Coldest Night Of The Year & Other Stuff

Coldest Night Of The Year did not take place on "the coldest night", not even close.  It was a balmy +5, and very wet.  That's it, it was the wettest night of the year.  However, many faithful walkers came out and helped us raise 26,000+.  It took a while this year to get the event off the ground, but in the end, it was amazing.  The picture above if of the team from Worlee, who raised close to $5000.  Thank you to them and all the other teams who participated.

We finally acquired some industrial pallet shelving!  Through a good friend we received 100 ft.of shelving plus installation.  Alain found this for $1000 and covered half the cost.  He also had his installers come in and install it.  A big thank you to Alain.  This shelving has really helped us maximize our warehouse space.  It doesn't look so cluttered anymore.

I am looking forward to this new year and the opportunities it brings.  Thank you to all who contribute with time, expertise and money to make this happen.

On Rock Christmas Chaos

Christmas is always BIG at On Rock.  Tuesday Dec. 15 The community Diner celebrated Christmas with over 70 guests,  The food included Turkey and Moose(No reindeer), stuffing, etc.  It was a great dinner orchestrated by Joanne, Rose and their amazing team of volunteers.  All the kids got to visit with Santa and get a present.  A good time was had by all.

On Dec. 19th we did our 10th Christmas box distribution.  We do 190 boxes every week lately, so on Saturday we did 190 boxes times 3, four or five, depending on the size of your family.  Smaller families got 3 boxes, one for presents and two for food.  Every family got a box of presents and the remainder were food.  Our goal is to give our families that struggle all year and "over the top"  Christmas experience.  We had volunteers working tirelessly for over a week before the big day.  We received several phone calls from surprised families. thanking us for our generosity.  We surprised them,.... and that is a good thing.

A Big thanks goes out to our volunteers in the Diner and the Food Bank.  Without you On Rock is nothing.

I want to thank West Island Mommies, Marmalade Café, Monster Gym, Moksha Yoga West Island Crossfit De L'Ouest, Pierrefonds Animal Hospital, and so many other companies and organizations who stepped up and supplied us with gifts and food to make this Christmas and the months to come special.

I also want to give a very special Thank You to the Tenequip Foundation for donating $15,000 when we needed it most.  It is only because of people like those mentioned above that we can make the impact we do.  Like I have been saying for years, "Together, we can make a difference".  And we do.

Peace,

K

RAH 2015 was a great success!

This Years Riders Against Hunger event was a great success!  We had 70 bikes and about 100 people participate.  We raised $14,000.  The day was amazing, starting with the weather, then the buzz as riders collected.  I am sure more than one rider gained weight on the ride with constant food access at every stop.

Mark Bray won the poker tournament with four 2's.  Last year his wife won, which is just crazy.  Thank you to Air Canada for the tickets, I think their is another Hawaii trip in Mark and Phil's future.

I want to thank the Southern Cruisers, Hilarious Riders and Scooter Trash and BACA for making this ride.  It was great to have the support of local clubs.

We had so many sponsors this year which made the ride a great success.  I would like to especially thank Worlee, Sparta Pewter, Elan, & Air Canada for your continued involvement in this event.  I look forward to next year.

Peace,

K

27 Pallets

27 Pallets, that is how much product we have in stock.  It is amazing.  Last year at this time, we were struggling to find enough food to take care of the demand we were facing.  This year we have been blessed with food from various sources, ranging from individuals to large food donors.  We are able to move our numbers up.  Our Maximum is now 220 families and we are helping a food bank off island that helps 30 families a week.  This is truly awesome.

As of January, we are also making 220 lunches a week for elementary school kids who come to school without a lunch. 

As of April 7th, the diner will be open Tuesdays and Thursdays, again.   We have some new chefs lined up, which should be pretty exciting.

The challenge that we face is financial.  We are exploring various ways of alleviating this stress, which include fund raising and relocating our warehouse.  If anyone reading this can help, it would be greatly appreciated.

Peace,

K

Happy New Year

The New Year is upon us.  Happy New Year!  2014 was a crazy year.  It was busy and it went by at a ridiculous pace, at least that is how it felt.  We made some new alliances that will have a long term effect on the work that we do.  West Island Community Shares partnered with us, which will be a great help financially.  We appreciate their endorsement of our work.  We also had a great year of media exposure, which has benefited us in so many ways, including new revenue, volunteers and even board members.

Our Christmas basket initiative was a great success, even with our "turkey challenge" with Walmart, which garnered us more media exposure, and we ended up with more turkeys that we had hoped for.  Over the Christmas delivery weekend, we distributed $53,000 in food and $25,000 in gifts to 205 families.  Amazing!

Now, we look forward to the challenges and prospects of this new year.  We are ready for the ride.  Please join us, as we strive to make a dent in the poverty issues of our West Island.

Peace,

K

It was a good summer

Here we are mid-September.  This past summer turned out to be a good one in the food bank.  In late April it looked like we were in for some tough sledding through the spring and summer.  Our food supplies were very low.  For the first time in 9 years, I reached out to the media with our need and they stepped up big time.  The Suburban started the media storm, followed by The Chronicle and West Island Gazette.  Then CBC Radio, Global News, CTV News and CHOM came to the party.  The West Island was buzzing.  We asked that Companies, Churches, organizations, and individuals help us raise food.  The community stepped up, big time.  By the end of the drive, which lasted over a month, our shelves were full.  We collected more food than we did last Christmas.

One of the greatest stories involved an eight year old named Dustin.  He saw the CTV news piece and told his parents he would spend the summer collecting cans, returning them and buying food for the food bank.  He did just that.  People around him became inspired and donated money to his cause.  People from Ontario and the US sent him money.  By the end of the summer he had spent more than $500 on food for the food bank.  This was HIS idea.

I changed my mind, it was a GREAT summer!

Peace,

K

Drop off points for Non-Perishables

West Island non-perishable food drop off  points;
On Rock Community Services,  9554 Gouin West, Pierrefonds
Sanavita, in Fairview Mall
Monster Gym, in Fitness City
Le Fitness Loft,  2060 Trans Canada, Dorval
Mourelatos,  4957 Boul Saint-Jean, Pierrefonds
Village de Valeurs,  3399 Des Sources, DDO
BMO; (as of 3pm)
Kirkland, 2867 Boul St Charles 

Fairview (in the mall)

DDO, 3761 Sources 

Pointe-Claire,  6500 Transcanada

3399 Des Sources Blvd, Dollard-Des-Ormeaux (Montreal), QC H9B 1Z8 - See more at: http://www.villagedesvaleurs.com/Find-A-Store.aspx?z=Saisissez%20la%20ville%20ou%20le%20code%20postal#sthash.ra1wPcRN.dpuf

3399 Des Sources Blvd, Dollard-Des-Ormeaux (Montreal), QC H9B 1Z8 - See more at: http://www.villagedesvaleurs.com/Find-A-Store.aspx?z=Saisissez%20la%20ville%20ou%20le%20code%20postal#sthash.ra1wPcRN.dpuf

3399 Des Sources Blvd, Dollard-Des-Ormeaux (Montreal), QC H9B 1Z8 - See more at: http://www.villagedesvaleurs.com/Find-A-Store.aspx?z=Saisissez%20la%20ville%20ou%20le%20code%20postal#sthash.ra1wPcRN.dpuf