More Than Shoes steps into Winnipeg Harvest!

More Than Shoes has officially joined Winnipeg Harvest!  It is exciting to have a home for this worthwhile project to continue to grow and flourish so that more Manitoba children can access comfortable, well-fitted footwear.  Currently, we are looking for NEW running shoes!  Are you part of a team or business that would like to hold a More Than Shoes drive? If so, please call Wendy at 509-1344 or email at wendy@morethanshoes.ca.  Looking for more information?  Just visit our website-www.morethanshoes.ca to see how else you can help.  If you just feel like picking up a pair or two of NEW running shoes, please drop them at Winnipeg Harvest at anytime!  We most need size 13 (children's)- size 7 (adult).

April 17, 2012

AWARDS DINNER GOES TONIGHT

Congratulations to all those who will be receiving recognition at tonight’s 29th Annual Volunteer Awards at the Winnipeg Convention Centre!

Everyone who volunteers their time, whether it is for a charity, an organization they are passionate about or to help/ mentor youth with extra-curricular or academic activities should be celebrated. Your contributions help make your community stronger.  

Winnipeg Harvest nominated six of tonight’s successful recipients. Congratulations to…

·         Ron O'Donovan and Eunice O'Donovan (posthumously) of Winnipeg, winners of the Manitoba Lotteries Family Volunteer Award

·         City TV of Winnipeg, winner of the Golden Hand Award

·         David Courchene of Turtle Lake, winner of Volunteer Manitoba’s Outstanding Community Leadership Award

·         David Proctor of Winnipeg, winner of the Lieutenant Governor’s ‘Make a Difference Community Award’.

·         Ursula Taylor, of Swan River winner (individual) of the Premier’s Volunteer Service Award

·         Broadway Neighbourhood Centre of Winnipeg, winner (Community Group) of the Premier’s Volunteer Service Award.

·         Jamie Sotlar, volunteer Winnipeg harvest, Safeway Ability Award

·         Tech Voc High School (Linking Individuals to New Knowledge) Mayor’s Volunteer Service Award,  Effective Use of Youth

DONATIONS STILL NEEDED

And Winnipeg Harvest is still in need of donations.

We are still in urgent need of high protein non-perishable nutritional food items. We remain down from our normal levels at this time of year. The shelves that store our Top 10 food items need filling (see below).

Each week, we distribute food to 5500 households. Please add food for a hungry family to your family’s grocery list.

NON-PERISHABLE FOOD ITEMS NEEDED

·         Canned Fish and Poultry (tuna or salmon -packed in water) chicken or turkey

·         Canned Fruit & Vegetables (packed in own juice)

·         Canned Stew, Chili, Brown Beans

·         Peanut Butter

·         Whole Grain Pasta/Whole Wheat Pasta

·         Rice (brown, converted or parboiled)

·         Canned Spaghetti Sauce or Tomatoes

·         Cereal (high fiber, non-sugar coated)

·         Canned Soup (lentil, pea, vegetable)

Drop off locations: Winnipeg Harvest and your retail food store. Canada Safeway and Peak of the Market will match the donations in weight, pound for pound.

Monetary donations are also accepted. For every $1 we receive, we can distribute $20 worth of groceries. Call 982-3581 today to make a monetary donation!

March 20, 2012

Operation Donation

The official weight of the food collected through Operation Donation 2012 is 75,743 kg (166,635 lbs) 75 schools throughout Manitoba collected food for the 13^th annual Operation Donation.

In addition to all the students, who are the life force behind this every growing drive, a special thanks to Canada Safeway, Peak of the Market, the Manitoba Teachers Society and of course, Manitoba Public Insurance for the continued support each has shown for this initiative.

Check our website http://winnipegharvest.org/ to read all the details of Operation Donation 2012, and check out all the images on http://www.facebook.com/wpgharvest

Sons of Italy
Grazie!

Thank you Sons of Italy for choosing Hunger for Hope as your charity of choice for this year’s sold-out, 26^th annual Gala on March 17^th.

The Sons of Italy raised more than $100,000 Hunger for Hope.

Hunger for Hope helps buy formula for the 1,600 infants who need emergency baby formula each month, as well as baby food. Winnipeg Harvest spends more than $100,000 each year for baby food and formula.

Click here to see more images from this wonderful event.

March 8, 2012

Community Breakfast draws em’ in

Over 1,000 people turned out to last to École Robert Smith School’s Fifth Annual Community Breakfast.  

Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz, Winnipeg Police Service Chief Keith McCaskill and members of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers served pancakes, all in support of Winnipeg Harvest. City TV Winnipeg and 92 CITI FM were live on location helping bring together staff, students, families and the community for the fundraiser.

Winnipeg Police Service Mascot Copper gets a ‘high five’
from a Grade 7 student at Ecole Robert H. Smith on March 2^nd.

All told, $13,075.14 was raised in addition to 1,053 lbs (478.6 kg) of food donations was collected by those who came to enjoy pancakes, the company and the atmosphere.

Time to think of the links!

