- ASES (Archie Stouffer Elementary School) lends a helping hand
Minden Times Newspaper Article - Swimming for a Cause
Minden Times Newspaper Article - HAVE doubles effort to install new wells
Minden Times Newspaper Article
The Minden Times – WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2008
1. ASES lends a helping hand
by SUNITA KARIR Times Staff
Being surrounded by lakes every day didn’t stop a group of Archie Stouffer students from realizing that others aren’t as fortunate.
Students at Archie Stouffer Elementary School have been working all year to raise enough money to build a well in India. They met their goal and presented the check to HAVE founder Ron Reid at the school last Tuesday. (Front row from left) Ron Reid, Laura Pottier, Maia O’Sullivan, Bailey Walker, Kayla Gardiner, Emily Shapiera. (Back row from left) Rebecca Risdale, Holly Wu, Amanda Kraft, Teesha Danilko, Kelsey Acorn, Kristina Manas-Chmielowski, Holly Broderick, Rylie Porter, and teacher Laurie Marks-O’Sullivan. Absent members of Helping Hands: Kelsey Brown, Loretta Kerr, Amy Dollimore, Puru Shah.
The Minden students were so inspired by Kielburger that they decided to start up their own initiative to lend a hand to children in other countries: Helping Hands. Through the guidance of teacher Laurie Marks-O’Sullivan, they set their sights on raising money for local charity Help A Village Effort. HAVE was started in Haliburton 26 years ago, and focuses on raising money to drill wells in villages around the world that don’t have access to clean water.
During the year the ASES students organized dances, bake sales and a tuck shop to raise money. In the end they met their goal and donated $1,552.20 to HAVE, which is enough money to build a well for a school in West Bengal, India.
The students are thrilled with the outcome. and presented the cheque to Ron Reid, HAVE chair, at an assembly last Tuesday. “It’s unbelievable what a difference this will make for these children,” said Reid. “You can just imagine a school like [Archie Stouffer] without running water.”
Some of the students returning to ASES in the fall plan to keep Helping Hands running, and next year might set their sights on building an entire school.“it’s a global awareness that you’re helping children in other parts of the world,” said Reid. “We’re all a community; one global village.”
Over the years HAVE has supported the building of more than 700 wells. Reid wants the kids at ASES to know that they have made a huge difference in the quality of life for children just like themselves.
The Minden Times – WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2008
2. Swimming For A Cause
by SUNITA KARIR Times Staff
Theres no shortage of places to swim In the Highlands but one local resident wanted to set her sights on something a little bigger.
Toos Reid and her sisters Willie and Caroline swim Lake Okanagan to raise funds for Help a Village Effort. HAVE started in Haliburton and raises money to provide clean drinking water to developing countries. Toos used this as her "Adventure to support HAVE". Through letters to friends, family and our church community she raised over $5000 for HAVE.
Although her younger sisters, Willie and Caroline, were just doing it for fun, Toos decided to turn it into her own personal fundraiser. She would raise money for Help a Village Effort, or HAVE, the volunteer organization that started in Haliburton to raise money to provide clean and accessible drinking water in developing countries.
“My sisters had tried to swim it two or three years ago and didn’t quite finish it the way they wanted to, so they wanted to try it again,” said Toos. “When my husband Ron and I said we were heading out west they asked if I would like to swim across with them.”
There used to be an annual Walk for Water in Haliburton in early June. The organizers found that there was too much going on in the county at that time, so the turnout wasn’t great. They decided to ask people to choose their own adventure to do any time during the year to raise money on a more individual basis.
”Some people still do a walk. others kayak or run marathons. I decided to swim.” said Toos. “I do the music at our church so I stood up during the announcements and said that we were going away for a few weeks. and mentioned that I was doing this so I could ask for donations.”
While Toos and Ron were out west they woke up most mornings to a calm lake. On the day that Toos and her sisters chose to do their swim, however, the lake was quite choppy.”It was cold, probably about 68 degrees,” said Toos. “It was quite an adventure, quite a challenge.”
Although the women were’t aiming to do it within a certain time, they did keep track and finished the swim in just under three hours. They were also joined by Toos’s niece for about two-thirds of the swim.
“It was the funniest feeling when you finished after three hours of swimming; It was like your body didn’t remember how to walk.’ said Toos. “We were almost crawling up the rocks after, and it took our bodies a while to recuperate.”
As a result of doing the swim Toos has raised over $5,000 for HAVE. HAVE Is well on its way to reaching its goal of $50,000 by the end of August. It needs to raise $50,000 each year in order to qualify for a matching grant from the Canadian International Development Agency. Ron says that this year HAVE has been responsible for 26 new wells. ”This has been a great year both for fundraising and for our partners.” said Ron. “We’re pretty close to our goal.”
Each well that HAVE purchases makes a difference in the lives of countless people. This year they have put 10 just outside Calcutta in West Bhengal, six in Orissa and another 10 in Andhra Pradesh.
When asked if it was hard to fundraise for an individual adventure like her own, Toos said “I have a hard time asking for money but its for a worthy cause. I send out a begging letter to friends, maybe every second or third year, telling them what I’m doing and what it’s for.”
The Minden Times – SEPTEMBER 24, 2008
3. HAVE doubles effort to install new wells
by RON REID
Thanks to everyone’s awesome efforts, this has been one of the best years ever for Help A Village Effort. Various fundraising events put $56,100 in the bank, which allows HAVE to get funding from the Canadian International Development Agency to continue creating sources of clean, reliable drinking water in developing countries.
Help A Village Effort (HAVE) has raised enough money to install 16 wells with 10 more coming soon. The children are are smiles from ear to ear when the helping visitors arrived in their village.
The sponsorship program for a tube well was overwhelming in 2007-2008. The exact count isn’t in yet, but between five and 10 new wells will identified with a plaque to thank the individuals and groups. Tube well sponsorship program this year.
Through specific supporters, HAVE has also donated to a elementary school and eye clinic in Boalia, West Bengal.
The effort of groups all across Canada – from Glovertown, Marystown, St. John’s in Newfoundland to Lindsay and Haliburton in Ontario, and Chase and Vancouver in British Columbia, with many points in between – was phenomenal.
Thanks for the support.
