]]> http://worldteacheraid.org/live-footage-from-our-build-site/feed/ 0 http://worldteacheraid.org/do-you-like-to-ski/ http://worldteacheraid.org/do-you-like-to-ski/#comments Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:21:56 +0000 World Teacher Aid http://worldteacheraid.org/?p=858 A special thank you goes out to Snow Valley!

I just found out they donated a fantastic prize for our silent auction.  They have donated a family ski pass to ski for the year!  Wow, this is over a $1000 in value.

Just imagine, you and your family could ski at Snow Valley all year or even March Break!

Make sure you get your tickets to the Gala, for many more exciting prizes that will be offered, including sailing lessons, hotel stays, spa packages and much more!

I was delighted to hear that World Teacher Aid was the recipient of a $500 donation from the MAC & MARIE REID FUND.

As the donor remains anonymous, I just wanted to say thank you for the generous donation.  The donation will be used to help fund one of our teachers salaries in Uganda.  They will be thrilled.  The donation of $500 will pay a teachers salary for almost seven months.

While the teacher will appreciate it, the children will also be very thankful.

Thank you again for your donation.

Here are some summer updates about our great progress we have been making.

Scholastic Meeting

Our meeting with Scholastic has been moved back by one week.  I will be sure to let you know how it goes.  I am hoping they will help spread the word about our expanding Write to Give Program.

Mini Rally

On Wednesday, we are meeting with Budds BMW and Mini in Oakville to talk about our spring Mini Rally that will be happening in Port Dover.  Whole there we are also talking about the upcoming rally in Toronto (August 29th).  We are working together to brainstorm ideas on things that we can do on that day to help WTA.

Thank you so much to Jen and Lisa at the dealership for their continued support with WTA.  We are looking forward to meeting with them this week, to see where our creative minds will take us!

Gala Event

The Gala is coming up in October.  We are selling 200 tickets.  Be sure to click on the Gala link to get yours.  It is going to be an amazing night!  You don’t want to miss out.  All proceeds go to a good cause.

This coming July 20th, will be an exciting day.  I just confirmed a meeting with Scholastic’s President.  Stu and I are excited to share our growth of  the program (Write to Give – www.WriteToGive.com), as well as our Member’s Area for teachers and the books that we have done already (all 21 of them .

I am honored that Scholastic is taking the time to hear about our success and hope that they can help us spread the word about the program.  After all, the more teachers and students that participate, the more we can help overseas and raise awareness for poverty among young children.

Our latest prize is a BBQ from Napoleon Fireplaces.  Thank you!

This month we received recognition and awards from the Grand Erie Teachers Federation as well as the Elementary Teachers Federations of Ontario!

This is SO exciting for WTA as it strengthens the Write to Give Program and will help spread the word a bit further through acknowledgment at the Annual Meeting for Teachers in Ontario as well as in the Voice Magazine that is sent out to all teachers across Ontario!

Thank you to my staff and the Social Justice Committee for their continued support!

These are pictures of the Banquet Night for the Grand Erie District School Board.

Sandi Senneker and I

Donna Howey (President for Grand Erie Teachers Federation) and I

Some of my supportive staff!

My Husband (Stu) and I

Family and Friends

This is the award that I received in the mail today (June 24th) from the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario.  I have to be at the annual meeting in August and they will also acknowledge the program (Write to Give) in the Voice Magazine that goes out to all Ontario teachers!  YAY!

On October 22nd, 2010, World Teacher Aid will be hosting a semi formal event to raise awareness and funds for current educational projects in Africa.

Presently World Teacher Aid is working on its construction of its first school.  With donations raised from this event, WTA hopes to complete the school and add a library with books for the children.

This semi formal event is being held at the Greens at Renton Golf course in Renton, Ontario.  The facility hosts a perfect spot for the event with panoramic views of the Golf Course and trees that will be in magnificent fall colours.

The night will begin with a three course plated dinner.

The dinner will include a mixed green salad, a grilled breast of chicken smothered in a light almond cream sauce, topped with fresh strawberries, toasted almonds and strawberry coulis, potato, seasonal vegetables, rolls dessert and tea or coffee.

Throughout the night you will also have chance to bid on various prizes generously donated by the local community.  Some of our prizes include gift certificates from The Gay Blade in Port Dover,  local restaurant gift certificates and much more.

