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The Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada believe that those affected by brain tumours should never go through life alone. Your vehicle donation can help!
Continue reading "Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada" →Making a Difference
Acura RDX, 2020
The 2020 Acura RDX is beloved by reviewers and drivers alike. The ride, the cargo space, and the economy. What's not to love? Well, the non-Android-compatible, not-touch-screen multi-media system. And yet, reviewers agree: utility and performance make the Acura RDX a win for the money.
Car Gurus have their say
"A capable, spacious, luxury cross-over" is George Kennedy's summation of the Acura RDX. While, he notes, it's not that much different from the 2019 model, he has a lot to say about the value and drivability of the RDX.
Trouble spots? He does highlight the Acura's infamous infotainment system. Users seem to weigh-in as having easily adapted with a little time and savvy. On the other hand, reviewers love to pin their criticism to that component.
TFLCar - The Fast Lane's review
TFL loves the Acura, but consider the multimedia system, "a nightmare." From the sounds to the unintuitive radio screen access, this reviewer is super sad about the infotainment and navigation system.
Stay with this video to learn about sport and sport plus modes. The Acura RDX has some fun features to play with!
Honda and Acura vehicle donations
Hondas and Toyotas make for strong donation outcomes. As our decade-plus files show, these makes hold their value well. Furthermore, donated Camrys and Accords bring in some of our highest donation outcomes.
International Justice Mission
International Justice Mission partners with local authorities in 19 program offices in 11 countries. There they combat slavery, violence against women and children, and other forms of abuse against people who are poor.
Today, more than 40 million people live in slavery.
IJM believes we can end slavery in our lifetime.
The mission
International Justice Mission is facing into our world's most dangerous and dehumanizing human rights violations: slavery, trafficking, and citizenship rights. Cybersex trafficking and land theft. Police abuse of power, as well as sexual violence against children.
Beyond Gifts-in-kind
If donating items to the animal shelter, or collecting (hundreds of pairs!) shoes for give away seems daunting, consider monetary giving.
Many of our receiving charities have Christmas giving programs set up. It's quick and simple to gift a charity in the name of a loved one.
Here are a few charities that can shift the season from tense to tinsel:
The Salvation Army is a good place to start. Your gift in a loved one's name will feed, house, and otherwise assist a person in need. Or, check out your local shelters (or those near where your friends and family live). Give where you live!
Your nearby animal shelter, or a broader work (like the World Wildlife Foundation) will use your double gift to aid critters at risk.
Has an infirmity or disease recently impacted your family? A gift to the charity that best serves in that area of need will be gratefully welcomed. If you're having trouble choosing a charity to give to, visit our charities page. We'll show the name and mission statement of the charity that best matches your gift recipient!
Giving in 2020
If you have your Christmas shopping all wrapped up, we're at the ready to receive vehicle donations in the new year. Donate your vehicle on behalf of your charity of choice, and receive a valuable tax receipt in return!
Cars With Panache | Cooper’s Not-so-Mini Contribution
This is a re-post from several years ago. A story with heart that is worth re-sharing!
Cooper is one of those cars that brings a smile to your face. Mr. and Mrs. Irwin knew a little about the make and model from not so by-gone days. They were more than happy to honor the work of a cause they respect with the car that they love! Continue reading "Cars With Panache | Cooper’s Not-so-Mini Contribution" →
Canadian Mental Health Association
CMHA ready to receive donations
The Canadian Mental Health Association is all set to receive your car, truck, van, SUV, or motorcycle donations.
About the CMHA
"Founded in 1918, the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is the most established community mental health charity in Canada. It is also the most extensive. CMHA is a presence in more than 330 communities. They provide programs and resources that help to prevent mental health problems and illnesses. CMHA supports recovery and resilience. They enable all Canadians to flourish and thrive."
They offer services and supports to over 1.3 million Canadians. This is no small effort! It is through the combined efforts of more than 5,000 staff and 11,000 volunteers. They work from 1 national office. There are 11 divisions in all provinces and one territory, and 75 community-based branches.
100 years at the forefront
CMHA's mental health fast facts
Who is affected?
Mental illness affects all Canadians at some time through a family member, friend or colleague.
Furthermore, in any given year, 1 in 5 people in Canada will personally experience a mental health problem/illness.
Mental illness affects people of all ages, education, income levels, and cultures.
Approximately 8% of adults will experience major depression at some time in their lives. In addition, 1% of Canadians will experience bipolar disorder (or “manic depression”).
How common is it?
By age 40, about 50% of Canadians will have or have had a mental illness.
Schizophrenia affects 1% of the Canadian population.
Anxiety disorders affect 5% of the household population, causing mild to severe issues.
Suicide accounts for 24% of all deaths among 15-24 year olds and 16% among 25-44 year olds. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in both men and women from teens to middle age. The mortality rate due to suicide among men is four times the rate among women.
What causes it?
A complex interplay of genetic, biological, personality and environmental factors cause these illnesses.
Alarmingly, 49% of those who feel they have suffered from depression or anxiety have never seen a doctor about it. This is due to the stigma or discrimination attached to mental illnesses presenting a serious barrier.
The economic cost
The 1998 economic cost of mental illnesses in Canada was estimated to be $7.9 billion. This is a tremendous weight on the health care system. Breaking that down, CMHA notes $4.7 billion in cost of care. Furthermore, $3.2 billion were spent on disability and early death.
Additionally, $6.3 billion was spent on uninsured mental health services and time off work for untreated depression and distress.
