The final results!! - (photos to come)

The wheels were well-oiled, and everything went according to plan!

The evening drew a small crowd that enjoyed our raffle prizes and our music. They also loved our caricature and portraiture, and our MC, Martin Buote, did a fantastic job.

Thank you to the volunteers who helped out and supported the event throughout the entire process:

- Amanda Schickedanz
- Alan Tou
- Alicia Ho
- Andrew Mallon
- Angela Au
- Christine Simone, her sister Emilie, and her cousin Sarah
- Steven Stinson
- Wilson Huang


Thank you to our artists who kept the energy flowing through their small, but appreciative, audience:

- Andrew Mok
- Claudia Aguirre and her father
- Groovesmith
- Ivan Hutomo with the "We Are the World" video - awesome!
- Jan Cyril Fundano
- Natalie Kulesza
- Nathaneal Pollard
- Rosario Arce


I would also like to take this opportunity to share with you all the artists and donors who made our raffle so much fun:

- Alexandra Veilleux
- Amanda Schickedanz with the Royal Canadian Riding Academy
- Andy Tsang
- Avril Loreti
- DanCap Productions
- Jamie Lynn Metzger
- Joe Pindi Lalonde
- Nancea Whitham
- Nina Kniazeva
- Rosario Arce
- Samantha King
- Sarah from The Rage
- Terri Segal
- Tina Mansfield
- The Au Family


Now, drumroll please..

Excluding the pending donations from individuals who did not attend the event, we raised a total of $1035.74.

The breakdown:

- $435 from ticket sales
- $388 from raffle sales
- $94.24 from coins jar
- $90 from portraits/caricatures pay-what-you-can
- $28.50 from artisan sales


Not bad for our adorable little crowd!

I sincerely hoped to have raised much more, but this is the first out of many more showcases like this. It was an absolute joy to plan the event and watch it unfold, and I'm sure we'll be creating another opportunity to hold another one in the near future!

Thanks for all of YOUR support. Cheers, and keep giving to our beloved Covenant House! Our kids appreciate every penny :)

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Drumming through with progress

Another local artist officially on board!

I had one of those intuitive gut feelings today that told me to check my mail, so I ran out to our mailbox in search of some goodies. And what did I find?

These!! ^_^



As promised, Terri Segal, owner and director of Rhythmic By Nature, has sent me a Gift Certificate for one of her 1 hour drumming workshops, valued at $250!

And what powerful workshops they are! Terri, as an Expressive Arts Therapist, Facilitator, and Educator, makes it her mission to facilitate workshops so that they allow her clients to grow, to collaborate, and to celebrate diversity. Not only that, but they also provide a medium for self-expression, stress relief, and self-empowerment. The experience is holistic and powerful, uniting all who participate.

Thank you so much for your contributions to our event, Terri!

Check out one of her interactive drumming circles at Buddha Groove involving students from her program. It took place on June 9th at none other than our very own Hart House Debates room - the same room we'll be holding Heart & Soul!



(You can see me dancing away at the top left corner wearing a plaid shirt, trying to keep up our the marvelous West African dancer. GG, right?)

Want an opportunity to join in on a more intimate drumming circle? Message Terri herself to inquire about classes! Or you can come out to Heart & Soul and participate in our raffle draw/silent auction for a chance to win this gift certificate. Come on down and join in on the fun! After all, we truly are "rhythmic by nature" =)

Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." - Berthold Auerbach

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The Birth Story: this is why we do what we do.

I'm a teacher. I make it my business to make sure every kid I come across is safe, cared for, and vibrant in both mind and spirit.

But there are always those who slip through the cracks. Always. No matter how hard we try. And that's the reality of life.



Join us, and join Covenant House in filling in those gaps. We owe it to each and every one of these kids. They are our future. Let's give them the chance to make it a bright one.

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Passion of The Rage

Since my days this past week have incidentally become free due to March Break, I decided to take the opportunity and go on a search for Toronto's local artists. I really wanted to meet them and speak to them in person, and was hoping they would be interested in showcasing their talents and works at Heart & Soul.

As I wandered through Kensington Market, I came across Sarah, the founder of The Rage. Her store sells items handcrafted, designed, and produced by local student artists, or designers who are self-taught (amazing, yes?).



While telling her about Heart & Soul, Sarah was beautifully kind and immediately offered an item from the store to help out with the event. Not only that, but she also handed me 3 CDs, which were compilations of songs from local bands! Pretty fabulous, if you asked me. I was hoping to play music from my iPod between performances that night, and now I can play music from local bands too! This totally makes our event 100% local!

I, of course, took the liberty to check out the rest of the items around The Rage, and the items were so creative and had such character. To check out individual designers, click here, and click here to browse through their online store. It`s full of fantabulous goodies, all of which are unique, thoughtful, and even hilarious. Enjoy, and hope you`re able to pick out something that suits you =)

Thank you so much for your help, Sarah. We at Heart & Soul appreciate your generosity from the bottom of our hearts.

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p.s: The Rage is celebrating their 5-year anniversary (HOORAY!!), date set tentatively on May 29th (if I remember correctly!). I hope you'll head down to 2 Kensington Avenue, Toronto, Ontario and join in on the fun!

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And the poster is complete!

Here it is!



Here's also a more condensed version, should you want to share this image on your own website or social media tools:


Thanks a billion to Steve Stinson for the images, and to Jan Fundano for the background art/logo on the poster!

I thought it would be neat if we took Jan's logo design and popped it on buttons for distribution. Anyone have a button-maker?
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Inching to put the pieces together.

Who knew a poster design could take such a long time to perfect?

Of course, with my dear friend Steven Stinson on hand to help out, our promotional poster is coming pretty close to the printer.

There are just a couple of things that need tweaking (clean up the clutter somehow, fix a name or two), but you can see it now in its almost-live form over here at our About the Event page. I hope you find it pretty, but of course above all things, I hope you find it effectively informative!

I've also added an About the Cause page, because without the cause, there would be no Heart & Soul showcase. No, ladies and gentlemen. It is important that you read up on our charity of choice for the evening of May 1st, so please meander over here and inform yourself about why you MUST come out on May 1st.

Our kids and their lives are at stake.

Let's put it all together, for them.
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The web launch...

...has just kicked off!

The site is under construction as you can tell, so please bear with us. It will look more presentable soon =)

Cheers for now!
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