For all you tree-huggers out there, this is your chance!
Greenpeace is looking for volunteers.
They are an independently funded organization speaking up to protect the environment, which has no voice of its own... They challenge governments and industries to change harmful practices by negotiating solutions, conducting scientific research, introducing clean alternatives, carrying out peaceful acts of civil disobedience and educating and engaging the public.
Their mission statement is to:
* Protect biodiversity in all its forms
* Prevent pollution of the Earth’s oceans, land, air and fresh water
* End all nuclear threats
* Promote peace, global disarmament and non-violence.
For more information check their Volunteers Website!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Underlining Spring
Javex Canada is inviting Montrealers to come celebrate the arrival of the warmer season this weekend by getting a head start on their 'Spring Cleaning' and bringing in their used clothing to Dorchester Square. 
An immense clothing-line will be displaying all the goods gathered from April 9th to 12th, which will then be handed over to Accueil Bonneau. The organism helps people living on the streets by providing 320 000 meals a year, and are open 7 days a week. It also contributes to the social reinsertion of homeless persons by providing them with stable housing, better living conditions and helping them recover autonomy and dignity.
Donations are welcome today through Saturday.
Corner Peel and Rene-Levesque West,
between 10am and 6pm.
Clothing of all sizes is welcome.
As well as donations in cash.
And while your staring at the overwhelming amount of clothes
hanging on the line at Dorchester Square,
take a few moments to consider your consumption patterns, please.
How many of the pieces you gave away were purchased and never worn?
Left to age badly in an already packed closet?
What does it say about us, as people, that we are willing to discard
a fifty dollar shirt, because it is faded or outdated.
But often unavailable to spend an hour making the world a better place?
Next time you feel like shopping for new clothes:
consider these addresses - they carry 'made from recycled' pieces!
On & On Ecolo Chic
is available at Espace PEpin
350 St-Paul West
Preloved
4832 St-Laurent St.
Lolita
274 St-Viateur St.
Creation Genest
available at Boutique La Gaillarde
4019 Notre-Dame West
Or if your just looking for great ideas
to eco-friendly your wardrobe!
Be sure to check out The Green Set
an eco-fashion blog for the eco-conscious shopper.
An immense clothing-line will be displaying all the goods gathered from April 9th to 12th, which will then be handed over to Accueil Bonneau. The organism helps people living on the streets by providing 320 000 meals a year, and are open 7 days a week. It also contributes to the social reinsertion of homeless persons by providing them with stable housing, better living conditions and helping them recover autonomy and dignity.Donations are welcome today through Saturday.
Corner Peel and Rene-Levesque West,
between 10am and 6pm.
Clothing of all sizes is welcome.
As well as donations in cash.
And while your staring at the overwhelming amount of clothes
hanging on the line at Dorchester Square,
take a few moments to consider your consumption patterns, please.
How many of the pieces you gave away were purchased and never worn?
Left to age badly in an already packed closet?
What does it say about us, as people, that we are willing to discard
a fifty dollar shirt, because it is faded or outdated.
But often unavailable to spend an hour making the world a better place?
Next time you feel like shopping for new clothes:
consider these addresses - they carry 'made from recycled' pieces!
On & On Ecolo Chic
is available at Espace PEpin
350 St-Paul West
Preloved
4832 St-Laurent St.
Lolita
274 St-Viateur St.
Creation Genest
available at Boutique La Gaillarde
4019 Notre-Dame West
Or if your just looking for great ideas
to eco-friendly your wardrobe!
Be sure to check out The Green Set
an eco-fashion blog for the eco-conscious shopper.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Summertime....and the giving is easy!
The sun is out and days are getting longer...
Which means you might have a few hours to spare
when planning your next week's schedule,
why not spend a few hours volunteering?
You could start with Nourishing your Community at Santropol Roulant's
Meals on Wheels initiative. It's a volunteer organization run by dynamic young people living in the Montreal community. It provides youths with bike-delivery jobs and helps them counter social adversity in creative ways. Meals-on-wheels helps bring people in the neighborhood together across cultures and generations through their innovative service. It's become quite the community space.
