On September 21, 2010, Raine Maida was joined by dozens of musicians on the streets of Toronto. This was the third annual Busking for CHANGE event, held on International Peace Day. They set up shop on busy corners, concentrating on the well-monied financial centre, and used their voices and musical skills to drum up support and awareness for War Child Canada. Passersby were also encouraged to donate their change (and higher denominations) to the campaign.
Here's a video I took of Raine Maida, performing Innocent:
He's an amazing live performer.
Showing posts with label social commentary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social commentary. Show all posts
February 09, 2009
Tweeted: Toronto Budget 2009
Toronto Mayor Miller's recent Tweet of the evening: "Budget tomorrow:build Toronto during a downturn:preserving and enhancing city services, protecting the most vulnerable, without a deficit."
How do you provide and increase services without a deficit?
In general the answers are to (1) cut back on other programs and/or (2) increase taxes.
I guess today's announcements on all of the new programs are in preparation to justify tomorrow's announcement of #2.
I believe that social services are necessary and important, especially in a large city where there is a diverse population to serve. But! I wonder if all of these proposed programs are actually filling a demand.
re. Establishing an employment resource centre at Metro Hall. There are many many many employment and job training agencies in and around the city. Some are well-run and others - not so much. Why pour money into creating a new entity when there are already many local ones with the same mission?
Ideally the agencies that fund these programs can perform regular and comprehensive evaluations to ensure that the best models continue to receive adequate funding, and the ones that are poorly run either shape up or peter out. When tax dollars - whether federal, provincial or municipal - are used, there definitely needs to be accountability to ensure that waste is minimized.
Maybe the city's role is not to provide the services, but to ensure that the NPOs running them are up to par.
How can this be done without turning every department into a bureaucratic ball of red tape? That's the $8 Billion Dollar Question.
I want City Hall to be smart about tax dollars. Put money into programs that have a specific demand that is not being met, and have a defined metric system to evaluate if funded programs deserve to continue receiving funding. With an anticipated increase on demand of social services, let's make smart investments in our city.
More info on the 2009 Budget
How do you provide and increase services without a deficit?
In general the answers are to (1) cut back on other programs and/or (2) increase taxes.
I guess today's announcements on all of the new programs are in preparation to justify tomorrow's announcement of #2.
I believe that social services are necessary and important, especially in a large city where there is a diverse population to serve. But! I wonder if all of these proposed programs are actually filling a demand.
re. Establishing an employment resource centre at Metro Hall. There are many many many employment and job training agencies in and around the city. Some are well-run and others - not so much. Why pour money into creating a new entity when there are already many local ones with the same mission?
Ideally the agencies that fund these programs can perform regular and comprehensive evaluations to ensure that the best models continue to receive adequate funding, and the ones that are poorly run either shape up or peter out. When tax dollars - whether federal, provincial or municipal - are used, there definitely needs to be accountability to ensure that waste is minimized.
Maybe the city's role is not to provide the services, but to ensure that the NPOs running them are up to par.
How can this be done without turning every department into a bureaucratic ball of red tape? That's the $8 Billion Dollar Question.
I want City Hall to be smart about tax dollars. Put money into programs that have a specific demand that is not being met, and have a defined metric system to evaluate if funded programs deserve to continue receiving funding. With an anticipated increase on demand of social services, let's make smart investments in our city.
More info on the 2009 Budget
February 01, 2009
Irony
Received this today.
I found it a bit ironic that Saks Fifth Avenue's February "Celebration of Color" promo material has an all-white cast.
I guess all colours = white if we want to get scientific.
I found it a bit ironic that Saks Fifth Avenue's February "Celebration of Color" promo material has an all-white cast.
I guess all colours = white if we want to get scientific.
November 26, 2008
Holiday Gifting and Giving
I know that many of my recent blog entries are on shopping sales and deals, and (somewhat...hehe) frivolous things like handbags and premium denim. But as the holiday season approaches, don't forget the warm fuzzies you get from giving.
