December 2 – The Gladstone’s Production of ‘A Christmas Carol’
On December 2nd, the Gladstone Theatre provided a preview night of their Christmas production of “The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townwomen’s Guild Drama Society’s Production of A Christmas Carol”. With this preview night, supporters, volunteers and the general public were invited to make a donation to Christmas Exchange as admission to preview the show. A collection of $260 was generated for Christmas Exchange.
Thank you to the Gladstone for providing us with this special evening of entertainment.
Until December 11 – Yarn Forward & Sew-on Fundraiser
Yarn Forward & Sew-On held a sales promotion at both their locations; 581 Bank St and 474 Hazeldean Rd, which gave customers discount coupons that could be redeemed for 10% discount on selected merchandise in the store. Yarn Forward & Sew-On matched the discounts given with a donation to the Christmas Exchange. Yarn Forward also displayed Christmas Exchange donation boxes on their counters and sold the Christmas Exchange pins at their stores. Together with the sales promotion, they raised $1,675 for Christmas Exchange.
November 28 – Candy Cane Day at Carlingwood Shopping Centre
Volunteers and VIPs sold candy canes to shoppers for a minimum donation of $2, which included a raffle draw for one of three pairs of Ottawa Senator’s tickets. Close to $2,000 was raised for the Food Assistance Program. Thank you to all the volunteers who helped sell candy canes including the following VIPs – Mayor Larry O’Brien, Councillors Maria McCrae and Marianne Wilkinson, former Mayor Jacquelin Holzman, Max Keeping from CTV Ottawa, and MPP Jim Watson. A special thank you goes to Carlingwood Shopping Centre for providing us with this special day and for the candy canes and the Ottawa Senator tickets.
November–December – Pennies for Portions
The 15th annual Pennies for Portions saw nine primary and elementary schools participate in the campaign in which students collected pennies and other loose change to donate to Christmas Exchange. The kick-off to the Pennies for Portions campaign was held at Sawmill Creek Elementary School which included a performance by the internationally known comedic busker duo, The Cow Guys. Community groups were also encouraged to participate in the campaign and one community group even donated loose change collected from a children’s Christmas party. The total amount raised was $3,361. Our thanks go to all the students, staff and teachers of the participating schools and to the community group for contributing to the campaign.
November 21 – December 6 – Trees of Hope
This year, the Trees of Hope were sold at all Ottawa Giant Tiger stores raising close to $2,800. The paper trees which sold for $2 at each cash register and then were put on display at the participating store enabled the customers to lend their support to the people helped by Christmas Exchange. Thank you to Giant Tiger for their support of this campaign.
December 3 – Christmas Cheer Breakfast and Christmas Cheer Broadcast on CFRA
The Christmas Cheer Foundation once again hosted a successful Breakfast at the Westin Ottawa which was a sell-out event followed by the annual Christmas Cheer Broadcast on CFRA at the Rideau Centre. Both events were in support of the Ottawa Food Bank, The Ottawa Senator’s Foundation and Christmas Exchange of which Christmas Exchange received close to 25% of the proceeds.
December 5 –The 21st Annual Running on Empties
The collection of donated empty beer, wine and liquor bottles from customers at all Ottawa area Beer Stores was another great success raising close to $13,500 for our food program. Our thanks to all the Ottawa area Beer Stores and to all the volunteers and service clubs who helped with the collections of donated empty beer, wine and liquor bottles at each store.
October 10th – The 9th Annual Ottawa’s Biggest Bake Sale
The 10th Annual Ottawa’s Biggest Bake Sale was a great success again in 2009. Thanks to all the volunteers, notables such as MP‘s David McGuinty and Paul Dewar, and the countless bakeries and community groups, we raised $8400! The bake sale featured plenty of pumpkin pies, fresh baked bread, chocolate chip muffins and more! Congratulations to Lois Jordan who won a $500 gift certificate courtesy of Billings Bridge Shopping Centre.
And a great big thank you goes out to our sponsors: TD Canada Trust as our presenting sponsor, Billings Bridge Shopping Centre as our venue sponsor, and EMC Ottawa South as our media sponsor. Without you all, we could not have had such a successful event!
September 29th, 2009 – The 2nd Annual Caring and Sharing Charity Auction
A big thank you to all who supported the Second Annual Caring and Sharing Charity Auction held at the Hellenic Meeting & Reception Centre! It was a HUGE success raising $55,000!
The event ran smoothly thanks to our many volunteers and featured a tasty dinner, an energetic live auction (awarding prizes such as a trip to Hollywood to tour the set of The Young and the Restless), and a chance to socialize with some important VIPs such as Senator Mike Duffy, who was Honourary Chair, Dave Smith who was auctioneer, Max Keeping from CTV and Adrian Harewood from CBC.
Special thanks goes to our Presenting Sponsor, District Realty Corporation, and our other sponsors Brazeau Seller LLP, Tannis Food Distributors, Ottawa Citizen , and the Hellenic Meeting & Reception Centre.
July 8 –The 4th Annual Christmas in July
We would like to extend our sincere thank you to all those who attended the 4th Annual Christmas in July on July 8th at the Fallowfield Transit Station. The breakfast BBQ event was once again a success raising $2,700 for the Christmas Exchange Food Assistance Program to help individuals and families receive a decent meal around the December holiday season.
We would also like to thank Police Chief Vern White, Superintendent Mike Flanagan, Councillor Steve Desroches and Alain Mercier, General Manager of OC Transpo and of course Santa Claus for joining us at the event and helping to make it a success. This event would not have been possible if it wasn’t for our sponsors –Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc., Mattamy Homes, EMC Nepean/Barrhaven, ‘A’TV, Ross’ Your Independent Grocer, Starbucks, and OC Transpo and ‘friends and supporters’– TD Canada Trust, Barrhaven Optometric Centre, and Erb Transport to whom we are all grateful for their support.
For more information on any of these events or for sponsorship opportunities, please call us at 613-226-6434.