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FIRST
RESPONDERS
I hope most of you are familiar with the Hero to Hero
Troop Support group here in Canada but in case you're not - here's
some basic info. Kevin McHarg, a Sarnia Fire Fighter, is the
Canadian National Director and he collects 'gently used' First
Responder T shirts, to send to your Canadian Forces members who are
deployed 'from one hero to another hero'. For this year's
shipment, Kevin is short 1200 shirts! Considering the number
of First Responders we have in Canada, it shouldn't be a big deal
for us to get him the shirts he needs to bring a smile to a Canadian
soldier's face and, just as importantly, to let all of them know we
haven't forgotten them and we support them. Print your name and
e-mail address, plus any comment you'd like to make to a soldier, on
a piece of paper and staple it to the collar or top of the T shirt,
you might just get a reply. For more
information, please go to
www.HeroToHeroTeamCanada.com and/or check out their Facebook at
Hero To Hero. Come on folks, let's get it done.
Challenge your co-workers, challenge other departments and
organizations but let's just get it done!
FUNDRAISER A
SUCCESS
This year's Spaghetti Dinner and Silent Auction was
once again a huge success thanks in no small part to Bev, our
Special Adventure Camp Director, her staff and all the folks who
volunteered their time and effort. The monies raised come at a
critical time for the Special Adventure Camps as they are facing a
large, unexpected cost in providing the Park with everything
required by the MOE of a Designated Water Source. The citizens
of the Town of Strathroy have been remarkable over the past years in
supporting this fund raiser that helps us help our challenged youth.
A big WELL DONE to all who contributed to this event.
CANADIAN
FORCES LEAVE BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
The Canadian government today announced
the end of the CF deployments to Bosnia-Herzegovina with the
close-out of Operation BRONZE and the return of the Task
Force Balkans team to Canada. When Canadians were first
deployed to Bosnia they were helping to secure peace and stability
in the region. The primary focus of Operation BRONZE was
defence reform, especially to facilitate the re-integration of
veterans of the Balkan wars into civil society. Since
September of 1991, more than 40,000 members of the Canadian Forces
have served in the Balkan region in a variety of missions and roles.
Over these years, 23 Canadians lost their lives while serving in
Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Service of Peace. To all who served,
we offer our thanks for your service and sacrifices and WE WILL
REMEMBER.
THE POWER OF
VOLUNTEERS
I've just finished up a report for
one of our major sponsors and was astounded at the numbers that came
up regarding our volunteers at the Park. Our most valuable
attribute at the Park, second only to our young campers, is the
dedication consistently shown by those fantastic people who donate
so very much of their time, their energy, their caring and their
money towards our Park. Considering each day as an 8 hour day,
while our volunteers consistently put in 10 to 12 hours a day, and
calculating what this would cost the Park if we paid them $10 per
hour, the volunteers of Peacekeeper Park contribute annually over
$70,000 to the Park. WOW!!!! It's seems very
insignificant to say "THANK YOU" but without all of those volunteer
hours, a lot of young people's lives would not be so significantly
enriched. Our volunteers have made what we do possible -
our volunteers are our future.
THEY MADE A
DIFFERENCE
Last year FIRMM, Families In
Remembrence of Military Members, put out an excellent calendar
called, They Made a Difference, with stories and remembrances of our
Afghanistan Fallen, all with the permission of the families of our
Fallen. Well, they've done it again this year with a 2010
Calendar which is every bit as good as last year's edition.
Any monies made from the sale of the calendars goes towards FIRMM's
goals which are: education within Canada, while emphasizing our CF
members as family members and that they did make a difference;
support family sponsored events in remembrance of Fallen CF members;
support Canadian veterans with an emphasis on wounded CF members;
and support reconstruction in Afghanistan. We strongly
recommend these calendars and support the work that FIRMM is doing.
If you wish to purchase a calendar, $20, contact FIRMM at
firmm@telus.net
HERO TO HERO PROGRAM
Hero to Hero Team Canada is a great organization of
First Responders who send their T Shirts to our troops who are
deployed overseas to help boost their morale. They are
currently looking for donours for their 2010 shipment. Good
job done by Kevin McHarg, a Sarnia Firefighter, who heads up the
Canadian effort and his volunteers. Visit their website at
HerotoHeroTeamCanada.com and you too can give our soldiers
a reason to smile.
A LADY WHO CARES
In my home town lives a lady named Karen Wilson who
recently baked
522
dozen Christmas Shortbread cookies which is a major feat in itself.
What is even more remarkable is that her and her husband, M.B., have
managed to get these cookies to 94 of our soldiers serving in
Afghanistan for their Christmas stockings. As if that wasn't
enough, Karen sent more cookies over with the Hero to Hero
shipment this spring to HMCS Fredricton. What a way to let our troops know "WE
CARE". Thank you to Karen and M. B. and to all the individuals
and groups that supported her effort.
OUR WATER SYSTEM
We have recently learned that our drinking water system
at the Park falls under an Ontario Regulation that requires more
stringent testing and the addition of purification systems. We
are working closely with the appropriate government agencies to meet
this standard in order to further protect the health of the young
people who visit our Park. A number of our volunteers have
completed their required training, our well has been sealed and
capped, a water softener installed and the required purification and
filtration devices are now operational. You can rest assured
that the water is of the highest quality. A record of all the
samples and analysis results is available at the Park's HQ building
for your examination during normal business hours.
THREE FOR TWO - GET
A FREE WEEKEND
The Park is now offering a free weekend to any
group that books and pays for two weekends during our fiscal year,
01 Apr 09 to 31 Mar 10. You have to use up the free weekend
within the same fiscal period. It's a small attempt on our
part to say "Thank You" to our regular customers and also an effort
towards encouraging more groups to use our Park.
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