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| Last Door Recovery Society Newsletter | Newsletter #019
September 2010 | |
As we moved into the Fall season we reached the fiscal year end for Last Door Recovery Society on August 31, 2010. The Board has again engaged Meyers Norris Penney to conduct the annual Financial Review and the Society continues in good financial stead. We have many projects underway that require our attention financially eg: there was a cutback of MSDES funding to the Youth Program that had significant negative impact on revenue. We have negotiated an interim funding arrangement with Fraser Health - Last Door Youth Program thanks Fraser Health - Mental Health and Addictions for their support. .
The Door Slam was an amazing success! We made a few changes this year and, with feedback from coaches, volunteers and staff we are going to be making more changes next year. Special thanks to all the volunteers who worked so hard on our behalf and especially to Linda Lane whose energy and support seems boundless. Congratulations to the winners.
There was an article recently in the Newsleader that drew some concerns. I had a personal call from the President of the Queens Park Residents Association who felt that his comments had been somewhat "misrepresented" in the article. He was quoted as saying that "some people had told him they did not feel safe in the Uptown area" and that the context of the article implied he was referring to Last Door clients as the cause of their anxiety. He made it clear to me that he feels the Last Door clients present well in the community and he was in no way referencing them by that comment. He wanted to make sure we were not offended by the article and that he supports our work and clients.
I thanked him for his call and it was good to know that the Door Boyz continue to represent us well in the Community.
All in all, life is very good. Recovery continues its strong pace in our community and we can all be proud and grateful to be apart of that.
Sincerely,
Louise Cooskey
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Alumni of the Month
Client, Volunteer, Staff, Role Model
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Before I came to Last Door I was a "what you call a hopeless junkie", I was in and out of jail and 21 treatment centers later, I had bottomed out in Nanaimo and left a path of destruction that stretched over approximately 15 years. Staying in a homeless center fresh out of detox and cut off from any family contact I still believe to this day I was close to dying inside from loneliness. I went to a Narcotics Anonymous meeting where I was put in touch with a Last Door alumni who said that he thought it would be wise for me to look at going to the Last Door and said that it would change my life and I would start to see that there was a life after drug addiction and crime. I started to make some calls and 2 weeks later I was told to come for a interview, for the first time in as long as I could remember I felt hope again.
During my stay at Last Door I was shown proper life skills and told if I wanted to stay clean I had to be nice and start caring about the guy next to me. I begun to make some good solid friendships like I have never had before and I noticed that people started to like me for who I was not what I could offer them criminally. I learned that relationships are a major part of life and I started looking at re-building the damage I caused to my family and through guidance and help of my counsellors contact was initiated through a letter then visits. My family started to notice that I had begun to change and I started to install hope backed up with action. As my stay progressed I started to see with my own eyes that people were happy and getting all the things they ever wanted including myself. I spent my whole life wanting to be a part of something and I looked for it in gangs, jails and the street and for the first time ever I felt like I belonged to something and it was the best feeling in the world.
Today I am 23 months clean and was given the opportunity to volunteer and was hired as staff at Last Door, I am currently attending the Substance Abuse Counselling Certificate Program at VCC and for the first time ever I am in a position where I have consistency and meaning to my life. I wake up every morning feeling I have purpose and no longer believe that I was doomed to die in a jail cell or on the streets as a junkie. I have an unbelievable relationship with my family that I have never had before and I firmly believe it's because I stopped taking them for granted and started to become a productive member of my family. The greatest gift next to my clean time is being allowed to be a part of my niece's life that was born when I was 6 months clean and has never had to see me loaded, she is the most precise thing in my life and I love her dearly. My life today has become about recovery and experiencing life. I truly believe that anything is possible for addicts as long as we all do recovery.
Jimmy S
November 7 2008
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Last Door Christmas Party
Save this date - November 28th
a repeat of our successful Comedy Night
 details to follow |
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New videos and new features will be online soon, stay tuned to these newsletters to hear about the updates. These new features will help answer questions online visitors need when looking for treatment. As well Last Door is making its website Google Friendly.
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DOOR SLAM 2010 HUGE SUCCESS!