There will also be a local DJ to help get the dancing going.  Entertainment will be provided by Party Productions DJ Service.  A local entertainment company from Waterford, Ontario.

Tickets are $100 per person.

When purchasing a ticket, not only will you get to experience the first of what will be an annual event, you will also get a $50 tax receipt.

So purchase your tickets now, before they are sold out!

2010 World Teacher Aid Gala

$100/person

Things are going extremely well!  In face, we are almost finished four classrooms.

We are just waiting for video updates, but here is one of the latest pictures for you to see.

It is so exciting seeing it come together.  Each day I am reminded of how grateful I am to have Irene from VICDA, our partner organization that helps us implement our programs.

She is reliable, honest and deserves a golden medal!  Thanks Irene, you are truly amazing!

This past month has been so busy with speaking engagements and not to mention our Write to Give Days.  We have one more to complete in Waterloo

We are just wrapping up speaking at several different events.  I just want to take a moment to thank those who have asked both Stu and I to speak about WTA and W2G.

Toastmasters – Simcoe

In late April, Stu and I were invited to speak at a Toasmasters event in Simcoe. It was wonderful to meet some local people from the community and have a chance to spread the word.

Thank you to those of you who purchased some of the Write to Give Bracelets.

Thank you to Jeff Sidway for donating $200 to WTA.

Also, a BIG thank you to Rachel Riddle  for planning the invent and inviting us to speak!

Early Literacy Conference

This event was a great oppuritunyt to talk to early childhood educators within the Norfolk/Brant  area.  It was great to learn from them about how we can adapt the Write to Give Program into early literacy programs.

Thank you to Louise  Lovell for inviting us to the event.

Also, thank you to all those participants who purchased Write to Give bracelets.  They sold out!

Another great event, with thanks to Louise Lovell, who invited us to the event.

Zone Three Meeting for Social Services

Here we got a chance to talk about how Write to Give is helping not only children in Africa, but also children in our local community.  It was nice to touch base with some people from Niagara, Hamilton and Waterloo.  Helps us spread the word about the program.

Thank you to everyone!  It was also great to meet someone from Kenya   We hope to connect again in the future.

Also, thanks to everyone who purchased a Write to Give bracelets!  King William is going to be so happy!

The big day started with classes arriving and children taking their seats. They entered the theater already smiling, laughing and dancing as they sat down. While  they waiting, they still continued to dance to the African music that was playing.

Once the theater was full (1125) students seated, the official countdown clock began. On the screen we posted a timer, counting down. The kids were shouting as the time counted down…

Once the timer hit 0, the lights went out and we started with our African drummer coming in the side of the theater. He walked down to the stage where he was joined with several other drummers from Sani Abu And Ijo Vodu Dance Company. They are based out of Toronto.

The students were delighted not only to see the drumming, but they also got a chance to get out of their seats and dance! Sani, from the dance company showed them how to complete a special African Dance. EVERYONE was dancing, even my principal and the Director of Education!

In between the dancing and the drumming the students were able to get a chance to see some pictures and video of life in Africa, seeing how they have helped make a difference, thanks to their participation in Write to Give.

They even had a chance to name the cow that was purchased with Write to Give Funds. The cow’s name is now “Oreo.”

Once the sideshow was complete, students then got to go home with an African bracelet that was hand made by King William, a student that World Teacher Aid sponsors in Africa.

The whole day was a great success.

Thank you again to our bus sponsors (Sharp, First Student and Stock Transportation) for helping get the students there safely.

Thank you to Snow Valley for purchasing and making the Write to Give T.Shirts for our volunteers.

Thank you to Silver Parrot for taking some amazing photos.

Thank you to all my family and friends for helping with the big day!

Be sure to look back soon, as I will add some pictures from the event and a video.

Thank you!

It is so great to get community support.  Thank you!!!

We spent some time in Kenya where we had a chance to spend an afternoon with the community

where we are building our first school.  The school is being built within an IDP community.  This community is full of families that have been forced to relocate because of violence within their own community.  At the present time, students are walking 5K to get to school.

This past week has been busy collecting order forms as well as putting the last touches on the books before they are sent to the printer where we get our first draft.

I am proud to say that we raised $395 to go towards Haiti Relief.

