OPEN for CHANGE GROUP

Click Here for Open 4 Change 2013-14 Meeting Agendas & Notes

Click Here for Open 4 Change 2012-13 Meeting Agendas & Notes

Click Here for Open 4 Change Meeting Information & Notes 2010-2012

Mission statement (purpose):
Our mission is to help others both locally and globally through fundraising, awareness, collections and activities, with a primary focus locally on homeless initiatives and globally through a relationship with Free the Children Foundation and SD 61’s adopted village in Ecuador.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS 2013-14

helped contribute to earning $100,000 for Cops 4 Cancer
collected food for Halloween for Hunger to give to the Mustard Seed Food Bank
raised $560 dollars that was matched by the Canadian Government to donate to Docotor's Without Boarders for Philippine Relief
collected 334 shoebox hampers and delivered them to Rock Bay Landing and "Our Place" Shelters down town
Collected 360 pairs of warm socks and filled them with warm baked potatoes to deliver to homeless on the streets of Victoria
Sold caledars, tea, home made photo cards to raise funds for Free the Children Founation Initiatives
Students continue to volunteer Fridays at the down town soup kitchen

ACCOMPLISHMENTS 2012-13

W.I.N. Clothing Drive
100+ Baked Potatoes in warm socks delivered to homeless
over 150+ Shoebox Hampers created for homeless shelters at Christmas
Calendars for Africa
Cookie Draws for Tanzania
$860 raised through Famine for Ecuador
$187.17 raised for Hospice at Recycle Depot
Speak out for Child Rights Slam Poetry Event
Over $1000raised thorugh Dinner for Ecuador
SPCA Awareness Campaign
Soup Kitchen Volunteering at "Our Place" downtown every Friday
We Are Love Campaign
Halloween for Hunger
16 Students Travelled to Ecuador to help build a school in Bellavista on the Napo River in the Amazon!!
over $100,000 raised through Cops 4 Cancer Campaign with NJ

ACCOMPLISHMENTS 2011-2012

1, 144 lbs of food for the Mustard Seed from the Halloween for Hunger Food Collection
30 students participated in VOW of Silence taking a stand for children's rights world wide
214 shoe box hampers to the less fortunate in Victoria
150 potatoes in socks to the homeless downtown
28 african AIDS angels made and sold to raise $196 for AIDS victims in Africa
Open House & Fundraiser for Mary's Farm & Sanctuary raising $200
rafiki chains & calendars sold to raise money for clean water to Africa
Coin Drive, Recycle Depot and Donation Station raised $2000 for Guatemala
Famine for Ecuador raised $1500 for Ecuador
School Supply Drive for the Compassionate Warehouse...going to children in need world wide:

2 supply bags
57 packages of paper
27 glue
29 binders
40 Duo-Tangs
512 pencils
10 packs of pencil crayons
249 pens
40 highlighters
41 notebooks
13 packages of crayons
2 scissors
28 erasers
10 dividers
6 dictionaries
1 pencil box

Took Part in the School-Wide COPS 4 CANCER CAMPAIGN coordinated by Mr. Norris Jones... raising over....

$ 85,000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ACCOMPLISHMENTS 2010-2011

12 Days of Reynolds’ Christmas…Making a difference Locally Accomplished in 2010

On the first day of Christmas Reynolds gave to the community...

1—Oxfam Goat in a pear Tree

On the second day of Christmas Reynolds gave to the community...

2—x 10, that’s 20, $25 gift cards for Thrifty’s for Families in Need

On the third day of Christmas Reynolds gave to the community...

3— Plump Turkey’s for the Youth Empowerment Centre downtown

On the fourth day of Christmas Reynolds gave to the community...

4— x 41.25, that’s 165 Candy cane reindeer made with our neighbouring elementary friends

On the 5^th day of Christmas Reynolds gave to the community...

5—BAGS of donations (warm clothing & toiletries)

On the 6^th day of Christmas Reynolds gave to the community...

6—x 10, that’s 60, socks of goodies for 60 youth downtown (not to mention all the fixings for Christmas dinner!)

On the 7^th day of Christmas Reynolds gave to the community...

7—x 3, that’s 21 African AIDS Angels

On the 8^th day of Christmas Reynolds gave to the community...

8—x 18.75, that’s 150 Christmas Shoeboxes filled with gifts for Rock Bay Landing & Our Place residents

On the 9^th day of Christmas Reynolds gave to the community...

9— x 33.33 that’s 300 hot baked potatoes (with butter) in socks & mitts for the homeless on Victoria Streets

On the 10^th day of Christmas Reynolds gave to the community...

10—x 100, that’s 1000 + lbs of food for the Mustard Seed

On the 11^th day of Christmas Reynolds gave to the community...

