Second Annual W.A.T.C.H. Community Chairman’s Fundraiser Is On April 12th – #WATCHCharity

The second W.A.T.C.H. Chairman’s Annual Fundraiser is being held on Thursday, April 12th from 8pm to 12am in the Loft at the Andrew Richard Designs studio (571A Adelaide Street East, Toronto) as they are being sponsored by the good folks at Andrew Richard Design Events (aka ARD Events). You can find ARD Events on Twitter at, predictably, @ARDevents as well as on Facebook again predictably at Facebook.com/ARDevents.

The official hashtag for the event tomorrow is #WATCHCharity.

I got invited to attend this night of music, art, and inspiration showcasing local talent from around the city and you can come too! Tickets are available for purchase online at http://www.watchcommunity.org/38 for $60 (also available at the door) which gets you admission, open bar, yummy treats, live music, local art and a silent auction (which will be taking place from 8pm – 10:30pm). I tried to find out some more details about what would be on auction in the silent auction but alas I was unable to get any details.

So what is W.A.T.C.H.? W.A.T.C.H. is an acronym which stands for: Words. Actions. Thoughts. Character. Heart. They are a group established in 1997 as a community service organization for young people in Toronto’s most underprivileged neighborhoods. The original group was made up of students attending the University of Toronto who wanted to spend time with inner-city children in Regent Park. Since then, this core group has gone on to become successful professionals, including: lawyers, engineers, police officers, physicians, professors and corporate executives, among others. Volunteers interact with these young people in a one-to-one basis for activities like sports, music, the arts, and even some tutoring so the young people can create a brighter future for themselves. Since its founding in 1997 word has increasingly spread of the work being done by W.A.T.C.H. and their volunteers and so did the number of volunteers and supporters.

Sounds like a great cause doesn’t it?

You can find them on Twitter with the handle @WATCHfoundation or at their website  www.watchcommunity.org.

Buy tickets through the PayPal link on this page – http://www.watchcommunity.org/38. Remember, there’s an open bar and it is all for charity…what can be better than that?

I’ve also added the event to a new service called Epilogger which helps unite everyone’s social memories by pulling in all blog posts, tweets, check-ins, photos, and more and putting it all on one page. Check it out here:  http://epilogger.com/events/watch-chairmans-fundraiser-2012#_

Reach Out & Touch Someone With #GlobalTouch & Help A Charity!

I received a package from the folks over at Global TV in promotion of their new show starting this Thursday at 9pm Eastern & Pacific, “Touch.” The show, which I saw a sneak preview of the pilot for a few weeks back, revolves around seemingly unrelated people from all over the world being connected by a phone which travels around the world after it gets lost at an airport. As well, the show’s main character played by Kiefer Sutherland, has an autistic son who has an affinity for cell phones – which Kiefer gets from the lost and found at JFK Airport in New York.

The campaign, as described in the letter I got with the phone (see below) encourages us to use the special “Touch” branded phone to capture an image of something or someone inspiring, upload the photo to Global (by texting it), and then pass the phone on to someone else. The images are available on the Global TV Touch website at http://www.globaltv.com/touch/connected/index.html and they have a bunch of Pinterest boards up here where they’ve classified different pictures by theme and put them up on different Pinterest boards.

Even if you don’t end up being passed one of these phones you can still take part by emailing an image to touch@globaltv.com or texting it to 101010 (normal rates apply for picture messaging aka MMS). So feel free to take part!

The best part of this project is that for each new image uploaded by a different individual 10 cents will be donated to Make-A-Wish Canada!

#ATorontoXmas 2011 Was A Blast!

Last night I got together with the #PartyPeopleTO (aka @PartyPeopleTO on Twitter) crew and had a fantastic time out for that charity event I told you about – #ATorontoXmas at the Steam Whistle Brewery and we did it all for charity! (And to abuse our livers.) I thought I’d share some pics from the good times last night and make you salivate to join in next year if you missed this year. I don’t know how much we raised for GlassFrog but if I find out I will be sure to let you know. I hope quite a bit!

