Charity Craft Fair 2015!

I'm so thrilled to announce that through our Charity Craft Fair this past November 21st we were able to raise $1153 for Pancreatic Cancer Canada.

It's such an amazing gift to give someone, a gift of hope, inspiration and love. Gifts nowadays have become a social expectation and people have forgotten that the true meaning of a gift is the value you place in it (not monetary). I, again, am so grateful for everyone involved, those who have given up countless amount of time to provide their skills, those who financially contributed to support our event, and our community for being part of our event and supporting our local businesses and causes.

This Saturday, I will be meeting with Laurie, the Co-Director at Pancreatic Cancer Canada to present her with our cheque and to learn more about pancreatic cancer with the BC Cancer Agency and the Pancreas Centre BC.

So much gratitude and sense of community from one event.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

You would think that after an insanely packed day and even more crazy week/month that I would be passed out like a log at this time ...nope. The adrenaline of the Charity Craft Fair is still pumping through my blood - or that might have been the cups of coffee I consumed.

When I think of the Charity Craft Fair, I imagine the cliché image of a world with people holding hands together forming a circle. Life is a cycle and in it we have the opportunity to impact everyone we come across.

• The amazing organizations involved this year (listed below) do so much amazing work for the greater good of our community.
• The small business vendors (listed below) that participated at this year’s event, and some annual supporters, were essential to our ability to provide these charities with a venue to share their cause and assist with funding their projects.
• The sponsors (listed below) who provided so much to ensure that the event not only happened but provided a greater sense of community through their contribution.
• The shoppers who came by, not only supported small business and the charity causes but conveyed a message to their loved one that their present was of value not just to the receiver, but also to those they purchased the gift from.  
• And most of all the amazing volunteers, my friends, who have continually given so much of their lives to this event. I don’t know that I could write a conclusive paragraph on how much profound gratitude I have for these people for supporting my mission to raise awareness and funds for Pancreatic Cancer Canada through this event.

And just like the image of this cliché world with people holding hands together in a circle, every person/ group involved was vital to ensure that this cycle of creating a nurturing community continues to go around. It is this thought manifested into an event that leaves my adrenaline charged with so much gratitude and hope for our world.

People left feeling great about their purchase for it’s uniqueness, excited to give it to their loved one, and exuded the warmth they felt for contributing to such amazing causes. It’s a whirlwind to organize but once the day ends, all rentals are picked up and I get to sit back on my couch I end off the night feeling so much genuine love for everyone involved.

Details on the event report, photos and proceeds for Pancreatic Cancer Canada to come in the following weeks.

Until next year, xo,

Maria

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Charity Craft Fair Sponsors:

• Venue Sponsor: Westbank (Vancouver)
• Event Sponsor: AMES Tiles (Burnaby)
• Beverage Sponsor: BC Eye Care (Maple Ridge)
• Door Prized Gift Basket Contributors:
• Cartems
• Nuba
• JJ Bean Gastown
• Scarves by Vanessa
• Grazyna Wolski "Brilliant Blossoms" 2016 Calendar

Our wonderful small businesses:

• Ashley Caitlin Crafts (annual vendor)
• East Vanity (annual vendor)
• The Intersection
• Frese’n’ Grape
• Color by Amber
• TessaManu Photography
• reMzo Apparel
• Big Village
• Amy Tom Art Design
• Georgina Baker Design
• Bespoke Cakes
• Scarves by Vaness & Cards by Courtney
• DnA Workshop
• Arbonne
• Great Spirit Designs

The amazing charities & non-profits in our community:

• African Aids Angels
• Shanti Uganda
• Maya Skills Project
• Tradeworks
• 411 Seniors Society
• Paws for Hope
• Bead for Life
• Passion Foundation
• Downtown Eastside Neighborhood House
• Eastside Community Artists

World Pancreatic Cancer Day

Today is World Pancreatic Cancer Day. While we seem to have acquired a national celebratory day for almost every day of the year, this one is quite close to my heart.

Social media and our alarmingly small world of a network seems to bombard us daily with what each day is supposed to celebrate. Between National Donut Day to months dedicated to a cause, it's hard for every day people to actually grasp what it is that's happening. To be honest, living in a common wealth leads to social saturation. We are inundated with who and what to support, what to wear and what event to attend. It's quite overwhelming if all you know is life here ... but it becomes different when you know someone, especially a loved one, that has been affected by a deadly disease. Until then it seems that every cause is asking for your support and you have no personal tie to anything. And if that is the case for your situation then you are truly fortunate.

Most of us have lost someone important or know that someone we love is fighting for their lives. It really is a first world problem, and something that I celebrate having, to be rallying support or promoting a cause that doesn't affect us immediately.