The snow may be still be falling, but make sure to get your name into this year’s Winnipeg Harvest Charity Golf Tournament. This year’s tournament will be taking place on
Tuesday, July 10^th, 2012 at the NEW Southwood Golf & Country Club (pictured below).

 Presented by…

There are some great opportunities to help out Winnipeg Harvest though sponsorship with great exposure for your business brand.

If you want more information, please contact.


Colleen McVarish, Development Manager
(204) 982-3666
colleen.mcvarish@winnipegharvest.org

Have you been putting off that New Year’s resolution to get in shape?

Well Curves has a great opportunity for you. Bring a bag of groceries and join FREE!

This is the 10^th year Curves has supported Winnipeg Harvest. We are fortunate to have so much support from individuals and businesses throughout the Winnipeg area and from across Manitoba.

So get into shape and helps us trim down the number of people using Food Banks each month.  Hunger never takes a holiday and with your help, we will reduce by half, the number of people needing to use food banks.

February 13, 2012

École Robert Smith School’s Firth Annual Community Breakfast goes Friday March 2^nd.

Cost is $5 per person (includes Breakfast & Games) or $15 per family (includes Breakfast & Games).

92 CITI – FM will be broadcasting live on location as will City T-V Winnipeg’s B-T.

There will be lots of great silent auction prizes available as well as massages and haircuts (donations accepted) and lots of great door prizes.

All proceeds from the Community Breakfast are going to Winnipeg Harvest. 

If you’re a Classic Rock fan, hope you plan on going to Deep Purple.

You can catch Ian Gillan, Don Airey, Roger Glover, Steve Morce and Ian Paice on Wednesday February 15^th at the RBC Theatre at MTS Centre.  

And don’t forget to bring a ‘Tin for the Bin’ for Winnipeg Harvest. Listen to Ian Gillan make that request on our webpage slideshow http://winnipegharvest.org/

Still time to get your neighbourhood school involved in the 13^th annual ‘Operation Donation’. So far, over 30 schools are collecting food and cash donations for Winnipeg Harvest.  

If you are looking to get your neighbourhood school involved, check out how to go about it at

http://www.mpi.mb.ca/english/OPDonation/OperationDonationHome.html

January 30, 2012

Looking for a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon?  

Help out Winnipeg Harvest by spending “An afternoon with the Phil” on February 25^th. The Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir (shown below) will perform a concert at Neil Bardal Funeral Centre. Tickets are $20 with all proceeds going to Winnipeg Harvest. And don’t forget to take a ‘Tin for the Bin’.

Choose your Charity Concert Series

Part II of the “Choose your Charity” concert series at the Winnipeg Free Press News Café goes this Thursday February 2^nd. For $15, you can see Katie Murphy perform her unique Folk/Pop/Rock sound. Bring a ‘Tin for the Bin’ for Winnipeg Harvest and the admission is $10.

January 23, 2012

There are about 75 people volunteering here today. Winnipeg Harvest has a wonderful, committed and talented volunteer base.

Did you know that, Winnipeg Harvest volunteers put in over 383,000 hours last year? Factoring in a 40 hour work week, over a period of 52 weeks, that is the equivalent of 192 full-time positions.  

From sorting incoming food to answering 400+ daily phone calls from clients, to delivering snacks to daycares, the people who volunteer are the backbone of Winnipeg Harvest.

If you are interested in volunteering at Winnipeg harvest, visit our website at http://winnipegharvest.org/get-involved/

Are you looking to add to your art collection with great local talent?  You have your chance this weekend at the Forks Market 10^th Annual Art Festival & Auction.

Proceeds generated by the auction of this original artwork will benefit Winnipeg Harvest and Red River College Graphic Design.

Details are listed on the poster below.

Eight nights of great musical talent at the Winnipeg Free Press News Café starting next week!

The first annual ‘Choose your Charity’ Concert Series starts on Thursday January 26^th with the JD Edwards Band.  

The concept is simple, yet unique. Each artist gets their own Thursday showcase at the News Café, and picks a charity to collect donations for. The J-D Edwards Band has chosen to support Manitoba Mutts, an organization that takes in dogs from all over Manitoba who have been abandoned, abused or surrendered at no fault of their own.

Each Thursday, starting next week, you can enjoy some great local musical talent for $15 each week. The admission price is $10, if you bring a ‘Tin for the Bin’ for Winnipeg Harvest.

The JD Edwards band, appearing on City TV Winnipeg’s ‘B-T’

Thank you to musician James Struthers for organizing this eight-part concert series. And thank you James for choosing to support Winnipeg Harvest.  

January 16, 2012

Really excited about tomorrow! CTV – Winnipeg Morning Show Host Eleanor Coopsammy is showing a feature about Floral Philanthropy and its connection to Winnipeg Harvest.

So what is ‘Floral Philanthropy’? The concept is simple. The description is clearly outlined on http://floralphilanthropy.wordpress.com/about/

“Floral Philanthropy is a unique, first-in-Canada program which re-purposes the flowers from your event to bring joy, healing and therapeutic benefit to others. Volunteers retrieve the flowers from your venue, redesign the arrangements and redeliver these petal pick-me-ups to persons who rarely receive such gifts of hope.”