Some of these pics (where noted) come from @EstherKatzman, @MDee14, @OliveYouPR and @Shashena‘s Twitter streams. I hope they don’t mind my borrowing them!

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I also learned a two important lessons which I want to share with all gentlemen out there.

1. When a lady (or group of ladies) tells you to take a picture “Boobs Up” that does not mean you, as the photographer should try and somehow find an angle for the photo in which their boobs appear higher. (I was quite confused by this.) Rather, “Boobs Up” really means “From the boobs up” but those first two words are apparently implied. I had no idea about this before last night.
2. When you are attempting to pick up a lady/hitting on her at a Christmas party it is not a good idea to call her “Santa’s little whore.” One of my friends was called this last night by someone who I am going to hope had imbibed in too much alcohol because otherwise he wouldn’t have been such a rude scoundrel.

OK, I’ll be honest, I knew the second one already I was just astonished that somebody would say that. Honestly, in the words of  Stephanie Tanner “How rude!”

Hope you had a great weekend and excuse the short post for tonight and chalk it up to getting really into a new book – 11/23/1963 by Stephen King which I mentioned I just recently got.

Heart & Stroke Foundation Ontario: Heart and Soul Award Reception. Hooray @Shananigans5!

Tonight, I am attending “The Heart and Soul Award” which is an award for people and groups who have ‘put their heart and soul’ into volunteering and/or supporting Heart and Stroke Ontario, and have ‘gone that extra mile’. They are specifically celebrating the contributions of their Toronto area event organizers and fund raisers who ‘bring heart to the health of Canadians.’

Before you ask, no I am not the one being honored, I am merely a +1, aka arm candy, of one of the recipients of this award – my friend, Shannon “@Shananigans5” Hunter.

Why is she getting this award? Well, you may recall back in February when I was auctioned off for charity by Shannon, as part of Social Media Week Toronto 2011 (a time when I was so busy with all the awesome I almost didn’t have time to blog).

Shannon "@Shananigans5

Well, it turned out that Shannon and her co-organizer for the #LoveAHeart event raised over $9,000! It also was the largest total amount raised by any Heart & Stroke Foundation event across the Greater Toronto Area!

I am very happy for Shannon so am glad to be joining her tonight and we all should be proud of her and all the work she’s been doing for charity. I already mentioned in my previous post about the auction (linked above) why this cause is so near and dear to my heart in particular and with people like Shannon leading the way (as well as “beefcakes” like me and beauties like the ladies at the event, willing to be auctioned off for charity) we will find ways to beat all these terrible maladies that afflict us as a race.

This, of course, goes to all the award recipients tonight, in years past, and in the future.

#JapanQuakeTO Fundraiser In Toronto March 31 For The Japanese People Affected By The Earthquake

As your have probably heard – because it was on every channel of every type of media for the past couple of weeks there was an earthquake in Japan and a subsequent tsunami. 

Tomorrow evening there will be a benefit with proceeds going directly to the Canadian Red Cross to help these people affected by these tragic events. For the purposes of this post I am not going to lie I have copy/pasted the bulk of the info and even text from the JapanQuakeTO website as they have all the info and I am just rehashing their words for this important effort in the hopes of bringing some more people out and raising some more money for the Japanese people. I have added some of my own personal style and links where I felt necessary.

As they describe it on their website “#JapanQuakeTO (you can click that hashtag to search it on Twitter) is an evening fundraiser for the Japanese citizens displaced by the tsunami. Organized in the hours following the disaster in Japan, it’s a one night event to raise funds for the rescue efforts currently underway.”

“Join in TOMORROW at Tattoo Rock Parlour (click this link for their site) – at 567 Queen Street West (Google Place Page here)- for a night of fundraising; networking with Toronto’s brightest technology, social media and startup minds; and entertainment provided by the hottest DJ’s on the Toronto club scene!