11- 1 Decked Hall and 1 group of Reynolds elves sending out Candy gram messages to & from friends…

On the 12^th day of Christmas Reynolds gave to the community...

12x 4333.333, that’s $52,000 raised for Cops for Cancer

And sung to a different tune... and coming soon... Making a difference Globally

Click Here for VOW of SILENCE info.... Nov. 17th

Halloween for Hunger BIG SUCCESS... Over 500 items of food collected!!

Action Ideas...

1) Take Toiletries or other needed items (give them a call) to Anawim House http://www.anawimhouse.com/
2)Take gently used clothing to Our Place http://www.ourplacesociety.com/
3)Make a shoebox hamper for homeless
4)Make Christmas cards for the homeless
5)Volunteer at the Reynolds recycle depot on a 4^th Saturday of the month
6)Start composting all organic waste through reFUSE pick-up system http://www.refuse.ca/ --they even offer gift certificates...great Christmas Idea
7)earth friendly chemicals/cleaning supplies at home
8)wash in cold water instead of hot
9) Sponsor a Child in another Country to go to school (Guatemalan contact)..Write a letter to Elvia--Reynolds Sponsor Student

10)grow your own food
11)re-use paper
12)buy fair-trade organic
13)don't use plastic bags
14) Put a recycle system together at home to take care of everything...take it to Pacific Mobile Depot Drop Off: http://www.pacificmobiledepots.com/locations.php
15) take no longer needed clothes to W.I.N.
16)purchase from local farms
17)turn off lights when leave room
18)turn off not used electrical devices
19)go to value village to shop
20)random acts of kindness
21)thank people/smile
22)hold a documentary cause at your house (Heather has DVD library if needed)
23)attend a motivational speaker
24)get a pen pal in another country
25)participate in a difference making activity/fundraiser
26)use a transportation method with reduced Green House Gas Emissions
27)turn heat down wear a sweater
28)Plant a Tree
29)visit the elderly

30)Join a positive organization like WWF, Oxfam, TLC, HAT, BCSEA... or at least check them out and find out what they are doing

31)Don’t print electronic information when you don’t need to

32)Use only 100% post consumer recycled paper products
33)volunteer (general)
34)make a donation for a good cause

35)Be Idle Free when you drive

36)Look into alternative energy sources...solar hot water, heat pumps...

37)Donate books to single mom’s with kids

38)Make eye contact and say Hi to someone on the street (even if you don’t give them money)

39)Pass this on to someone else

40)Share other ideas that you have that are not here

What better way to get involved in your school than to start a challenge that will help change the world. Gather your friends, teachers and classmates and take action on one or all of the ideas below. Your work will build communities both here at home and overseas. Sign up today and join the thousands of others who are creating a better world...

Check out this link for the following campaigns:

http://www.freethechildren.com

One of the major focus areas of the leadership group is to promote PEACE both locally through positive community actions as well as globally by making connections through a "sister" community in another country.

Our sister community is through a connection with Panajachel Guatemala.

We have engaged in many activities including selling Val-U Coupon books and Fair Tade Organic Chocolate and Coffee to raise funds to help build a school for our sister community.

Students have also created hand made story books for the children in the orphanage in Panajachel.

Novemeber 5th, 2009 we are holding a "Green" Fashion Show and Fair to raise money to support this community.

There are three main focus areas of the Reynolds OPEN for CHANGE Group:

1) The first one is the Global Connection with Guatemala. As part of this connection, we support a student, Elvia, in getting an educations. As well we have a pen-pal relationship with her. As part of this connection, one of the Flex English classes has made story and picture books to send down to a school in Panajachel Guatemala. Also in Panajachel, we are raising money that is going towards helping build a school.

2) We have connected with FREE the CHILDREN FOUNDATION --Me to We and are engaging in activities such as earning money to adopt a Village in Equador along with other schools in SD #61 http://www.metowe.com/

3) We focus on Homelessness in Victoria Locally with many activities such as collections for Our Place, handing out "potato socks" to the homeless on the street and shoebox hampers at Christmas.

Check out Victoria Vital Signs to see how we are doing with the housing issue in Victoria--Click here

~ Poem by Emily Barner (Reynolds Student)

September 2007

What fear have I that my own life

Will be taken from my grasp?

The happiness that I enjoy

Is creation of the past.

Receivers of my friendship good

As well as I myself

All hope that all those guns and death

Have been put upon the shelf.

We respect that conflict did begat

Our freedom and security.

But know that love can wash away

That blemished war-impurity.

We know that through our unity,

Such hate and fear will cease

And create a haven in the world

Of everlasting peace.