To raise this much money students were given the opportunity to purchase tickets to have the chance to pit a teacher in the face.  One teacher from each division was chosen to get a pie in the face.

The staff were such great sports.  I felt very fortunate to work with such great people and I was over the moon that the fundraiser that I and some colleges set up was met with such great success.

To the right is my principle after one of the students pied him in the face!

What a great day!

This past weekend Stu and I worked on the Write to Give Gift Shop!

We are pretty excited to get the books online for everyone to see.  The students did an excellent job.  You will see in Gift  Shop we have the books from Series Two.

We will be adding all books to the Gift Shop shortly!

Thanks everyone!

The earthquake that rocked Haiti just 11 days ago has taken the lives of more than 111,000 people.

WTA and the Write to Give Program has decided to donate $2 from every book  sold in the next printing session to help those in Haiti.

At the present time we have students from Waterloo, Hamilton, Brantford, Africa and Hong Kong and working hard on short stories that will be published in the next two months.

Please check back on the site to read further details later this week.

Thank you for your support.

This past week our school (Jarvis Public School) has been busy raising money for families in Haiti.  Tickets are being sold for 50 cents or three for a $1.00.

Thanks to the community support – we have raised $300 + so far!

Next Tuesday, during our Good News Assembly students names will be drawn from the tickets for their chance to pie a teacher in the face!

I will be sure to blog about the total amount raised and will also post some pictures.

World Teacher Aid – Winter 2010

Well the past few months have been busy.

As the Write to Give Program and the charity continues to grow, I found it hard to balance teaching full time and working on Write to Give and World Teacher Aid.

This Christmas, my husband and I decided that it was time for me to take a part time leave from my full time teaching job at Jarvis Public School. I am now working Tuesdays, Thursdays and every other Friday.

I am so thankful for my staff at Jarvis Public School, they are all very supportive. I am into my second week of part time now, and I love it. The extra time allows me to regularly update my website and comminute with the teachers and most of all time to help WTA grow.

So you’re probably wondering what has been happening! So here is the latest news and updates.

Write to Give

The Write to Give Program is continuing to expand. We have published 14 books to date and involved over 1200 students and 70 teachers. The word is beginning to spread. I have spent the last two weeks visiting schools as well as contacts within the board.

At the moment we have teachers on board from not only the Grand Erie Board, but also the Waterloo and Hamilton/Wentworth Board as well. So if you know anyone – who would like to participate. Please spread the word.

Please make sure to mark May 6^th, 2010 on your calendar. This is the date of our second annual Write to Give Day at the Sanderson Centre in Brantford, Ontario. If you have not seen the short video that was put on Brantford.com last year – make sure to check it out. Just go to www.WritetoGive.com.

Kenya Projects

We continue to work with our contact in Kenya. Our feeding program continues to run smoothly. When we visit again in March we will also be visiting other sites that need help.

One is in a place called Rongai in the Nakuru District of Kenya. About 500 families have been resettled in this location. In this area the government has set aside for them land for a school, hospital and police post. These families are part of 3,600 families who have been camping at Mawingu IDPs camp in Gilgil.

We hope to see how we can help through running a sustainable feeding program as well as looking into option of building a school.

Uganda Teacher Program

Our Teacher Program also continues to run smoothly. In fact, just this past December we helped the school purchase a cow. Our goal is for the students to have the milk for their feeding/breakfast program and the rest of the milk will be sold in the community. The profits made will then be given back to the school to help buy education supplies.

Donation Page and Write to Give Gift Shop

After finally getting all the paper work together and sorting out a merchant account (this all took a little longer than I thought). We are very close to being able to display a Donation Page on our site.

The Write to Give Book Shop is also on its way. We have published 14 books now and I can’t wait to display them on the site and give others a chance to purchase them.

Also in this area, you will be able to get a chance to purchase King Williams Bracelets. He has been very hard at work. In fact, I have over 700 bracelets downstairs right now and there are 700 more being made for our next Write to Give Day in May!

That is all for now, like I mentioned earlier, please be sure to regularly check out the sites www.WritetoGive.com and www.WorldTeacherAid.org now I have a little more time I will be adding more blog posts and updates!

Thank you again for your continued support as we continue to grow and learn!

I wish you a happy New Year!

Take care,

Amy McLaren

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