If you haven’t already, grab your ticket for the event here!

 

Tickets are $16.95 with tax and will be available online until 3 p.m. on Thursday. All the proceeds from the tickets go to the Canadian Red Cross.

Tickets will also be sold at the door but capacity is limited.

There will be THREE amazing DJs lined up for the night – Justin Barkie, HopScottch and Carson from LE DJ. These DJs will be hosting a shuffle party all night long.

If you wanna get a tattoo then this benefit is also perfect for you! Visit the Boozehound Tattoo Shop in Tattoo Rock Parlour during JapanQuakeTO and get a $40 Kanji Tattoo. Half the proceeds will be donated to the Canadian Red Cross as well!!! That is just so much win, you get an awesome Kanji Tattoo and MOAR MONEYZ get donated to help Japan!

 

There will be some AMAZING raffle prizes starting at 10 p.m. which is all the more incentive to make sure to get to the party early and get your tickets in for a chance to win!

Thanks to the stupendous in-kind sponsors the prizes include:

• Rogers Palm Pre 2 donated from TheCellularGuru.com
• 2 Flip Cameras donated from Cisco Canada
• Dinner for two at Oliver & Bonacini with Chef Jason Bangerter
• Toronto Maple Leafs Dion Phaneuf jersey
• Deluxe one night stay at the Fairmont Royal York
• Festival passes to the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival
• Four-week BootyCamp Fitness pass
• Caplansky’s gift certificates
• Crepe Delicious prize pack
• Frida Restaurant gift certificates
• $300 worth of product and services from Arbonne
• Me to We Apparel Prize Pack from Free the Children
• $100 Gift Certificate to Home Sav
• Ufile and Norton AntiVirus prize packs
• AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!!!

So buy a ticket – http://guestlistapp.com/events/49341 – if you haven’t already and I’ll see you tomorrow night doing good deeds!!! (Pssst! when I say ‘doing good deeds’ I meant drinking & partying, shhhh! Don’t tell! But it is a good deed if we do it for charity, right?)

Vote Pedro…Wait…No, That’s Not Right. VOTE ZACH!

A Twitter friend of mine – who I have also met in the real world – and a truly awesome guy named Zach Bussey (@ZachBussey) is in a competition/contest being put on by Doritos and he needs you to vote today at http://bit.ly/VoteZach! (See below for non bit.ly link)

The contest requires you to either sign up – the first time voting you need to signup for an account which is a couple of minutes process and reports have come back from people already registered that they do not send you any unsolicited emails. Personally, I have been clicking the Login With Facebook Button that is offered when you click the Vote Button but apparently some people don’t like to connect their Facebook accounts with other things online. To each their own.

So why am I pushing this aside from the fact that Zach is a good guy? It isn’t because I truly believe that the Buffalo Wings n Ranch flavor (the one Zach chose) is freaking awesome because I have yet to try either. So my reasons beyond Zach is a good guy are twofold, in no particular order they are: PARTYING & CHARITY!

The grand prize for the whole shebang is $25,000 – ya, that’s TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS!!! Of that money, Zach has committed to donate TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS ($10,000) to charity.

You might be thinking, “Wait, what? Why isn’t he going to donate at least half of the $25,000 to charity? Dan, you said Zach was a good guy!” BUT I’m not finished, so keep reading! Zach is going to take $5,000 from the winnings and throw a huge victory party as a thank you to everyone who voted for him and supported him in this cause. I like the sound of that! Don’t you? This is why I am urging you to vote today at http://bit.ly/VoteZach! If you live in Toronto it is in your own interest – the party will be epic – and even if you don’t we’re talking TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS TO CHARITIES WHO REALLY NEED IT!

Zach's Entry on the Doritos: Write The End Contest Page

The other ten thousand bucks that’s left over will go towards a startup that Zach wants to get off the ground. Who knows, it could end up being the next Facebook and you’ll know that YOU helped make that possible.

