Results tagged “charities”

Toronto comedian and activist Derek Forgie got inspired to start Heterosexuals for Same-Sex Equality (HSSE)—a gay-rights group founded by people who identify as straight—from the unlikliest source: 100 Huntley Street. On a particular episode in 2003, the hosts and guests were denouncing gay marriage seemingly on the behalf of all straight married couples in Canada. "I didn’t feel this was a fair representation of my country," Forgie says, "and I vowed to prove it in numbers."

All signs pointed to ice cream. But for some strange reason, our invitation to the Barenaked Ladies' mysterious press conference (held at the top of the CN Tower, we might add) left us in the dark. The banner-dragging bird, the sky-blue background peppered with white clouds and bubble letters—everything about the e-vite seemed eerily familiar. But it took Ed Robertson's unveiling of a giant tub of Ben & Jerry's ice cream—called "If I had 1,000,000 Flavours"—for us to finally clue in.

Tea, cupcakes, crafts, and folk music are always a relaxing and satisfying combination on a weekend afternoon. But this Sunday at the Resistor Gallery on College Street, they're also a way to bolster a good cause. The Hibiscus and Rosehips collective, spearheaded by local folk songstress Erin Lang, will be providing a feast for your tongue, ears, and eyes with a family-friendly tea party, bake sale, art show, and live music performance in support of the Hibiscus Fund for Hope, which helps cancer patients and their families.

...But they do want your lunch money. On Thursday, February 26, Second Harvest volunteers will be at TTC stations asking Torontonians to donate the money they’d normally spend on lunch to help feed the hungry in our city. The campaign is in its eleventh year, so most TTC riders are familiar with it, but in the morning rush there is little time to stop and find out what Second Harvest is all about.

Erin Bury and Sarah Prevette have had a very long month. The two women were the chief organizers behind the Toronto version of Twestival benefiting charity: water, which builds wells in impoverished nations. The event, held last Thursday at CiRCA, included live video streaming of Twestival parties from around the world; a community fair that showcased organizations that were, according to Prevette, "harnessing social media for social good"; and three rooms for dancing, networking, and photograph-taking.

If you're an animal lover, the December fire that ravaged the Durham Region Humane Society's shelter, killing more than one hundred and fifty animals, probably broke your heart. Now, more than a month later, the organization still has no facility and is virtually inoperable without one.

One month after its launch, War Child Canada's latest multi-media campaign, Help Child Soldiers, continues to actively make itself visible on downtown streets. With a fresh smattering of posters spotted on Queen Street West (at McCaul Street) this past Sunday, the recent resurgence in the street-level marketing is an attempt to further educate and engage pedestrians. According to War Child Canada Director of Marketing James Topham, it's working. "We've had a record number of seventy volunteer offers in just one week," says Topham. "The television spot has been extended into January, but the posters add a new dimension, especially now that students are returning for school."

Photo by hyfen from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

Photo by John-Morgan.

Photo courtesy of Chris McDonald.

Photo by Squeakyrat from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

ART: Take a trip to another world, experience its history, and be back in time for last call. Artist Andrew Wilson's first solo exhibition, "A World's History," features sketches and paintings of imagined landscapes. Think of it as Richard Scarry's "Busy Busy World" meets David Cronenberg, on magic mushrooms. Magic Pony (649 Queen Street West), 7–10 p.m., FREE, exhibition runs until November 30.

Photo by bigdaddyhame from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

                  

Yesterday more than fifty musicians came out onto Toronto's streets to busk in support of War Child's Busking for Change event. Despite intermittent downpours, the performers were entertaining small and enthusiastic crowds—and many passersby seemed surprised when they realized the busker they were passing was actually Brian Melo or Chantal Kreviazuk. With more publicity, Busking for Change could become a must-see annual event.

June is a great time to get a little prideful. Tuesday was the fifth anniversary of legalized same-sex marriages in Ontario, and Pride Toronto kicks off next Friday and runs until Sunday, June 29. (Keep an eye on Torontoist for full details on the Pride to-do list.) In the meantime, it might be a good idea to get in some exercise. Don't take it personally: it's to prep for the 5K Pride and Remembrance Run happening on the morning of Saturday, June 28. Torontoist caught up with runner John Ainey to get the scoop on the Run.

A ten-year-old Toronto girl with a lemonade stand is more than three-quarters of the way to raising $100,000 for heart and stroke research. For purposes of comparison, when I was ten years old, I really liked riding my bike.