A lot of non-profits are quite concerned this season as reports are coming in of decreased donations. During a time of economic slowdown, more and more people will come to rely on the services they provide, so it seems like a potentially explosive situation of collapsing social programs. More need but less support.
In the 90s when the federal government cut transfers, the Ontario government implemented a Common Sense Revolution that decimated the education system, the health care system, the welfare system and beyond. Basically everything received funding cuts as a way to trim the fat. And if you don't have a short memory, you will remember the consequences of these short-sighted actions. Things need not be quite so dire.
What can you do?
Donate! If you can't afford to donate money, donate your time, in-kind goods and expertise.
Especially if you have expertise and the time. A lot of these organizations have people with the passion, but not necessarily the right knowledge to make sure that they are reaching the most people in their target market, and using their resources as efficiently as possible.
If you do have the means and not the time, take care into researching where your donation dollars go. Some of the top charitable organizations are very effective in reaching their mandate.
United Way is one such organization. They have a rigorous process in place to ensure that the NGOs they provide funding for are established organizations with solid business plans, and really just need the money to run their campaigns.
Another organization I support is the Daily Bread Food Bank. Yes, their services are very much band-aid solutions, but they really do provide one of the key necessities in life for those who cannot afford it. Food. For the food bank, I also believe giving cash is the best thing you can do, because they have much stronger purchasing power than you do as an individual.
So this holiday season as you get together with your loved ones, make a day of it and volunteer at a local charity. Or incorporate donations into your gift giving.
My friends have switched from $50 Secret Santa gifts to $30 gift/$20 donation, where one person "wins" the donations to be applied to a charity of their choice under their name. This is a double-win since they also get the charitable donation tax receipt. :)
Happy gifting...
A lot of non-profits are quite concerned this season as reports are coming in of decreased donations. During a time of economic slowdown, more and more people will come to rely on the services they provide, so it seems like a potentially explosive situation of collapsing social programs. More need but less support.
In the 90s when the federal government cut transfers, the Ontario government implemented a Common Sense Revolution that decimated the education system, the health care system, the welfare system and beyond. Basically everything received funding cuts as a way to trim the fat. And if you don't have a short memory, you will remember the consequences of these short-sighted actions. Things need not be quite so dire.
What can you do?
Donate! If you can't afford to donate money, donate your time, in-kind goods and expertise.
Especially if you have expertise and the time. A lot of these organizations have people with the passion, but not necessarily the right knowledge to make sure that they are reaching the most people in their target market, and using their resources as efficiently as possible.
If you do have the means and not the time, take care into researching where your donation dollars go. Some of the top charitable organizations are very effective in reaching their mandate.
United Way is one such organization. They have a rigorous process in place to ensure that the NGOs they provide funding for are established organizations with solid business plans, and really just need the money to run their campaigns.
Another organization I support is the Daily Bread Food Bank. Yes, their services are very much band-aid solutions, but they really do provide one of the key necessities in life for those who cannot afford it. Food. For the food bank, I also believe giving cash is the best thing you can do, because they have much stronger purchasing power than you do as an individual.
So this holiday season as you get together with your loved ones, make a day of it and volunteer at a local charity. Or incorporate donations into your gift giving.
My friends have switched from $50 Secret Santa gifts to $30 gift/$20 donation, where one person "wins" the donations to be applied to a charity of their choice under their name. This is a double-win since they also get the charitable donation tax receipt. :)
Happy gifting...
December 04, 2005
Season For Giving
Today while procrastinating, I was reading one of my favourite blogs, Waiter Rant (http://www.waiterrant.net/). He directed us readers to another blog he came across that has really stuck in my mind. This blog (http://thehomelessguy.blogspot.com/) publishes the words of a previously-homeless guy in Nashville, TN.
Working in the area of the city that I do, I come across the homeless on a daily basis. Sometimes I give change when they ask without aggression, if I happen to have change in my pocket. Sometimes when I am in the Tim Horton's buying my $1.20 coffee, I will hold onto the change so I can drop it into the cup of the guy holding the door for people. But more often than not, I shamefully look past them. And then I will feel guilt, especially if they are polite and wish me a good day.
