I’m really excited about this project. REALLY excited. I know. Most of you that know me are going … Charis … farming? No way. She’s just not the farming type… maybe when she was the Stoneboat Queen but since then, not so much. Okay, the truth is, it’s not really farming, it’s HARVESTING. What’s the difference you’re asking. Well, first of all, I’m not hucking bales of hay, I’m not picking rocks or getting dirty playing in the mud. I’m not saying that’s what all farmers do, but it is what I used to do when I was farming, so it’s all in context. Get on with it Charis. Harvesting. Harvesting HOPE. Harvesting FOOD. Harvesting GOODWILL. I came upon David Northcott through a family member just recently and was so impressed by this dynamo. We had a business meeting about a month ago and I was completely blown away by what this man and the organization that he is working with are trying to accomplish. David is the Executive Director of Winnipeg Harvest … working hard every single day to ensure that there is food in the bellies of our poor and homeless. He took me on a tour of the facility and there were many things that struck me, not only about the facility, but about David. First of all he exudes this kindness to everyone, mixed with a get it done attitude. It amazed me that of all the staff and volunteers that were working that day, he knew each of them by name, he gave a smile and a hello. TO ALL OF THEM. Attention to detail, and I would say, a man that cares about his environment and the people in it. I was introduced to many of the staffers and volunteers and was equally impressed with their zest for their part in this amazing organization. The sheer volume of food that goes through that facility, was nothing less that astounding, might border on shocking. All brought on by the overwhelming need of OUR community. Let’s define community: I always thought that Winnipeg Harvest had a few locations within the city. My ignorance is astounding, I will admit it. Did you know that Winnipeg Harvest not only sends provisions to all food banks within the city but in locations around the province of Manitoba? Yes, the province. They have a map at the front of the building showing exactly where they send food too. Again…I had no idea. 40 tons. They go through 40 tons of food per week. Did you catch that ... 40 TONS? What struck me were the programs that went far beyond providing food for our hungry. I was amazed and I thought, wow, they are seriously being proactive in trying to also alleviate the issues that surround some of our hungry. How? By providing TRAINING: job experience, job skills, gardening and food handling and preparation. They are even starting a shoe program in conjunction with Canadian Footwear, teaching the skills on shoe repair and in turn providing shoes for the more unfortunate. We will talk about these magnificent and leading edge programs in following blog pieces. I think that we need to know about the great things that they are creating over there at Winnipeg Harvest. They truly are making a BIG difference in our community. Did you know that they built a community garden? Tucked into the back of the property is a lovely patch of earth where they teach their clients about growing their own food as well as the cycle of actually what it takes to produce the food that they are eating. From there, they harvest the vegetables and take them into the Winnipeg Harvest kitchen to help prepare food for more clients. Volunteers ... There are volunteers everywhere. The best thing is … many of the clients volunteer themselves, their part of giving back, I think that is utterly amazing. It’s like a pay it forward community. Long story short, I told David that I wanted to write a series of blog pieces showcasing the amazing work they were doing here. That’s how this all started. When I got back to my office I started thinking about how visiting Winnipeg Harvest made me feel. I was overwhelmed by the number of people they are trying to help, and their ingenuity in trying to help their clients become independent. I wanted to help somehow. Oddly enough, in another part of my life, I was putting together a celebration event with two other team members and friends, Jodian Self and Lori Orchard. We had put together this program for whole life wellness, and had just rolled it out. We had decided that at the end of the program, we wanted to have a celebration to encourage our own clients and to mark their transformations in wellness, in a special way. The team and the company that we work with in this area of my life, is all about family, about looking at the bigger picture, and giving back to your community. We decided that not only were we going to support our clients but wanted to support a home-grown charity at the same time. We considered several, but we also had specific parameters that we wanted to meet. We wanted to see our efforts make a difference immediately in the hands of those that needed it the most. We chose Winnipeg Harvest. I have included a beautiful document below that will give you the full impact of what this organization is doing. You will be impressed ... you will be amazed. How does this fit in to what we do? What's the connection? Wellness, food, and transformation. We looked at the fact that most of us are fortunate enough to be able to DECIDE what kind of food we want to eat, to make healthy choices. We looked at the fact that we get to DECIDE how we manage our wellness through eating clean, exercising and including our families in those choices. WE ARE VERY FORTUNATE ... WE HAVE A CHOICE. How can people function properly, learn at school, get a job, when they can't think straight because they are starving. Worrying about when your next meal is going to hit your belly, that becomes paramount in your existence and your survival. WE ARE FORTUNATE ... WE HAVE A CHOICE. SO ... we decided that we wanted to help give some of these people a helping hand up. Maybe if their bellies are full, some of the other things will start to fall into place. We are HARVESTING HOPE. We are HARVESTING GOODWILL. We decided that we would open the event up to the bigger community ... our community. Not just Winnipeg but Manitoba ... is nothing less than a very caring and generous . Who wouldn't want to get behind feeding the countless of hungry souls in our own backyard? As it turns out, the support that we are getting for the event has been nothing less than amazing. As we garner more support I will feature each one of our amazing partners in this blog, so we all can appreciate just how fabulous these people are. It's growing every day. How incredible is that? Our event, will take place on Friday, April 29, 2016. Keep posted for all the details and mark it off it your calendar. Fashion Show, Wine and Eats ... all in a very unique setting... let's just say that both the men and women will enjoy the event. If this event happens to pull at your heart strings, the love of your neighbour and helping the less fortunate ... we would love your help and support. Please keep posted for more details and contact me if you would like to lend a hand.
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![]() CharisOnLifeLet me not be judged by what I have and have not accomplished but by the remarkable children I have raised. Mother, Business Consultant, Entrepreneur, Designer, Artist. You are your best billboard! Create the lifestyle you want by putting in some effort, make sure your best foot is forward, have discriminating taste, financial smarts, plan your lifestyle! This Lifestyle blog has lifestyle and product recommendations, coaching and services.
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Disclosure:There are portions of this blog and the following blog pages that may recommend, or showcase different services and products. It will state explicitly if I have used the products personally. This is a professional review blog which gets compensated for the products reviewed by the companies who produce them. I am an independent blogger and the reviews are done based on my own experiences and opinions. As an affliate publisher, I may generate a commission for any sales generated from the links on any page of this website. Please understand that as an a small business entrepreneur, I appreciate any interest and sales that you make from my site that supports us. A million thanks.
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