Dinner’s Over and We’re Winding Down

Our First Annual City Kidz Fundraiser Dinner was wonderful and many came to hear Todd Bender talk about how God got him started in this ministry and where his journey has taken him over the last 18 years.  It was a great evening and it was so nice to see everyone there and to meet some new friends.  Many thanks from City Kidz Ottawa to all who volunteered to make the Dinner possible and to all who contributed financially.  Our first dinner was truly a success, thanks to you!

At the time of writing, it’s only a few short weeks until Christmas and you can be assured, that City Kidz will also be celebrating Christmas this year, as well.   Our final Playhouse this season will be on December 11th and we’ll be having a small Christmas Party. 

In further celebration of the season, City Kidz Hamilton is donating stockings for all the kids and their brothers and sisters.  Shawn and I were out last night visiting the kids and getting a proper head count for each family.  It was a nice reason for us to go an extra week early so we could see all the kids again and get some hugs.  And they were ALL home so we were blessed! 

With much sadness for all of us at City Kidz Ottawa,  December 11th will be our final Playhouse to resume again in the Spring.  The Playhouse won’t be running, but there’s still plenty of work for the City Kidz Ottawa staff to keep us busy till spring.  We’re still planning to visit the kids bi-weekly and we’re hoping to enlarge our area and invite new kids to attend the Playhouse in the spring.  We will also be working on the spring curriculum, possibly taking a short mission trip to Hamilton and we’ll be steadily involved in further fundraising (we’re still under our target to run the spring program).  There’s also a plan in there somewhere to take the kids skating on the canal during Winterlude.  So, I’m sure the time will go fast.  But not fast enough for me (Wendy), Shawn, Nancy, Raquael, Anna, Judah, Abby, Elinor and Keely and all the rest of the program volunteers. 

…And ONE for all!!

Will You Help Ottawa’s Kids?

It’s been a great and encouraging fall but it would not have been possible if it were not for the generous financial gifts to City Kidz Ottawa by various concerned citizens of the city.   These people have given because they believe in what we do and are realistic enough to know that we need the finances in order to make it all happen.  City Kidz Ottawa is not a government funded program, but is a self-sustaining grassroots organization that runs on regular-people donations to help ensure that this vision to reach a city of children is kept alive. 

And that’s why I’d like to personally invite you to City Kidz Ottawa’s First Annual Fundraiser Dinner on November 25th, 2010.  Keynote speaker will be Todd Bender who has many stories to share from his 18+ years of experience as the Founder and Executive Director of City Kidz Ministry in Hamilton and is now reaching over 2,000 children per week.  You may have seen Todd Bender interviewed on 100 Huntley Street in recent years. 

All proceeds from tickets sales will go directly to the support of City Kidz Ottawa.  You can buy a ticket online by clicking here or you may write me to reserve your tickets at wendy@citykidz.ca.  You can also call the City Kidz office at 613-482-9747.  The Hardini Centre is located at 225-235 Donald Street, Ottawa, Ontario.  The building used to be a school and the entrance is the east door facing Donald marked “B”.  Tickets are $25.00 in advance or $30.00 at the door.  I’ll see you there! 

…And ONE for all!!

Wendy Turpin, Branch Coordinator

Halfway Through!

It’s hard to believe that City Kidz Ottawa is halfway through our first fall program.  And we are so encouraged!  General response for volunteer support to run the program has been very supportive, as new people are literally being added every week to assist in the program and fundraising activities. 

As for the kids, the Saturday Playhouse Theatre has been running every other Saturday since October 2, 1010 and we are consistently picking up 19 to 22 children by bus to bring them to the hour and a half program at the Hardini Centre.  In between Playhouse dates, we are going door to door to the homes of the registered children to say hi and hand them a flyer for the following week’s program.  Not only are the kids excited to see us, but it gives the parents a chance to meet those of us who are leading,  get an update on how their children are doing and perhaps ask for help for specific family needs.   I know that the parents like this feature a lot as they come to trust that we are doing our best to look after the best interests of their children.

So you see, City Kidz Ottawa is more than just a children’s program (as awesome as that is)!  It’s a place where low income families can connect with resources to meet their specific needs in the area they live in.  Currently we are serving the Vanier/Overbrook area, but eventually City Kidz Ottawa will be reaching out to all sectors of the city.  It’s a big dream but I don’t believe it’s an impossible one at all!  I’ve been meeting with leaders of several churches in the Vanier area and Greater Ottawa and members of the  Vanier service community such as Vanier Community Services and our MPP for Ottawa-Vanier Madeline Meilleur, who is also Ontario’s Minister of Community and Social Services.  Overall, the response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive.  It’s our hope that this network will grow as City Kidz grows and expands out to other parts of the city and eventually we will be able to connect the people we’re serving with various community services and churches in their areas. 

Thanks to all who have offered to support City Kidz Ottawa and because of YOU have made all of this possible!

…And ONE for all!!

City Kidz Is the Place To Be!

It happened the other day when I and a member of my Executive Team,  Shawn Donnelly, were out doing our second official night of home visits.  There we were minding our manners at the door and one boy, realizing that it was City Kidz at the door, came leaping out from behind his Mom to give us one bear hug each.   With the hug he reminded us that the last lesson’s theme was love.  “City Kidz is the place to be, ‘cause they love and care what happens to me!” was our memory moment for that week.