Today, I wear purple to show my support for Pancreatic Cancer Canada in raising awareness for pancreatic cancer. When two, three, hundreds of people are wearing something in united stand to raise awareness for a disease that has taken a loved one it is a powerful message. Not everyone knows of this disease. Up until the last four years I didn't know what it was until my eight year old cousin Noel lost his fight to this disease. Soon after Steve Jobs, Patrick Swayze and Jack Poole - the man who helped bring the Olympics to Vancouver. So just wearing purple for me is not enough.

Next Saturday November 21st we have organized the Charity Craft Fair to help raise awareness pancreatic cancer and support research. Please come and invite your friends to do some holiday shopping. We will have Ornaments of Hope available and admission proceeds will be donated to Pancreatic Cancer Canada's research at the BC Pancreatic Centre.

It's a life long mission of mine to spread awareness and support research for pancreatic cancer. It's the only way I feel I can carry on Noel's legacy.

Our Volunteers

Median Fundraising is 100% volunteer driven. What does this mean? This means that everything you see from our social media posts, our websites, to the events that are executed are run by volunteers.

When I started Median, I started it with an aim to provide support to needy community organizations that lack resources to hire a salaried fundraiser or event planner. More importantly I created Median to be a hub for individuals wanting to expand their experience whether for career purposes or just to develop their person as someone who wants to give back to their community. Little did I know the funding would come from me for the first two years. Every event put forward meant expenses and I've put everything out for it. You could say I consider this my baby. And like the old African proverb, yes, it does take a village to raise a child.

I lack financial resources to hire salaried employees but I've continually found some amazing individuals who want to give back or have found a cause that I felt passionate about fundraising for. Yes, we are re-visiting our business model and yes, it is my goal to hire someone in the next couple of years but for now I am choosing to write about the amazing people that have helped to shape Median into what it is today.

Our volunteers are very passionate people - and I can say with confidence that I know our volunteers beyond their first and last names. I'm actually quite honoured to call Median's volunteers my friends. It's quite rare to find people in this world who want to see others succeed and even harder to find people who work towards doing so. I have to make this clear as prior to this year all of our event proceeds have been donated and in the most case we actually have paid a portion of the expense. The business moguls out there are shaking their heads but we've valued every cause and connection we've made.

Yes, we are clearly young and inexperienced but I can gratefully say that in this journey of growing we have made some amazing friendships --- this is what Median is; not based on money but on social growth and development for our volunteers and our community.

Want to volunteer? Email James our Non-Profit Coordinator: james@medianfundraising.com

Tis the Season

It's back. The Charity Craft Fair returns this year on Saturday November 21st at the Woodwards Atrium. As always, our aim is to provide holiday shoppers with a socially conscious venue to buy gifts for loved ones. This fair becomes bigger and better every year. It's probably the most fun event that Median Fundraising organizes but it also requires so much work.

The craft fair began three years ago. It was October 31st 2013 and I started thinking about what I would gift for my family. My presents typically included gifts of greater good; for example buying a calf for a village or pencils for a school. I would then attach the slip of paper that said 'I bought a calf for village to provide them with milk for the year as your Christmas present' along with a little trinket. My family valued this more than any set of pyjamas or box of chocolates I could buy them. I thought, I had over done those gifts they were of value but lacked creativity and become generic. Earlier that year we had lost my 8 year old cousin to pancreatic cancer. I wanted to find a way to find a gift that benefited pancreatic cancer research.

I was an avid craft fair goer - always gravitating towards vendors selling beautiful products that funded a social program. And so with this, I called three of some amazing girls I knew at the time and within the span of 3 weeks we planned and executed the very first Charity Craft Fair.

Like us on Facebook to get up to date details on this year's Charity Craft Fair: www.facebook.com/charitycraftfairvancouver 

OUR fundraisers - keep posted!

We are growing! It's amazing and great because when I say growing I mean we have been able to support local charities who do so much for our community; it means being able to support the growth of our volunteers by providing them with experience and most importantly we are growing more connected with each other.

Median has grown quite quickly in the last year and to be honest, it has been funded through events but mostly from seed money from me. Being a founder has it's perks such as watching it grow but right now we are challenged with it's funding sustainability. The funds from the event only provide us enough to put on the event. It rarely accounts for our volunteers to be fed, a basic right of provision for NFPs to spend money on but more importantly it doesn't allow funds for us to grow. So this year we are shaking things up and adding a few events to our roster by planning OUR own fundraising events.

Please mark your calendars, save the date and join us...

• Thursday, July 9th from 7pm -9pm at the Heartwood Cafe on Main & Broadway for Live Music Night.
• Saturday, August 15th from 10am - 3pm  for our #GoodsSwap, venue is TBA. Check out our FB Event page here
• Saturday, November 21st from 10-6pm at the Woodwards Atrium for our Charity Craft Fair.

If you are interested or have any questions regarding any of the events above. Please contact info@medianfundraising.com

Looking forward to seeing you there!

With love,
Maria
 

Join us!

