Thanks to everyone who helped put on the amazing concert last night. Ken Voita and Lindsay Ferguson put on a spectacular show, and wowed both the in person and online audiences!
Special thanks goes to Adrian Meissner from Boundless, who drove TWO HOURS to come and talk to all of us about the incredible work they do.
Also many, many thanks to Allan and Yvonne Isfan for providing their beautiful home for the show, to Cheryl Gain of Ottawa Tonite for organizing everything, to Bob LeDrew for providing Ottawa’s most comfortable House Concert chairs and for his ongoing support, to Jamie Calder for providing a big long ethernet cable for the live stream, to 12for12k’ers Jon Aston and Richard Marti for spreading the word.
And, between yesterday afternoon and today, we raised about $200 for Boundless and introduced a bunch of new people to the good work of Boundless and 12for12k. Yay!
It takes an army of people to make events like this happen, and I’m grateful to everyone who took the time to listen and share.
Here’s the recording of the show….sorry, the first part got cut off due to UStream issues….
Join us tonight for a very special evening of amazing music, featuring Ottawa singer/songwriter Lindsay Ferguson with special guest Ken Voita. The whole thing is happening live, starting at 7pm, at 12for12k’er extraordinaire Allan Isfan‘s house.
This coming Friday night, a very special event will be taking place in Ottawa – two amazing local performers, Lindsay Ferguson and Ken Voita, will be playing a house concert in Ottawa’s west end.
As a special addition to the evening, we’ll also be raising some money and awareness for 12for12k’s April Charity, Boundless. Adrian Meissner from Boundless will be on hand to talk to the audience about the great work they do, and I’ll be there too to share the message about 12for12k.
If you are in Ottawa, I hope you can make it! The show starts at 7pm ET, and you can purchase tickets here.
If you’re not in the Ottawa area, all is not lost! We’ll be live streaming the show on this site and also over at www.ottawatonite.com, the web site that is hosting the concert.
Special thanks to Cheryl Gain of Ottawa Tonite and 12for12k’er Allan Isfan for putting on this terrific event!
Here’s a special sneak preview of what you can expect on Friday night!
The 12for12k project would be nothing without the most important people of all – you, the supporters. Whether you’re behind the scenes making events happen, raising awareness online, a regular or occasional donation contributor or other, you make the good stuff happen each and every month.
So we feel it’s only right to recognize that, and this regular snapshot will do just that.
First up is J A Heinlein, who describes himself as a “Publishing & Marketing Professional. Proud Father. Mid-life Adventurist. Social Media Enthusiast“. J A (or Jay) is the Principal of Heinlein Publishing Services, a publication group that aims to provide expertise and resources to help produce and market published material.
If you look at Jay’s Blogger profile, you’ll see he’s a prolific reader of both printed and web media across many categories – always the sign of a great publisher. He’s also a classic rock fan and that’s never a bad thing!
A loving family man, Jay has been a 12for12k supporter for a while now and always shares with his other connections, as well as on his blog. We’re more than happy to have Jay as our first featured supporter, and hope you’ll check him out too.
As 12for12k continues into 2010 and beyond, one of our key goals is to empower local communities to help charities in their neighbourhoods. As part of this approach, 12for12k will be officially supporting the organization Boundless during April.
Established in 1984, Boundless is dedicated to improving the lives of marginalized youth, adults and children at risk through a unique combination of counselling, social rehabilitation, alternative education and outdoor adventure.
Working in partnership with Ontario-based community agencies, mostly from Toronto, their program strives to prevent crime, promote alternatives to drug abuse and strengthen the bonds of families and communities ravaged by poverty, violence and mental illness across the Canadian province.
As well as their outdoor programs, Boundless also run community leadership initiatives, the issuance of high school credits, counselling/tutoring and social rehabilitation training. Their mission is to employ a non-traditional approach to education that is sensitive and motivating, and which builds the focus, vision and independence of participants.
Boundless works in close collaboration with roughly 50 agencies that represent health care providers, children’s mental health agencies, community centres in at-risk neighbourhoods, drop-in and recreation programs.
Their programs include:
Youth. Supporting at-risk youth to complete their high school education and integrate into the community.
Family. Supporting parents and children with social skill development and decreased aggressive behaviour.
Mental Health. Using social rehabilitation to help those suffering mental health issues to feel less isolated and become more independent and healthy.
Aboriginal. To help native youth in foster homes and receiving treatment for substance abuse to re-acquaint with their culture and nature, in collaboration with Native Elders.
Acquired Brain Injury. A dedicated program centre to help sufferers of acquired brain injury to rehabilitate into everyday life through work, fitness, education and friendships.
As you can see, Boundless isn’t tied to one cause, but helps across a huge amount of need. 12for12k is delighted to be supporting them for April, and extremely grateful for any support you can offer for this wonderful organization.
As 12for12k evolves throughout 2010 and beyond, one of our goals is to help as many charities as possible (and not just those that are officially supported as part of our year-long initiatives). One of the ways we’re doing this is by highlighting organizations our supporters are helping.
One such organization is the XXI Century Kids 1st Foundation, based in Chicago. The main aim of the foundation is to combat the lack of self-esteem and childhood obesity. To do this, the foundation raises funds to organize summer camp programs, after school programs, healthy eating programs and much more.
The foundation is currently in the running to be awarded $50,000 towards their goals by the Pepsi Refresh Project. This is a great grassroots initiative by the soft drinks company that donates the funds to the charities that receive the most support and recommendations through their site.
If there’s one thing that’s been constant since 12for12k began, it’s the amazing support of the 12for12k community. From donations to live events, online concerts and helping out at homeless shelters, the supporters have dug deep every time. Two examples in the last 24 hours show that the community continues to be a cool group of people.
Making it happen were the very kind sponsors who donated an amazing collection of prizes for our raffle. These included a bike, snowboard, car detailing, Molson Canada goodies and much more. So far, the total raised from the night is over $1,000, with the final total still to come.
12for12k only works because of people like the Boston Manor, Mike Schaffer, and you. We just provide the ideas – you guys make it happen every month, and I’m really proud to know each and every one of you. Thank you!