How does it impact youth?
10-20% of Canadian youth are affected by a mental illness or disorder. This is the single most disabling group of disorders worldwide.
Today, approximately 5% of male youth and 12% of female youth (age 12 to 19) have experienced a major depressive episode.
Moreover, the total number of 12-19 year olds in Canada at risk for developing depression is a staggering 3.2 million.
Once depression is recognized, help can make a difference for 80% of people who are affected. This allows them to get back to their regular activities.
Mental illness is a threat to the lives of children. Canada’s youth suicide rate is the third highest in the industrialized world.
Suicide is among the leading causes of death in 15-24 year old Canadians, second only to accidents. 4,000 people die prematurely each year by suicide.
Schizophrenia is a great disabler as it strikes most often in the 16 to 30 year age group. It affects one person in 100.
Mental disorders in youth are the second highest hospital care expenditure in Canada.
Only 1 out of 5 children who need mental health services gets them.
Ready to give?
Your care for this cause counts. Visit your area CMHA website. Explore their donation options. Or, get curious about how you might volunteer! Hands-on support is often welcome.
Better yet, do you have unused or unwanted car, truck, SUV? What about a van, or a motorcycle? Donate it! It is a quick, simple, and generous way to offer support! The tow is free. The CMHA will receive the net proceeds from your donated car, and you will get a tax receipt. It is a win for all!
Brene Brown – Empathy
Seasons, stressors, community
Brene Brown touches into something we deeply understand. Particularly at this time of year. 'Tis the season for a lot of holly jolly - and a good deal of facing into the loss of loved ones, loneliness, and "What do I really want?" uncertainty. If we're not already practicing it, this is a good time to start being an empathetic presence in one another's lives.
Brown and other mental health professionals and researchers are expanding their work into study around how we might thrive. Resilience work and positive psychology (more than just thinking positively) have found their way into practice, and that's good news for all of us.
Building our empathy muscle
A friend recently gave me the book, "There's no Good Card for This." For a gently playful smack upside the head on how-to empathy, this is a good resource. It provides the basics on caring for loved ones when things go side ways. Bonus? There's guidance on how to care for Self while compassionately supporting others.
If a book feels like a stretch, WikiHow has some excellent pointers on reaching out, and caring for self, too. In part one of their Wiki article, "Connecting with others through empathy," they offer six helpful and creative tools for moving from compassionate thought to loving action.
I particularly love part two, though: Building up your empathy. There they offer 7 ways to effectively and sustainably work this muscle. They suggest practicing curiosity, volunteering, and challenging your own prejudice. The challenge? Think outside of the box you've comfortably settled into. See the world from the perspective of your loved one, the stranger on the bus, your friend who's struggling. They go on to name things like meditation and actually attempting to walk a mile in another person's "shoes" (life experience).
We're in this together
Give Brene Brown a listen. Read Crowe/McDowell's book on empathy, or give that Wiki article a glance. Set yourself up to show yourself, and the people you care about, a little empathy this holiday season.
Halloween
Halloween year 'round
Halloween and I have a unique relationship. Nope! It's not what you're thinking. I don't decorate or buy heaps of candy or put up special lights. In fact, I don't even typically put the porch light on in the neighborhood where I live currently. But for ten years I celebrated a version of it daily.
Kids on the block
I'm not really sure how it all started? We'd been settled into our North East Calgary home for some time - a year, maybe - and Halloween was approaching. The neighborhood children were giddy with anticipation for the coming holiday.
My own kids couldn't be stirred to any kind of interest so far in advance, but eventually we'd be last-minute scrambling for their costumes. The haul of candy from that suburb! Pillow cases brimming for all three boys. 'Come Halloween night they'd all dump their hefty sacks of treats into a giant mound on the living room floor. There, they would sort into favorites and shares and "Daddy tax" piles.
But the kids on the block were excited days in advance. For whatever reason, as a group of them were trodging past my front porch on their way home from school, one of them playfully yelled out, "Trick or Treat!" That was the beginning of an almost-daily game that we played for the next ten years.
Halloween in June
I responded to their "Trick or Treat!" with a gesture of invitation up on to the porch. Asking the little cluster of children to wait a minute, I scrambled to the pantry and found a bin of animal crackers. To their delighted surprise, I handed each of them a tiny cookie and sent them on their way.
What started as a little joke between myself and a dozen neighborhood children soon became an after-school and weekend check-in. The kids would come, randomly -- in singles and pairs and groups of five. I wasn't brave enough to entertain a neighborhood in my living room (I already had three little boys of my own running amok at the time), so they weren't allowed beyond the front porch. They would ring the bell and holler their plea for "candy." Day after day. I would step out on to the porch, often hunkering down on the step, as they told the stories of their day.
We talked of squabbles and wishes. They talked of heartache and plans. Often they brought disagreements-in-progress (so many little girls with so many opinions on one city block!). They often reached for reassurance: Am I ok? Am I safe? Lovable? Wanted? You know - the easy questions in life. Their were story books and movie chats and big questions about life.
Costco shares
Costco must rue the day we left that neighborhood. The buckets of suckers and sour soothers and animal crackers I churned out of our house! I don't know if the kids remember me, now? We left that neighborhood almost eight years ago. My husband has pointed out since that sometimes, "giving out candy is just giving out candy." But I'd like to think that a little neighborhood full of bright hearts and minds was made safer, and more connected, by ten years of hanging out on the front porch. So many treats in so many sticky little hands. Trick or treat!
