Bottles, Bottles, and Some Cans

Oh, the Bottle Drive. Seems to be the most popular form of fundraising. The concept is very simple collect bottles and cans, sort them, and return to bottle depot for cash. I always forget how disgusting the smell of beer cans can be in such a confined space, ie my truck. Oh well, the smell doesnt last long and its all for a good cause.

I have been granted permission by my building council to collect the bottles and cans from the recycling in my parkade. The recycling bin is for mixed containers but you would be surprised on what some people put in there. Oddly, there is quite a bit of garbage placed in these bins which are located right beside the garbage bins. Just shows how lazy some people are. I'd like to think I am improving the recycling program in my building by sorting the recycling and making sure the containers in there are actually recycable and placing the garbage in the correct bins.

Today, I also collected bottles from my neighborhood in Surrey. I placed posters on the mail box about a week in advance notifying my neighbors that I would be collecting this afternoon and that if they had any to please leave them out and I would pick them up or call/email me if they prefered me to pick up on a different day. So this afternoon in a slight drizzle, my mom and I, me pulling a little red wagon, walked around our neighborhood collecting bottles and cans. On house had so many boxes I had to phone home to get my dad to bring the truck over to load up since my wagon would not be able to carry all the boxes.

Overall, I'd say it was a very positve fundraising day. Thank you to all my neighbors that have supported me. 

Remember, Fundraiser Night is January 18 at Dublin Crossing. Tickets are only $15.

Happy Holidays,

Nicole

Dublin Crossing - Fundraiser #1

Finally, something to show for all my organizing and planning the last few weeks. I have confirmed the date for my first pub night to be held at the Dublin Crossing in Surrey, 101-18789 Fraser Highway. Tuesday, Janurary 18, 2010 at 6:00 pm. The Canucks play that night against the Colorado Avalanche.

I have not been there personally but everyone I have talked to has had a great experience here. The managers at the Dublin Crossing, Mark and Karie, have been super helpful in planning and organizing this pub night as I have never done something like this before. Ticket prices are $15 which includes a burger with fries and beer or glass of wine (it turns out $15 is cheaper than if you went on your own).

Should be a good night! Hope to see you all there.

Contact me at globalagentnicole@gmail.com if you need tickets or you know how to reach me.

The Route

Although this is subject to change, I thought the route would be an interesting thing to post. Find out where I will be going exactly.

Day 1-2 orientation
Day 3 Amsterdam
Day 4 Utrecht
Day 5 Ede
-leave Netherlands
Day 6 Vreden
Day 7 Munster
Day 9 Gutersloh
Day 10 Hoxter
Day 11 Goslar
Dat 13 Hecklingen
Day 14 Wittengerg
Day 15 Riesa
Day 16 Dresden
-leave Germany
Day 18 Uste nad Labem
Day 19 Prague
Day 21-22 Tabor
Day 23 Ceske Budejovice
Day 24 Cesky Krumlov
-leave Czech Republic
Day 25 Linz
Day 26 St. Poetlen
Day 27 Vienna
-leave Austria
Day 29 Bratislava
-leave Slovakia
Day 31 Gyor
Day 32 Esztergom
Day 33 Budapest

There are days off, the days with no new destination. They usually happen when we are in a bigger city. I am assuming to give us more time to explore the area and to give us a break from riding. I am definitely looking forward to those days.

I'm thinking of either going earlier than June 19 or staying later after the trip and doing some more exploring on my own, since I've already paid for a plane ticket over there. Maybe visit England, Scotland, France, Spain... The big question is will I have the funds to do so at that point and how much can I cram in too a little amount of time. I guess the other thing I have to sort out is the details of gettting my bike to Europe and when. If I go early do I take it with me then or do I have it shipped to Amsterdam when I get there. One more thing to look into I guess.

Pushing my Own Limits

Who knew that when I first started that getting sponsors and donations would be the hardest past of this whole thing. I definitely didn't. Writing letters, making phone calls, and visiting stores has taken up a large portion of my weekend. All these things I can honestly say are not at the top of my favorite things to do. Writing letters is not bad, the only hard part is who to address them to. Phone calls make me so nervous, I end up talking with a stutter or talk way to fast and don't make any sense. Personal appearances are also very nerve wrecking, I don't know what to say and I feel super awkward, I must look pretty awkward too. I've been canvasing Langley and Surrey in the hopes of getting prizes donated for the raffle I will be having at my pub night in January. I guess it's all this letter writing, phone calling, and store visiting is for a good cause and I did sign up for this trip to test my limits. I thought it would test my physically but it has definitely tested my social and communication skills. Pushing the boundaries, finding just how much I am capable of, that's what this trip is going to do for me. Everyday I get more and more excited, June can't come fast enough. Hopefully, in January when I start training with the Peak Center for Human Performance in Burnaby it will feel like cake walk compared to this weekend, at least with stress and nervousness. Physically I know I'm going to get my butt kicked by the training program there. All for good reason though, I'd like to enjoy my time in Europe rather than suffer in pain and fatigue due to all the riding.

Holiday Cheer

This year at Paris Orthotics it was decided to spend a little less on our own Xmas party and spread the wealth to those a little less fortunate. Staff were given the option to select their own charity and write up a little proposal about the organization. I think about 15 organizations were brought forward and due to the generosity of the company all of the proposals were granted. Paris donated to my fundraiser and I am extremely grateful. It's nice to see the big companies give back to the community. Sometimes less is more. Less of an extravagant holiday party for the staff means a better life for many other people that may not have the same opportunities. Christmas shouldn't be about the materialistic things, it should be about spending time with friends and family. Yes it is nice to get an amazing present, but I treasure being with my family and sharing a delicious meal. You can't put a price on that.

There are so many not-for-profit organizations out there that help the less fortunate especially around the holidays, but these people exist all year long. Thank you everyone who supports me in my cause and all the other charities out there.

FUNdraising

Wow, I never knew there would be so much planning required for fundraising. I have so many ideas bouncing through my brain and everyone I talk to about the ride has another great idea. I have set my own personal goal to raise $2500. I am trying to start early so I am not overwhelmed at the end. Some ideas that are running in the forefront are:
Change for Change Drive
Bottle Drive
Pub Night(s)
Theatre Sports on Granville Island
T-shirts sales
Movie Night
Raffles

I also have a website set up for online donations,
http://www.canadahelps.org/GivingPages/GivingPage.aspx?gpID=10055


I am open to any ideas, any suggestions????

I know once I get going on these projects it will get easier, it's always the initial planning that takes the longest. I believe my future is going to be full of making phone calls, writing emails/letters and talking to a bunch of businesses.

The Big Decision

So I was on a road trip with the soccer team in Portland, Oregon when I discovered a friend was doing a ride through Europe to raise money to fight poverty. I immediately was interested. I have been trying to plan a trip somewhere off this continent for some time now and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to do some traveling and raise money for a good cause all at the same time. This ride is organized by Global Agents for Change, an orgranization oddly enough started by SFU students. After going through their website www.globalafc.org I decided to get in touch with the ride coordinator, Jake Moir. We set up a meeting for when I was back in the same country and since that meeting I have been hooked on planning, organizing, and fund raising for this ride.

I will only be participating in the half tour which starts June 19 and ends July 24. I will travel from Amsterdam to Budapest in 4.5 short weeks covering 2000 km on my bicycle (which I have yet to acquire).

I have set my own personal goal of raising $2500 for the Micro Technology Institute and Social Venture Incubator. To keep it short and sweet, the money raised will fight global poverty by turning knowledge and potential into concrete social ventures and projects.