Now it is getting colder and I wonder how many of the homeless would wish to have their own home and the responsibilities that come with it, and how many actually prefer the streets. It's awful how we as a society often make presumptions that there is always a choice being homeless and un-homeless. There are, of course, those who still see the homeless as individual people who have stories and reasons for being in their situation, and they are active in providing hope through help and compassion. But when is the last time you got to learn the name of the guy pan-handling on the corner?
I need to change my perception, and be more conscious in how I treat the homeless. Maybe carry Tim Horton's gift certificates readily-available in my pocket. It's not an altogether altruistic goal. It would make me feel better about myself, but at least it would be a step in the right direction.
I noticed that it is often the children who can look at the homeless without fear. One great example is Hannah Taylor, who started the Ladybug Foundation (http://www.ladybugfoundation.ca) to help the homeless. I believe she was only 5 when she noticed the plight of the homeless and set about to do something about it. One day while waiting for a traffic light to change, I saw one child, maybe about 4 or 5, asked his father for change to drop into the stranger's cup. I saw another mother physically shield her daughter from the homeless guy. People are afraid of, dismissive with or regard with contempt the things that they are unfamiliar with. I guess it is because children are less jaded that they can show more compassion without having first to wrestle with their conscience.
It takes a village to raise a child (this could be a lead-in to a discussion on the recent spate of violent gun-related crimes in the city...), and likewise, I think it takes a "village" to help the less fortunate back on their feet. When people are down on their luck or depressed, they need support from others to get through it. You never know if you could find yourself in a position where you feel so helpless or hopeless. Only those with hope for a better future can lift themselves out of the hole, but when you are already down in that hole, the climb may seem long, dark, lonely and near impossible. In the past year, people have been very generous and poured in aid for the tsunami, eartquake and hurricane victims abroad, but we also need to look in our own backyard.
Give a little hope this holiday season.
Working in the area of the city that I do, I come across the homeless on a daily basis. Sometimes I give change when they ask without aggression, if I happen to have change in my pocket. Sometimes when I am in the Tim Horton's buying my $1.20 coffee, I will hold onto the change so I can drop it into the cup of the guy holding the door for people. But more often than not, I shamefully look past them. And then I will feel guilt, especially if they are polite and wish me a good day.
Now it is getting colder and I wonder how many of the homeless would wish to have their own home and the responsibilities that come with it, and how many actually prefer the streets. It's awful how we as a society often make presumptions that there is always a choice being homeless and un-homeless. There are, of course, those who still see the homeless as individual people who have stories and reasons for being in their situation, and they are active in providing hope through help and compassion. But when is the last time you got to learn the name of the guy pan-handling on the corner?
I need to change my perception, and be more conscious in how I treat the homeless. Maybe carry Tim Horton's gift certificates readily-available in my pocket. It's not an altogether altruistic goal. It would make me feel better about myself, but at least it would be a step in the right direction.
I noticed that it is often the children who can look at the homeless without fear. One great example is Hannah Taylor, who started the Ladybug Foundation (http://www.ladybugfoundation.ca) to help the homeless. I believe she was only 5 when she noticed the plight of the homeless and set about to do something about it. One day while waiting for a traffic light to change, I saw one child, maybe about 4 or 5, asked his father for change to drop into the stranger's cup. I saw another mother physically shield her daughter from the homeless guy. People are afraid of, dismissive with or regard with contempt the things that they are unfamiliar with. I guess it is because children are less jaded that they can show more compassion without having first to wrestle with their conscience.
It takes a village to raise a child (this could be a lead-in to a discussion on the recent spate of violent gun-related crimes in the city...), and likewise, I think it takes a "village" to help the less fortunate back on their feet. When people are down on their luck or depressed, they need support from others to get through it. You never know if you could find yourself in a position where you feel so helpless or hopeless. Only those with hope for a better future can lift themselves out of the hole, but when you are already down in that hole, the climb may seem long, dark, lonely and near impossible. In the past year, people have been very generous and poured in aid for the tsunami, eartquake and hurricane victims abroad, but we also need to look in our own backyard.
Give a little hope this holiday season.
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