DoorSlam continues to get bigger and better every year. This year we had 32 recovery based teams with 4 divisions. The energy was great and people really enjoyed themselves. The "Weather God" was on our side and with the help of Rusty and his team of umpires we pulled it off. We were very excited to have so many new teams enter from other facilities and a special thanks to Joe Fraser in Seattle for bringing up his team from the US.
We are fortunate to have the support from Last Door management and staff and every year they do so much work from behind the scenes. Thank you!
We had a great time and it all makes it worthwhile when we at the end of Sunday's playoff games, we get to circle up and award the winners of the Sportsmanship Trophy and the division winners!! Then end the weekend with thanks to the community and each other for being clean and having fun in recovery!
Sportsmanship- Arc Angels
A Division - D.Inc
B Division - Pheonix Fire
C Division - Showtime
D Division - Hit & Run
Next year's planning has already begun and we will keep you posted.
Thanks for allowing me to be a part of,
Linda Lane
Please scroll down to check out some photos from the weekend
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LAST DOOR CREATES ITS OWN CRM
Six months of RFPs, system demonstrations, painstaking data entry, gathering of requirements, turning forms into electronic forms, creating a reporting infrastructure and a lengthy demo phase; Last Door is ready to launch and implement its new custom designed CRM (Contact Relationship Management)
What does that mean to everyone?
- Better service
- Better relationships with donors
- Better connection with Alumni
- Reduce paper use
- Easy DATA look up
- Easy management of waitlist
- Easy to create reports
- Reduce administration costs
If you have changed your address or phone number in the last three years please email pr@lastdoor.org with you correct address and phone number.
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SEASON TWO
LAST DOOR SOCCER TEAM GOING STRONG,
GO DOOR BOYS GO!
Next game:
Wednesday, September 29 | 8:30 pm | Indoor Field
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Are you thinking about Planned Giving?
Everyone benefits from the power of a Planned Gift - you, your family and Last Door. We want to ensure that everyone receives the maximum benefit possible; this is why Last Door Recovery Society offers a wide range of Planned Giving arrangements.
To learn more about Last Door's Planned Giving Program please visit our website by clicking here or call 604-525-9771 |
Fright Nights is Taking Over Playland!
October 15 - October 31
Open Nightly, 6pm - late
Fright Nights at Playland is for the far out, freaked out, fun lovers of the Halloween spirit. Dare your friends to ride the roller coaster at night. Double dare yourself to step foot in one of the many horrifying haunted houses.
Miss it and be left in the dark...
Last Door provides you with a unique online promotional code that anyone can use to purchase FrightPasses online to receive their discounted passes to Fright Nights!
1. Email pr@lastdoor.org to get your discount code
2. Visit PNE Group Sales at www.pne.ca/groupsales
3. Buy your discounted FrightPasses ($5 Dollar Discount)
4. Print the FrightPass voucher
5. Redeem your pass at the main gate
Warning: Not recommended for ages 12 & under, Seniors 65+, people with sensitivity to strobe lighting, people with high blood pressure, pregnant women or scaredy cats.
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BC Lions Fanfest at Fright Nights
 Know your target audience. Who are your most important customers, clients or prospects, and why? Know what is important to them and address their needs in your
Monday, October 18
Tickets are only $20 (plus tax) and include admission to Fright Nights on October 18, unlimited access to 5 Haunted Houses as well as 16 rides & attractions, a hot dog, bag of chips and small pop, AND meet a few BC Lions Players and Felions!
Limited time offer: Offer expires at 2pm on Wednesday, Oct 13
How to buy tickets:
Visit: http://www.pne.ca/fright-nights
Enter the following promotion code: ROAR
Follow intructions to purchase tickets online Redeem your ticket voucher at the Fright Nights main gate.
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Join our facebook group and connect with friends, suporters and alumni. A great way to network with eachother.
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DOOR SLAM 2010 IN PICTURES
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Remember donating to the Last Door is easy and affordable on anyone's budget!
Donate now or donate monthly by
clicking on the following "Canada Helps" logo
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Thank you for taking the time to read our September edition of our monthly emailed newsletter. To read past newsletters click here.
Please forward this newsletter on to people you may think would be happy to hear from Last Door.
Sincerely,
Giuseppe Ganci
Last Door Recovery Society Public Relations
T: 604-525-9771
F: 604-525-3896 |
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