This Tuesday May 26th we will be getting together to discuss this year's events and programs.

If you or a friend are interested in giving back to your community or would like to be with a group of people who aim to provide this please contact info@medianfundraising.com to get involved!

Link to our volunteer posting on Charity Village here.
https://charityvillage.com/directories/volunteers/search-results/volunteer-detail.aspx?id=316828&l=2

A Valentine's Kind of Love

February 14^th has been dubbed by Hallmark as a day to buy presents and whisper sweet nothings to your significant other. It has spiraled to the extreme where singles are now solemnly reminded of the person they are lacking or missing. Instead of rambling about how this will be my first ever Valentines day in a relationship, I want to focus on highlighting the importance of loving yourself. 

When you love yourself everyone around you can sense it. You are genuine with your interactions and sincere with your words. When you love yourself in the most whole way you typically exert as much care about your community, family and friends.  Like being in a relationship, you can take this love for granted. It’s easy to overlook or assume it exists but it’s only after taking good care that you will come to understand it’s value. Here are simple tips that boost your self-love:

 

•  Lift those legs! Everyone knows your body physiology influences your health and of course your mind frame. Sticking to a daily work out routine helps boost your self confidence and decreases chances of health diseases. But don’t be too hard on yourself if your schedule right now is to crazy. Little things such as walking to the grocery store or taking stairs instead of the elevator are a great start to creating a routine.

•  Open those arms! Vancouver is a busy city. Everyone seems to be jetpacking to their next meeting or appointment. Take this time to assess your schedule and ensure you leave yourself enough time to get places. Observe your surroundings, take note of cherry blossoms peaking from their shoots and the moss sprouting from the trees. Open yourself to greeting and acknowledging the person you walk by as they are as much a human being as you are.  
• Straighten your back! The challenge I present to you is to take the time every week to stare at yourself in the mirror. As you stare into your reflection acknowledge the amazing and wonderful person you’ve become and that you are limitless to anything you want to set your mind to!

Happy Valentine's Day! 


 
 

It's a brand new year!

Every new year comes with such hope and anticipation of what's to come. And understandably, for some it also comes with a tinge of fear that comes with aging. This past week would have been Noel's birthday and he would have been 12 years old just shy from being considered a 'teen'. I've stopped to think about what he would be like if he were still around, probably still as mischievous as he was when he was eight but I firmly believe he would be so smart; His curiosity and ability to observe would have developed into a deeper understanding of the world and how he can change things for him and his mom. He would have been so brave to do what he believed to be the right thing - he would have turned into an amazing man.

And so, it is the thought of what he would have become that fuels what Median will be this year. There is so much growing that we aim to do and so much support we aim to provide. The last year has been quite the year. We grew so much faster than I ever expected thanks to all our volunteers and supporters.

February 22nd at 1pm we hope to invite all our current and past volunteers, supporters and donors to our Thank You Party and 2 Year Celebration. Venue is still TBA but please save the date.

We're looking for a new board member!

Median Fundraising is the middle party organization between donors and the organization conducting research or providing direct support to a needy community. We are a non-profit consultation service providing support to organizations financially unable to hire a salaried event planner or fundraising associate. We provide the following services related to fundraising in accordance to ethical standards in event planning/management, campaign promotion and market research. Our goal is to help raise awareness and support research towards issues surrounding health & socioeconomic inequalities that are lacking support. More information on our website: www.medianfundraising.com

We value individuals who are:

Passionate about giving back to society;

Collaborative with other members to achieve a communal goal;

Trustworthy & Reliable with those they work with.

We are seeking individuals with experience and knowledge in the following areas:

-       Marketing/Communications

-       Public Relations/Media

-       Finance/Accounting

Board of Director Responsibilities includes

• Participation in strategic direction for the organization
• Assist in monitoring the organization’s performance to achieve the vision and mission of Median Fundraising
• Assess financial viability and sustainability through participation of budget approvals
• Oversight of organizational financial reports,
• Assist with formulating and overseeing the constitution & by-laws
• Prepare for and attend monthly board meetings and participate in quarterly events
• Build and maintain relationships with external stakeholders including community organizations
• Collaborate with other Median Fundraising board members to assist in raising funds for the organization as well as other outreach initiatives

Expectations of Board Members

• Attend & participate during monthly meetings and special events as able.
• Participate in one major event per year.
• Help communicate and promote Median Fundraising services, mission and objectives.
• Every board member is in fiduciary relationship with the Association and is under an obligation to act in the utmost good faith toward the Association in their dealings with or on its behalf.

Length of Terms: One year, which may be renewed pending approval of the board.

Meetings & Time Commitment:

-       The board of directors meets once a month at an agreed upon venue.

-       Committees of the board meet an average of 6-10 times per year, pending their respective agendas.

To apply:

Please send your resume & letter of interest to Maria Bernardo (maria@medianfundraising.com)

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