The organization has been using food as a vehicle to break social and economic isolation between generations, having youths deliver supplies to elderly people who have lost their autonomy. It also serves in strengthening and nourishing the local community by gathering funds through a thrift store and housing a volunteer bike shop. They encourage a diversity of people to take an active role in their communities through initiatives that address the health and food security needs of Montrealers.
They also have a great Rooftop Gardens Project aimed at 'Liberating Spaces for Healthy Cities' and making widespread rooftop gardening a reality in Montreal and around the world. The Rooftop Garden Project is a tangible link between local action and global thinking.
Find out how to get involved by volunteering in the demonstration garden.
Which means you might have a few hours to spare
when planning your next week's schedule,
why not spend a few hours volunteering?
You could start with Nourishing your Community at Santropol Roulant's
Meals on Wheels initiative. It's a volunteer organization run by dynamic young people living in the Montreal community. It provides youths with bike-delivery jobs and helps them counter social adversity in creative ways. Meals-on-wheels helps bring people in the neighborhood together across cultures and generations through their innovative service. It's become quite the community space.
The organization has been using food as a vehicle to break social and economic isolation between generations, having youths deliver supplies to elderly people who have lost their autonomy. It also serves in strengthening and nourishing the local community by gathering funds through a thrift store and housing a volunteer bike shop. They encourage a diversity of people to take an active role in their communities through initiatives that address the health and food security needs of Montrealers.
They also have a great Rooftop Gardens Project aimed at 'Liberating Spaces for Healthy Cities' and making widespread rooftop gardening a reality in Montreal and around the world. The Rooftop Garden Project is a tangible link between local action and global thinking.
Find out how to get involved by volunteering in the demonstration garden.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Culinary Delights for Social Plights
When donating to help feed children in Montreal
gets you a showdown of the city’s culinary masters,
the giving’s worth the goods.
And that’s just what’s happening on April 14th.
in MONTREAL’S IRON CHEFS competition
at La Queue de Cheval,
celebrating their 10th anniversary this year!
For the occasion, an open air kitchen will host
the city's greatest chefs, allowing them to
impress and entertain judges and guests alike
with their originality and culinary prowess.
Taking part in this gastronomical battle are: Marino Tavares (Café Ferreira), Richard Bastien (Leméac), Olivier de Montigny (la Chronique), Lindsay Petit (Quintessence), Jérôme Lefil (Garçon), Chuck Hughes (Garde Manger), John Zoumis (Trinity) and Fred Morin (Joe Beef).
Guests will, of course, get to voice their satisfaction. But the true contest lies in the four course meal, divided into eight plates, accompanied by fine wines. This, and only this, will allow judges to crown the winner.
All proceeds go to the « Nourrir un enfant » campaign, an initiative by the Cardinal Léger Charity Foundation to help feed children living under the poverty line in the great Montreal region.
Tickets are still available!
Prices range from 350$ - 1000$.
Doors open at 7.30pm.
For more information check out the Queue de Cheval website
or contact 514-390-0090 to reserve a table.
gets you a showdown of the city’s culinary masters,
the giving’s worth the goods.
And that’s just what’s happening on April 14th.
in MONTREAL’S IRON CHEFS competition
at La Queue de Cheval,
celebrating their 10th anniversary this year!
For the occasion, an open air kitchen will host
the city's greatest chefs, allowing them to
impress and entertain judges and guests alike
with their originality and culinary prowess.
Taking part in this gastronomical battle are: Marino Tavares (Café Ferreira), Richard Bastien (Leméac), Olivier de Montigny (la Chronique), Lindsay Petit (Quintessence), Jérôme Lefil (Garçon), Chuck Hughes (Garde Manger), John Zoumis (Trinity) and Fred Morin (Joe Beef).
Guests will, of course, get to voice their satisfaction. But the true contest lies in the four course meal, divided into eight plates, accompanied by fine wines. This, and only this, will allow judges to crown the winner.
All proceeds go to the « Nourrir un enfant » campaign, an initiative by the Cardinal Léger Charity Foundation to help feed children living under the poverty line in the great Montreal region.
Tickets are still available!
Prices range from 350$ - 1000$.
Doors open at 7.30pm.
