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Youth at Risk | 3 Canadian Charities

Posted by Sandra on in Blog, Making a Difference, You and Your Health
Youth at Risk

Youth at risk are one of Canada's most vulnerable populations and they need our ongoing care. Several of our charities are doing boots-on-the-ground work. Their staff are advocating for, feeding, and housing kids. They are friends of this sector of our human family.

Canadian youth at risk can find themselves in trouble on all sides. Their place in society is not a given. There can be heartache at home, at school, and in broader society. When donating your car, consider giving to a local charity that is working with these kids to keep them safe. Be part of helping them get healthy, find community, and pursue purpose.

Covenant House

Youth at risk are served from two Covenant House locations: Vancouver, BC, and Toronto, Ontario. The work of CH in both locations provides whole-person help. They seek to protect and safeguard our kids with love and respect. Helping teens find shelter and safety are key. Caring for mental and spiritual health are part of the package. 

RaY | Resource Assistance for Youth

Winnipeg's hurting youth (largely an indigenous peoples' population) are served by a locally based and operated outreach. Through years of endeavor, they have zero'd in on mission. They are a "proactive provider of prevention, intervention, outreach and support services." How do they do this? In so many ways, including a thrift shop and a job training program. 

Youth Unlimited

Alberta-grown, with locations in Calgary and Edmonton, Streelight is one of YU's high energy endeavors:

Streetlight is just one of YU's many outreaches. Working on school campuses, building friendships, and providing job support all come in to the picture. They have an auto repair training program, too!

Do these works jive with where you see your donation dollars heading? Re-visit our charities list for more organizations like these three. Youth at risk are a hurting population in every Canadian province. Find out where you can help near where you live!

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Photo credit https://www.covenanthousebc.org/about-us/our-impact/

Black History Month

Posted by Sandra on in Blog, Making a Difference
Black History Month
Photo credit

Black History Month in Canada is from February 1 - 28, 2019. From philosophers to our Prime Minister, our citizens honor this effort.

Prime Minister Trudeau on this month's significance

Canada's Black History Month campaign is "Black Canadian Youth: Boundless, Rooted and Proud."

Viola Desmond honored

You may be familiar with names like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. Canadians have their own iconic figures in the ongoing (so slow in maturing) growth of equal civil rights. Viola Desmond is one such woman. HalifaxToday.ca notes, "In 1946 Ms. Desmond was arrested and later tried after refusing to sit in a segregated area of a New Glasgow, Nova Scotia movie theatre. It became a catalyst for equal rights in Canada." This month she will be honored with a coin bearing her image -- a solid reminder of the courage she exemplifies.

Black History Month1
Photo credit

Our role in ensuring equality

We each play a part in moving our country toward equality, belonging, and respect for all. I am a screamingly white (and straight) girl with the happy luck of being born into a life where I can murmur, "First world problems, am I right??" I do so with honest self-deprecation and more than a dash of awareness of my own privileged life. For my part, the line is clear: Just don't be a jerk, Sandra. Do be kind. Be real. Care deeply and authentically.

I should ask questions about things I don't understand. And ask those questions sensibly. I must offer dignity to all in the manner I wish to receive it. To all, and in the manner I wish to receive it. I must not assume. Anything. Because the truth is, I just don't know. I don't get it. I can't possibly get what it is to be born a person of color, an indigenous person, or an individual struggling with sexual identity. So, the privilege extends: it is on me to grow my understanding. To support governments and policies and consumer choices that ensure equality and inclusion? That's my Canadian-born right and responsibility. And to love as I would be loved? Well, that's just common sense.

Your caring cause

If this is one of those issues that lands close to home for you, visit our charities page to explore the supporting charities that are benefited by our program.

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Origami & Duct Tape: Cars of Another Sort

Posted by Sandra on in Blog, Uncategorized
Origami Car

Origami car and truck crafts might be one way to brighten your January. Are you looking for something with a little more stick to it? Duct tape vehicles or crafts might be your thing.

Origami car how-to

Origami Car2

Keeping our minds and hands busy through the winter months can help pass those sluggish January and February weeks. Check out SuperColoring for some whimsical and realistic origami blueprints. They have easy to replicate paper crafts to wile away your winter doldrums.

Or, if you're looking for something a little more intricate:

Origami Car4

Explore and create! Keep your mind curious and your hands engaged is something creative to help bring Spring on just a little more quickly.