Raising awareness for Sunnybrook's Underwear Affair, a group of daring individuals dressed in underwear-based costumes—makeshift superheroes if you will—entered Union Station's Great Hall during rush hour, and froze in place for five minutes, as home-bound commuters rushed by, doing double-takes all the way.

It is, right now, just after midnight. It is very, very, very cold outside. And Ryerson's Engineering Student Society is currently in the thirteenth hour of shoving a Volkswagen Beetle around their quad, with more than ten very, very cold hours left to go.

The final lineup for the benefit concert for the O'Keefe family has been announced. Organized by Andrew Copland—John O'Keefe's close friend and the Duke of Gloucester's head bartender—the concert aims both to honour John O'Keefe, who was killed walking home from the bar a month and a half ago, and to raise money for an education fund for John's son, Iain.

Last week’s fire on Queen West didn’t only destroy some of the neighbourhood’s best stores; it also put the dozens of people who lived in apartments above the shops out of a home. Some of these folks didn’t have insurance and lost most of their possessions. Many of the artists who lived in the buildings lost their work, and thus their source of income.

Keri and Charity are two residents who lost everything on Wednesday morning. By that afternoon, a Facebook group (called Ker-ity) had already been set up with the sole purpose of helping them replace what was lost. Torontoist was alerted to the efforts by Erin Dermo, Managing Director of The Ten Spot (less than a block away from the blaze), who has been approaching local businesses to see if they can donate anything that might help. So far, aside from The Ten Spot’s own contributions, nearby businesses like Heel Boy (yes, they donated shoes), The Bier Markt, and Brazen Hussy have all been very generous with much-needed items and gift certificates. The coordinators of the drive (including Dermo and yoga instructor Caren Cooper of Jivita Yoga) are accepting clothing, shoes, and gift certificates at Essensuals Salon (678 Queen Street West). They're also asking for people who have any household items to offer to hang onto them until a storage space or apartment can be found. Don't have any stuff to give? Hey, money always helps—they're accepting Paypal donations at donations@kerity.ca and they'll also be opening a TD Canada Trust account in the next day or so. Check the Facebook group for further details.

It's been a little over a month since John O'Keefe was killed outside the Brass Rail, walking to the subway from the Duke of Gloucester. While the makeshift memorial outside the Rail is gone now, the man it was for is far from forgotten––by friends, family, or city.

Torontoist is ending the year by naming our Heroes and Villains of 2007––the people, places, and things that we've either fallen head over heels in love with or developed uncontrollable rage towards over the past twelve months. Get your dose, starting Boxing Day and running into the new year, three times a day––sunrise, noon, and sunset.

In every neighbourhood there is one dude who goes a bit overboard with the Christmas lights. It's the stuff of bad Christmas movies. But few go quite as far as the Lindsay family, who seem to be trying their best to outdo the ZooTV tour.

Still missing some gifts on your holiday list? Here's a last-minute suggestion: the 2008 Toronto Fire Fighter Calendar. What better way to suffer a snow storm than with the company of 12 buff do-gooders? In addition, proceeds go to Princess Margaret Hospital to benefit the Fire Fighters' Cancer Research Fund. We caught up with Mr. July himself, Drew Foote, at a autograph signing at the Bay on Yonge Street this afternoon.

A new poll shows that the majority of Canadians will call the cops on you if your party is too loud. Thus proving once and for all that we are a nation of killjoys.

You may remember our coverage of the excellent Vice film Heavy Metal in Baghdad. A documentary following the Iraqi heavy metal band Acrassicauda, we reviewed it at TIFF and called it “one of our top films of the festival” before interviewing one of the directors, Suroosh Alvi.

The Hidden Cameras are back home, and we are all better off for it.

In an age of hipster irony and shirts to match, the Joy T-Shirt Project and its slogan, "Wear the World on Your Heart," seem impossibly sincere. But the "we're all connected" paradigm rings true: each shirt features the face of a real person—not Paris or Perez, but Sonya from Toronto or Sabry from Algeria, or one of over a hundred others in the online catalogue—hand-drawn and silk-screened over the wearer's heart. "It's more than just...

Continuing a historic tradition of corporately sponsored holiday cheer, the 35-foot "Swarovski Crystal Wish Tree" was formally unveiled last night at the Eaton Centre. The star-studded event––a Children’s Wish Foundation fundraiser hosted by Justin Trudeau (yes, the Justin Trudeau)––drew a sizeable crowd of shoppers. Very few members of the audience seemed to actually know what they were lining up to see, though, as the tree was hidden by an enormous curtain for the better part...