And the Winner Is FAME!!!!!!!!

Last week I posted about two young fellas from Lakeshore Collegiate, Terence Francois and Ryan Rahman. They came up to the FAME offices to interview me about the organization so that they could make a presentation about us at school. As it turns out there is a bit more to this than what we realized. There was a small pot of gold at the end of this presentation rainbow for one of the organizations. The students were competing to win a donation of $5,000 to the charity that they were making their presentations on. When they told me about this possibility I never put much thought into it. I was just happy that a couple of really smart young men had made the effort to come up to our offices and learn about who we are and what we do.

Early this afternoon I got a call from Terence. He told me that him & Ryan had made their presentation in front of a panel that included business people, community people, other students etc. He was really excited because the panel chose FAME as the recipient of the prize!!!!! How amazing is that!!!! That just rocks!!!! Congratulations to Terence & Ryan for this wonderful effort on their part. They must have just rocked that presentation. We are so proud of their hard work and their commitment.

Terence & Ryan will be joining us at "simply divas" for a special nod of recognition. C'mon out and celebrate with us! What a special day for everyone.

Respectfully,
the E.D. Christine

Out of the mouths of the babes....

Meet Ryan & Terence. These days most youth seem to get a bit of a bad rap which perhaps isn't really fair. Anyway, a couple of days ago I was contacted by Terence asking for an interview for a school project. Ryan & Terence attend Lakeshore CI and they are working on a project for their Civics class on Philanthropy & Community organizations. I welcomed them in to the FAME office and I met with them late today(Friday May 1st). I have to say I really like these guys. In the middle of this interiew they realized how little they really new about mental illness and the issues around it. Out of this, I found myself saying to them "well....how about you help us (FAME) understand how much youth really understand about mental heatlh....". They were total gamers and by 6 p.m. today we worked together and have put up a survey on line, directed specifically to youth between 13-24 years of age. It was just a small list of really basic questions.....hey, it doesn't have to be complicated does it? We just have to ask the questions, right? The goal is to get 1,000 responses by the end of May. So if you are between the ages of 13-24 years....we want to hear from you! What you have to say is important to us. So if you'd like to particpate in this survey click on this link:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=dKnhwxzkS8esBQPb6rozLw_3d_3d

What youth think is important to us. We need to hear from you.

Thanks,
Christine, Ryan & Terence
Posted by From the desk of the FAME E.D. at 8:09 PM

Shortest Walk for the Biggest Cause

I was recently approached by the Schizophrenia Society of Ontario (SSO) about helping to spread the word regarding their annual Walk of Hope for schizophrenia fundraiser. They actually came to my office and dropped off their impressive posters which say: " shortest walk for the biggest cause " - I like it! Shortly after this I was talking to Marina Sue-Ping at SSO regarding another matter and got to talking about their Walk which happens to be exactly one week before the FAME divas fundraiser. Marina shared how much her and her kids enjoy this outdoor walk each year which is being held in Coronation Park in Oakville. I lightly mentioned that maybe I could bring my kids and join in. For the next week or two after this conversation I found myself revisiting this idea and whether or not I could find the time. Whether it was the close feeling I have to the SSO because of the similarity they have to FAME in being a small, low funded organization or because of the fact that, like divas, this is such a good cause I decided I HAVE TO GO!

So if anyone wants to join us or to sponsor me or just pat me on the back(lol) then feel free.

In sunshine solidarity,

Frank

Thanks to the Partnership

Hi all,
Just wanted to share a really nice outcome that came out of the partnership FAME has with Rapport Youth and Family Services. As some of you may know, the Brampton FAME office is located within Rapport's ECLYPSE youth drop-in centre. For some time now, I have been looking for a place to store extra boxes and supplies that I felt were unsightly in my office. My wife happened to have a tall wardrobe container that she no longer had room for in her Toronto clinic and she was willing to donate it to FAME. However, the piece was a dull colour and really needed a paint job. After talking the situation over with Everton, Eclypse youth staff member, and discovering we still had paint left over from when I painted the office when moving in, Everton came up with an idea. How about having one of the youth that do their community service hours at Eclypse do the painting.

Well the wardrobe container got painted the 2 matching wall colours, holds all my extra office and group supplies and looks great! There you go, just one example of how partnerships work!

Frank

An old friend says hello!

Many of our Mississauga families will remember Melissa Judd our Family Outreach Worker who left us to move to Bermuda with her husband Charlie who is teaching at a school in Bermuda. We were really sorry to see Melissa leave us but we understand that sometime you just can't pass up certain opportunities. Of course this led us to meeting and hiring our beloved Lyndsay! Regardless, a couple of weeks ago Melissa and her family were back in the metro area visiting family and we took some time to meet up for lunch. First thing out of her mouth was....."how are the families doing!". We miss Melissa and her devotion to the families that FAME served and it was great getting a chance to visit with her. Safe journey home Melissa....so great to see you....and Charlie and your two beautiful daughters! After all, it is all about the families. :)

Christine

Looking for a Sound Bite!!!!

I know that FAME has made the difference in the lives of so many families all across the GTA. Now we need to hear from you! We are making a small 3-4 minute clip, directed and edited by Andrew Brown, the incredible volunteer who helped up put our "simply divas" clip together.
We can't do this clip without you! We can film you right in our office, in our newly renovated family intake room (we've got a comfy couch with your name on it!) and we've got a couple of questions we can send to you ahead of time so you can think about what it is that you want to say. All in all, while we may film about 20 minutes, in actuality about 15-20 seconds is what will end up in the final cut. What you have to say though is important and can help so many other family members understand who FAME is and what we do.

If you are interested, please give Michelle Bake here at the office a call. We'd love to hear from you.

thanks,
Christine

Scarborough Office

It's damp and draughty in Scarborough today and I will soon share news of another date in the Scarborough Speakers Series. Meanwhile, we're preparing for 'simply divas' so keep the afternoon of 31 May 2009 open for food, fun and music.

paulo