More importantly, the CHARITABLE DONATION BREAKDOWN as taken directly from Zach’s blog:

• $3,500 reserved to send me somewhere that needs volunteer help and money. Whether that’s helping with the continued oil spill cleanup, assistance to one of the many earthquake ravaged nations, etc. I will seek out a group to travel with and physically go down and help in any way possible. I’ll document this trip with videos and through my blog.
• $2,000 to Sick Kids Foundation. The reason for this is I am a Sick Kids kid. I had life saving surgery in the first few weeks of my life. I have a blog post in the works that will go into more detail so I’ll save the rest of the story for sometime in the next couple weeks. [Dan’s note: I had no idea that Zach and I were kindred spirits in this regard! As I mentioned in my post about the ING Direct AmberMac THRiVEtastic! Event I was born with a heart condition called Pulmonary Valve Stenosis.]
• $1,500 to the Heart and Stroke Foundation. The HSF I feel more connected to since #LoveAHeart and am more aware than ever of the great work they do. [Dan’s note: I was also a part of #LoveAHeart and was auctioned off as well and as I mentioned above and in a previous post I was born with a heart condition.]
• TWO donations of $1,500 each donated to charities chosen by you! (Leave suggestions in the comments below [Dan’s note: comments on Zach’s blog but if you write them here I will ensure he gets them and will attempt to persuade him to count them, but no promises], the 2 with the most suggestions will be selected).

Zach also made a video – obviously using Doritos – in the style of Epic Meal Time, you can check it out below. AND as an extra added bonus he promises to provide the dishes he made in the video (fresh ones of course)  at the victory party. (It’s a good thing he is donating money to the Heart & Stroke Foundation because after eating those things we’re all going to need it!)

Remember: VOTE ZACH!!!

He is currently in 4th place but we need to make this final push and get him some more votes!

* If the bit.ly link makes you uncomfortable here’s the full sized link – http://www.writetheend.ca/en/gallery/A/17541/

AmberMac’s #THRIVEtastic Day And A Fun Use For Tulips

 

@AmberMac with some of the flowers at Yonge-Dundas Square

 

 

As I mentioned the other day in this post Amber MacArthur had to spent $7,000 from ING DIRECT Canada within 7 hours to win $15,000 for the charity of her choice and an extra $15,000 if she did it faster than 3 other celebrities in different Canadian cities.

Well, with the help of some of her Twitter friends (yours truly included) she made it! Alas, Amber didn’t have the fastest time so she didn’t get the extra money for the charity but $15,000 to any charity is pretty awesome! As well, during the course of the day Amber gave money to UNICEF, bought toys for the kids at SickKids, donated supplies to the Humane Society, and even paid off one person’s credit card bill!

For a full run down of the day as documented by AmberMac herself check out The Lavin Agency’s Blog post by Amber herself titled “How to Spend $7,000 in Seven Hours: Amber Mac Gets Generous for Charity”

 

Flower/Gadget giveaway in Yonge-Dundas Square wrap up. After this it was off to the Hard Rock Cafe

 

I myself was one of the people on Twitter who tweeted back at Amber and won a $100 money transfer as well as getting some really nice red tulips at Yonge-Dundas Square. After being asked by 3 women at the Eaton Centre as I walked past why I bought them flowers as it wasn’t their birthday I decided to test out a theory – I went over to a random cute girl and chatted her up pretending to “know” it was her birthday and that was why I “bought her” the tulips. It elicited a laugh, a smile, and a phone number. I ended up bringing the tulips to my mom and letting her enjoy them. #Winning.

Also, side note: Guys, if you ever have a bundle of flowers apparently we look ‘so cute’ if we walk with them carried horizontally in our hands at our sides. It gives off a look of we don’t-know-what-to-do-with-these-things to the ladies so carry them vertically, in front of you, and show the world how proud you are to have flowers in your hands (even if you aren’t).