613-226-6434. Tickets: Adults $25.00,Children 5 to 10 yrs $12.50, Children 4 yrs and under Free.
Proceeds go to Christmas Exchange and Lifetime Networks Ottawa.
If you would like to volunteer for this event,
please contact Sui-Ling Leung at 613-226-6434 ext.226.
Mark Your Calendar for June 10th!
Join us for our
Annual General Meeting at the Hellenic Meeting and Reception Centre, on 1315 Prince of Wales Drive, at 5:30pm on June 10th,
and see how your donor dollars were put to work last year to help those in need. This
is when a new slate of Directors and Officers is voted in, the 2009 annual
report is presented and plans for 2010 are announced. We will also be honoring our valuable volunteers, sponsors, patrons and donors who have contributed their time and efforts to help ensure everyone in Ottawa were able to have a decent holiday meal last year.
We would love to
see you there, but please let us know by June 1st that you plan to attend, by emailing merryxmas@storm.ca, or calling
613-226-6434. |
New Staff
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New Communications Coordinator at Christmas Exchange
We would like to welcome our new Communications
Coordinator, Michèle Rogerson who has recently joined our team. In her new
role, Michele will be in charge of communications and marketing, including our e-newsletter,
Website, Face Book and Twitter, and coordinating media relations. She will also
assist in the coordination of our fundraising events. Michele has a B.A. in Communications from the University of Ottawa, is fluently bilingual, and has
several years of experience in the communications and marketing fields with
non-profit organizations. |
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Thank
you for
taking the time to read our April E-Newsletter. We continue to
welcome your feedback on what you enjoyed and what you would like to see
included in our next edition. Please send all suggestions to
prxmas@storm.ca
Thank you for continuing to support Christmas Exchange. Without you, our work would not be possible.
Sincerely,
Michèle Rogerson
Communications Coordinator
Christmas Exchange
Email: prxmas@storm.ca
Web: http://www.Christmas-Exchange.com
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