We at City Kidz Ottawa have been working VERY HARD to reach a small band of children since about May of this year.  Lots of extra hours on the evenings and weekends (we all work full-time and don’t get paid to work for City Kidz) because we all believe in what we’re doing.  But I don’t think Shawn or I were expecting such an awesome reaction by one little boy this soon into the program.   We just had our third program today, so this grinning hug was a breakthrough of sorts and an encouragement to both of us.

I am very excited.  So is Shawn.

…And ONE for all!!

Officially Launched

After weeks of preparation, City Kidz Ottawa is up and running as of October 2, 2010.  It was a great day!  Everything went like clockwork including the arrival of the bus and every child brought to the program seemed to have a wonderful time.   This week’s lesson “It’s Great to be a Kid” began the first of a four-part series which introduces the City Kidz Four Most Important Things  that every child should know:  God Has A Plan, You Are Loved, It’s Great to Be a Kid and Do What’s Right. So many children these days are under a great deal of pressure long before they’re ready both psychologically, spiritually and physically.   It’s part of the City Kidz mandate to give children permission to enjoy their childhood.  From the Sneaker Search to the object lessons, to the final pie-schmucking, each child had an opportunity to learn and re-learn Saturday’s Memory Moment:  “Let’s have fun and celebrate, ‘cause being a kid is super great!” 

This day was a success and has encouraged all of us on the  leadership team for the future.  But it wouldn’t have happened without a great deal of support from City Kidz Leaders Todd Bender and Trevor Thomson and Peace Tower Church in Ottawa.  Also, there’s a whole lot of other people who pitched in their support and cooperation to help pull our first day off.  All of you know who you are.  Please accept many thanks from City Kidz Ottawa!

We at City Kidz Ottawa are very excited about what is going to be taking place in the next few weeks. We believe that this is just the beginning of something really big in Ottawa!  And we get to to it all again on  October 16th, 2010!! 

…And ONE for all!!

A Huge Sigh of Relief

As you are aware by now, City Kidz Ottawa is a new branch of the larger ministry called City Kidz which has been impacting Hamilton children for over 15 years. Each week dedicated volunteers in Hamilton go out to visit the children on their City Kidz routes. Year round, they have kids running up to say “Hi”, parents calling to their children “It’s City Kidz!!” Always there is a tone of excitement. When they visit the kids who live in a townhouse complex, there will often be kids running up to them, walking with them, wanting to carry the flyers, the clip board – even the pen! During the summer, there is an additional question, how many weeks until City Kidz?

I know this will hold true for Ottawa in years to come thanks to our supporters. The City Kidz Ottawa team and I were out just the other day handing out flyers for our grand opening on October 2^nd at the Hardini Centre in Vanier. It wasn’t raining that day and there were LOTS of kids out so we had a chance to tell them about what was coming to the area. I wish you could have heard the excitement in the voices of the children as they asked about City Kidz and discovered it was a fun program just for them, that was free. One little boy, turning seven this Saturday, was quite concerned that he’d miss it because it was his birthday party. We assured him that it wasn’t starting until October 2^nd and he breathed a huge sigh of relief.

After several months of hard work and prayer City Kidz is really going to be a reality in Ottawa.  The City Kidz Ottawa Playhouse Theatre will officially open our doors on October 2nd reaching Ottawa children, impacting their lives and transforming our community….one child at a time!

…And ONE for all!

No Job Too Big

I haven’t added much lately because I’ve been consumed with getting everything ready to start us up.  I now have a team of three incredible leaders who will be involved in the Saturday Program and Home Visits and have a heart for children.  I also have one very dedicated volunteer who’s planning the fundraiser dinner to be held in the fall.  Not to mention my team of advisors who have been doing a great job advising all summer :) There’s a lot to do!  I am in constant contact with Todd Bender and I’ve been meeting with the stakeholders in Vanier.  I’ve also been speaking with some of the local churches.  I have not had one negative response!  And the good news is, based on the opinions I’ve been getting from local community leaders, we need to start planning more buses now!   

If you are wondering how such a small team is going to pull off such a huge venture, don’t underestimate the people power effect.  We have been accomplishing a lot believe it or not.  But the reality is, we can only go so far and will eventually level off to sustain a small group of children. Right now we only have enough people and budget to sustain one busload of children every other Saturday.

City Kidz’ vision, however, is to reach every child in this city and to make this happen we’re going to need your help.  We’re still in need of volunteers to help run the Saturday program, home visits, administration and fundraising.   Whether you choose a  a short term or long term volunteer commitment --- we can’t do this alone!   City Kidz is a grass roots organization --- it’s growing from the heart of the people who love Ottawa’s children  and want to see them reached.  I know there’s more of us who can and want to help.  I know that we will eventually be able to see this dream to reach every child come true.  I’ve seen what can happen in Hamilton.  I am a believer!

You could say it’s been a pretty busy summer, but it’s all worth it.  All of us at City Kidz Ottawa are determined to see this dream become a reality in Ottawa.    Will you help?

…And ONE for all!