For more information check out the Queue de Cheval website
or contact 514-390-0090 to reserve a table.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Dare to Care
Sometimes in life we're lucky enough to come across truly amazing people.
Helen Downie, is one of those people.
She's an executive member of STAND (Students Taking A Stand for Darfur)
and Amnesty Concordia,
but she's also a bright and spirited young woman,
who wears her heart on her sleeve.
And worse of all,
She makes it seem so easy.
I was fortunate enough to be able to interview her.
And am thanking her again for the opportunity.
If your feeling like you need a little motivation to make the world a better place,
this video should set you straight.
Enjoy!
Download the interview
Or for a sneakpeak,
Helen's pitch for STAND Canada's:
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
If you could get one person off the street, would you?
"Devil Plays Hardball is an experimental, interventionist documentary that has the potential to change lives. In this social experiment, four mentors – all accomplished and compassionate individuals - are challenged to help realize the hopes and dreams of four homeless individuals. The process is not without its pitfalls, however, as the mentors learn that people who live on the streets end up there for a complex variety of reasons, and that being homeless means more than just not having a place to live." -Paperny Films
Devil Plays Hardball is directed by Nijole Kujmickas,
produced by Audrey Mehler of Paperny Films
in association with CBC Newsworld.
Devil Plays Hardball is directed by Nijole Kujmickas,
produced by Audrey Mehler of Paperny Films
in association with CBC Newsworld.
Monday, March 17, 2008
One for You & Two for Me!
There was an excellent cover story in La Presse this morning, by Stéphanie Bérubé on World Famine.
The rapidly escalating global food crisis has reached emergency proportions.
It is threatening to draw back at least seven years of progress in the fight against poverty. According to the U.N. World Food Program, 30 countries are presently experiencing accute food shortages, 18 of which are situated on the African Continent.
The price of wheat, milk and meat have doubled within the last year. And rice, coffee and soya are at a ten year high.
If we look at the figures, meat consumption requires at least 6 kilos of cereals for one kilo of meat. That's costly. At this point we are consuming more than we are able to produce. According to Paul Roberts, we could reduce 20-30% of our meat consumption without affecting our protein intake.
Meanwhile a billion human beings live on a dollar a day. And on that income, when prices explode, disaster can be expected. The U.N. will need to amass half a million in funds before the end of the month, without which some aid missions will have to be abandonned and the hungry, left to their own devices...
Protests erupted last week in Haiti over rising prices.
In Pakistan, police now have to escort shipments of food to commercial venues.
In Somalia, inflation has raised to 100 000% this past year and 80% of the population lives under the poverty index, the state of famine is on it's fifth year.
We'll all have to make some changes. Because eating the way we do today will no longer be possible.
In Canada if you eat less and exercise more.
Cances are you'll live longer.
Longer than some, at least.
For further reading:"Who will Feed China?" by Lester Brown
The rapidly escalating global food crisis has reached emergency proportions.
It is threatening to draw back at least seven years of progress in the fight against poverty. According to the U.N. World Food Program, 30 countries are presently experiencing accute food shortages, 18 of which are situated on the African Continent.
The price of wheat, milk and meat have doubled within the last year. And rice, coffee and soya are at a ten year high.
If we look at the figures, meat consumption requires at least 6 kilos of cereals for one kilo of meat. That's costly. At this point we are consuming more than we are able to produce. According to Paul Roberts, we could reduce 20-30% of our meat consumption without affecting our protein intake.
Meanwhile a billion human beings live on a dollar a day. And on that income, when prices explode, disaster can be expected. The U.N. will need to amass half a million in funds before the end of the month, without which some aid missions will have to be abandonned and the hungry, left to their own devices...
Protests erupted last week in Haiti over rising prices.
In Pakistan, police now have to escort shipments of food to commercial venues.
In Somalia, inflation has raised to 100 000% this past year and 80% of the population lives under the poverty index, the state of famine is on it's fifth year.
We'll all have to make some changes. Because eating the way we do today will no longer be possible.
In Canada if you eat less and exercise more.
Cances are you'll live longer.
Longer than some, at least.
For further reading:"Who will Feed China?" by Lester Brown
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
