Tuesday, December 22, 2015

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

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

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

Thursday, March 26, 2015

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

Monday, January 12, 2015

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