[homeles_ot-l] Pete's Sparkle Fund Event - Invitation and Information

Wed Apr 13 14:14:20 EDT 2016

Good Afternoon

I am contacting you to provide a brief summary of our organization;  
StreetSmarts and inform of an upcoming fundraisor event being held to  
support us. What we are looking for is any item donation for the  
silent auction event as well as attendance to the event. Any efforts  
you can make to support us will be greatly appretiated.

Event Description

An evening of fun and entertainment for all with refreshments, door  
prizes and a 50/50 draw...all to support a great local cause.
Performing teams will compete for the top spot and will make it an  
evening for all to remember! All funds raised going to StreetSmarts,  
the outreach program created by Pete, which directly helps the  
homeless in Ottawa.
SPACES STILL REMAIN FOR INDIVIDUALS & TEAMS TO REGISTER AND COMPETE.  
No experience necessary. Performer registration ends April 30th.

Date: May 14, 2016
Time: 7:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Location: Bronson Centre
Cost: Tickets are $15 at the door and will sell out fast!  
(prepurchase:https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/lip-sync-for-petes-sparkle-fund-tickets-24380210867)

To Register a Team: http://petessparklefund.com/team-registration/)

Pete's Sparkle Fund Website: http://petessparklefund.com/event-information/

Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1718106158427395/
StreetSmarts

StreetSmarts Facebook  
Page:https://www.facebook.com/JFS-StreetSmarts-Ottawa-1048830158500857/

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
About StreetSmarts

JFS-StreetSmarts reaches out to the homeless and vulnerable street  
population in Ottawa. We are not a program targeted to a specific  
group, ethnicity, religion or gender; we help anyone and everyone that  
we can. StreetSmarts was founded by Pete Cassidy who was a recovering  
addict and passionate member of the community, in 2001. The program  
started as one man taking from his own pockets while in residential  
treatment in order to serve the people on the streets daily. It has  
now evolved from being a street outreach team to a highly involved  
community organization with many components. As well as direct street  
outreach; we offer peer to peer counseling, community engagement, and  
an educational program. Our program is operated through the hard work  
and dedication of volunteers who have lived experience with the  
struggles of addiction, trauma, mental health and homelessness. We are  
a non-profit agency that survives by donation of funding and items  
from the community.

Mandate

The program’s mission has always been to provide support to the  
homeless and vulnerable regardless of race, culture, gender or creed.  
In building long term quality relationships with people on the streets  
our volunteers role model change and provide empathy, compassion and  
support. Advocacy for those who are often hidden from society is  
achieved through informing clients about their rights and community  
resources as well as delivering community talks, and inviting members  
of the community along for outreach walks.

Street Outreach Team

Our street outreach team directly connects with clients building  
long-term relationship with them. We provide emergency clothing,  
refreshments, first aid, toiletries, sleeping bags, and seasonal  
clothing. These items are also used as a way to approach clients  
initializing the deeper relationship that will serve as a bridge to  
other resources in the future. Often once a relationship is formed  
with a client we will pair them up with a peer to peer mentor that  
will assist them in future goals. Our street outreach team is  
comprised of entirely volunteers and the two Program Coordinators.

Educational Program

Our educational program is derived from the real life experiences of  
our volunteers; we offer many different talks on social issues such as  
addiction and recovery, violence and gangs, homelessness, and abuse,  
as a few examples. The purpose of these talks is to engage with the  
youth in a way that they can relate or learn from experiences shared  
with them. This program is designed to engage not as educators or  
authority figures, but as role-models. These role models explain what  
happened in their own lives in a genuine manner to inform the students  
of the dangers they may face in their own lives, and most importantly  
that they are not alone in what they may be facing.
Students can learn from these talks in various ways. One way they  
learn is by taking away with them what they may have needed to hear,  
such as the warning signs of abuse or addictions, red flags, or  
actions taken by the speaker to get help in their own experiences. Our  
volunteers are very open regarding their experiences and discuss their  
stories in a real life manner by not censoring their experiences yet  
making their presentation appropriate for the age group of the students.

Community Involvement

We inform clients of their legal rights on the streets and participate  
in community actions. For example Street Smarts recently participated  
in the 20K Homes Campaign by leading a team of volunteers to access  
the hidden homeless to be surveyed. We also work closely with other  
agencies to build partnerships on similar interests and goals.  
StreetSmarts will often walk with community leaders and members to  
bring awareness to the issues that the homeless face.

Costs

The base cost to operate our program is approximately 15,000.00  
annually without the salary of the only two employees (privately  
donated) or any volunteer incentives. Our costs include; maintaining  
storage, parking, transportation, emergency food, clothing, sanitary  
items, and medical aid kits. Our program survives purely by donations  
from the community. Without sustainable funding the program could  
discontinue at any time; which is why it is our mission to create  
awareness of StreetSmarts and continue to help those in need. The  
importance of an outreach program is often overlooked. Outreach  
programs are the essential bridge for the gap between client and life  
changing resources.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sabrina Bellefeuille
Co-Coordinator - JFS StreetSmarts

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: poster.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 108871 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://list.web.net/pipermail/homeles_ot-l/attachments/20160413/87f4c98d/attachment-0001.jpg>