If you want to see how Joyce Berry, Hennie Corrin, Barry McArton (pictured below) bring their unique talents to the process, make sure you check out the piece in the CTV – Winnipeg Morning Show tomorrow between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m.

2012 Empty Bowl Celebrity Auction, presented by Manitoba Lotteries
And while the event itself won’t take place until November, the planning for the 2012 Empty Bowl Celebrity Auction, presented by Manitoba Lotteries, has started. The organizing/planning committee for the 2012 Gala holds its first meeting this week.

Some talented people are bringing their skill set to help organize this Gala, one the signature events Winnipeg Harvest holds each year. For every $1 raised, Winnipeg harvest is able to leverage that dollar into $20 worth of food.

Posted 16th January by winnipegharvest

January 12, 2012

January 12^th.

Big thanks to Drew Kozub (pictured below in the middle on the forklift), the morning remote host for B-T and the whole crew at City TV Winnipeg. Drew spent the morning with us checking out our warehouse, the kitchen and our media room.  Thanks Drew & crew! Come back soon.

Like us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/wpgharvest) or follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/#!/WinnipegHarvest) and to check out the photos and find out more about Winnipeg Harvest.

Remember, every dollar Harvest collects can be leveraged into $20 worth of food by Winnipeg Harvest.

Paulo Borges (shown below) will be appearing at Sam's Place Bookstore 159 Henderson Hwy tomorrow (Friday, January 13^th from 7:30-9:30pm). The $5 cover charge, will help out the Mennonite Central Committee.

And “Music For Harvest” Volumes I and II are available for sale at tomorrow’s event. Paulo is donating profits from sales and radio play to Winnipeg Harvest. Full details are available at www.lovemenot.ca or by phoning 793-8733.

Thanks Paulo.

As always, we invite you to our website at www.winnipegharvest.org to find out how you can volunteer money, time or food.

One busy Warehouse, Get your stained glass

This time of year, the food donations to Winnipeg Harvest are huge. It means more volunteer hours, more pick-ups to ensure more people are getting the food donations many so desperately need at this time of year. Food & Warehouse Coordinator Chris Hoover says pick-ups this month are up about 50% from last month, but says that is the norm for December. 

If you wish to donate food, time or money, visit www.winnipegharvest.org

For $20, you can create your own piece of art at Prairie Stained Glass on Sargent Avenue. All finished glass products go to Winnipeg Harvest as gifts for volunteers. CBC T-V in Manitoba featured Prairie Stain Glass on their Saturday December 10^th newscast.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2011/12/10/mb-stained-glass-111210.html

The December e-newsletter is on-line!

The December 2011 edition of Winnipeg Harvest’s e-newsletter is on our website. http://winnipegharvest.org/2011/12/december-2011/

So much going on December and so many great people have dropped by the building today and over the last couple of weeks with donations of money, time and food.  We all know the Holiday spirit exists in Winnipeg within so many wonderful people, but to meet them, to talk to them and to hear their stories is part of what makes Winnipeg Harvest so special.

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to likes us Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/wpgharvest , follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/WinnipegHarvest or subscribe to WinnipegHarvestInc. on YouTube.

And don’t forget to donate money, time or food at one of many different events this month http://winnipegharvest.org/events/

Harvesting Hope

CBC Radio Manitoba has spent a lot of time at Winnipeg Harvest in recent days.

CBC has been conducting interviews with clients, volunteers and team members, while readying for “Harvesting Hope”, which will air on CBC on Friday December 9^th from 5:30 a.m. through 6 p.m.

CBC will broadcast the stories from the people whose spirit embodies what is Winnipeg Harvest.

While the mission of Winnipeg Harvest is to providing food to people who struggle to feed themselves and their families and to maximize public awareness of hunger, the stories CBC does with the interviewees helps articulate the challenges many face to look after themselves and their families on a day-to-day basis.

Don’t forget to tune in Friday December 9^th to CBC Radio Manitoba.

PEOPLE GOTTA EAT - A Holiday Food Drive to benefit Winnipeg Harvest

Energy 106 is getting their guest list ready today along with set up for the live broadcast starting this Thursday December 8^th right through Saturday December 10^th at Grant Park Shopping Centre for their “People Gotta Eat” campaign. Included among the VIP guests to be interviewed are Comedian Big Daddy Tazz and His Worship, Mayor Sam Katz.

Since November 21^st, Energy 106 has been collecting non-perishable food items, all of which will be donated to Winnipeg Harvest. The campaign will culminate with a three day live broadcast by Energy 106 at Grant Park Shopping Centre.

Tune into Winnipeg’s New Number Hit Music station to hear volunteers, staff and supporters of Winnipeg Harvest December 8^th through December 10^th.

Peak of the Market is matching all donations during the “People Gotta Eat” campaign, pound for pound.

For details visit, www.energy106.ca  or  www.winnipegharvest.org .