Duct Tape car how not-to

Origami Car3

Duct tape crafts and fixes come in all shapes and sizes. 'Looking for a good Google search rabbit hole? This colorful adhesive is your topic of the day! From period-piece wonderment (like the van up top) to car repair fails, we all like to use the stuff to fix, create, and decorate.

Wheels firmly rollin' in the real world

If an origami car and a (creative) duct tape disaster are furthest from your mind, you might have the fixing of your actual vehicle top of mind? Is your vehicle is beyond repair? Call us, or pop us a query via the home page. If you're on the move and need to downsize, we can help. Your donated vehicle can be more than a topic of conversation. It can build a memory, and your gift will aid in changing a life.

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Red origami car photo credit: http://www.supercoloring.com/paper-crafts/how-to-make-an-origami-car-instructions

Photo credit, race car: http://papercraftsorigamiforkids.blogspot.com/2014/10/origami-car-instructions.html

Duct tape van photo credit: https://guff.com/15-duct-tape-superstars

Photo credit, duct tape car: https://mashable.com/2014/05/24/duct-tape-diy/#dhs4b0mRnPq6

Tweets and Repeats

Posted by Sandra on in Blog, Knowing the Industry, Making a Difference
Tweet
Tweetin'

Tweets and repeats. The occasional Facebook posts.
Donate a Car Canada creatively supports their 800+ receiving charities through brief reminders of the compassionate work of caring organizations. And it's free!

Tweets and our charity repeats

Donate a Car Canada has a designated staff person at the ready to post tweets and Facebook messages about the charity you love. One click and a hashtag. That's all it takes to share a reminder to support and to give.

Does this really make a difference?

Putting some forms of social media to work for our charities is helpful in sustaining awareness. Both the charity's cause, and the option to give via a vehicle donation, are kept front-of-mind. And this is at no cost to the charity!

Dozens of our charities are quick to re-tweet our bits and blurbs. Not least among these are our animal charities.

Tweets aren't just for the birds

These re-tweeting animal charities would appreciate your "follow" on Twitter or Facebook:

Boxer Rescue Ontario

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – CPAWS

Farley Foundation

Edmonton Humane Society

Toronto Cat Rescue

Team Cat Rescue

Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund

WILDNorth

Pawsitive Match Rescue Foundation

Funds for Furry Friends

Prefer to share and give to the two-legged kind? From kiddos to seniors, here are some organizations that are actively seeking your support:

Pollution Probe Foundation

Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park

BC Lung Association

Farming Smarter

Asthma Canada

Huntington Society of Canada

Special Olympics Saskatchewan

STARS Foundation

Food for the Poor Canada

Autism Canada

Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa

BC Children’s Foundation

War Child Canada

Horizons for Youth

Silvera for Seniors

Boys & Girls Club of Durham

United Way Winnipeg

Operation Eyesight Universal

Cerebral Palsy Association in Alberta

OPACC – Ontario Parents Advocating for Children with Cancer

Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Centre BC

March of Dimes Canada

Edmonton Public Library

Re-tweet and doneet?

If these charities align with the causes you care to support, we're here to help. We can manage your car donation quickly and easily. No car to donate right now? Consider giving your charity a "like" or a "share." Help spread the word to others who might be looking for ways they can support!

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Tweeting - dad-joke style

Social media picture courtesy of http://www.manuinfosolutions.com/social-media-promotion/

Giving it all We’ve Got | Where Does the Money go?

Posted by Sandra on in Blog, Knowing the Industry, Making a Difference
Giving     Giving is the heartbeat of Donate a Car Canada. It's our mission, our secret agenda, and our weekly goal. We're here for one reason: to serve Canadian donors and Canadian charities. And we do that through the unique medium of vehicle donation.  Continue reading "Giving it all We’ve Got | Where Does the Money go?" →

New Year 2019 | Curiously Unresolved

Posted by Sandra on in Blog, Making a Difference, You and Your Health
New Year2       It's a new year. 2019 has come, one of our DACC gals, Laura-Lee, so hopefully commented, with 365 new possibilities. How do you tackle the flip of the calendar? Resolutions? Rebellion against resolutions? Same-old, same-old? Continue reading "New Year 2019 | Curiously Unresolved" →

Naps – Your Body Wants ’em, Your Brain Needs ’em

Posted by Sandra on in Blog, You and Your Health
Naps   Naps. When is the last time someone gave you permission to snuggle in to the couch, midday, and just grab a few minutes of snooze? When is the last time you gave yourself permission? Continue reading "Naps – Your Body Wants ’em, Your Brain Needs ’em" →