The Kraft Celebration Tour Helps Bring a Splash Pad to Wilmot Township!

If you live in Canada, you are likely familiar with the Kraft Celebration Tour, a joint effort between Kraft and TSN which awards money to community projects focused on a healthy and active lifestyle across the nation. The tour is in its 4th year of operation and has awarded $1,000,000 so far, with $25,000 going to each winning project. Each year's tour has four phases - nomination of projects, announcement of 20 finalists (as decided by the tour's judging panel), a day of intensive head-to-head voting to bring the list down to 10 winners, and the celebration tour itself, during which the winning communities host representatives from Kraft and a live TSN SportsCentre broadcast and receive their $25,000 cheques.

Our own township of Wilmot was fortunate enough to be among the winners this year, with our bid to help build a local splash pad. With 14 tight-knit communities and a population of about 20,000 (including 4,000 children 14 and under), Wilmot could really use a splash pad to enable warm-weather fun and fitness for all of our local youngsters, regardless of income bracket. The township's goal is to raise $280,000 for this project, and we've come a long way with various fundraisers already under our belt,  strong social media coverage via Facebook and Twitter and other initiatives. Our KCT win is one more awesome step in the right direction!

The celebration party (including a barbecue, fun for the kiddos and numerous tributes to local celebrities and heritage), and live TSN SportsCentre broadcast with Kate Beirness and Rod Smith took place yesterday at the New Hamburg fairgrounds. It was an awesome event  and we had the perfect weather to enjoy it! Here are some moments my family captured to commemorate the occasion. (A whole bunch more official event photos can be found here.)

Video highlights!

 John Deere & a Jello bouncer

Our daughter swingin' away!

Mounted police

 The live broadcast

Kate in her personalized Wilmot Wild jersey

Presentation of the cheque

Kiddos 'n I infront of all the action

Kate (looking, IMO, distinctly Uma Thurman-esque) & Rod

KCT reps (and an awesome dancing kid photobomb!)

What exciting events or festivals have you enjoyed in your own hometown this summer? Anyone else out there make it to KCT Wilmot?

Disclosure:  I was not sponsored in any way for this post. I wrote it simply out of appreciation for the KCT, the win for our township and the fun event our family had the pleasure to enjoy. Thanks Kraft, TSN and the Bring a Splash Pad to Wilmot crew!

Buy Dizolve and Support Alberta Flood Victims (July 2013 Campaign)

Last month, I told y'all about how much I love Dizolve, a non-toxic, eco-friendly, effective and Canadian-made laundry detergent I had the opportunity to review which comes in ultra-concentrated strips (vs. "standard" liquid and powder forms). I was consequently sold on its awesomeness enough to make the long-term switch.

But Dizolve Group Corporation doesn't stop at offering a wonderful product! The company also donates a portion of its purchase payments to fundraising causes, and its latest campaign has the potential to make a tremendous impact on an incredibly dire situation.

Last month, the province of Alberta experienced heavy rainfall which led to catastrophic flooding, particularly along many of the province's rivers and tributaries. According to Wikipedia, four people have been confirmed dead, 100,000 had to evacuate and 2,200 Canadian Armed Forces troops were deployed to provide assistance. It has now been two weeks since the events took place, however relief efforts continue and it will likely take years for a complete cleanup/restoration.

Preliminary estimates suggest that damages could be as high as $5 billion, and charitable donations are urgently requested to offset these costs. As such, the Canadian Red Cross has set up an Alberta Floods Fund to provide relief to the victims and assist with rebuilding efforts. The Canadian Red Cross is one of our country's top-rated charities in terms of fundraising efficiency, governance and transparency, so donors should feel confident that their dollars are making the greatest possible impact.

So how does Dizolve fit into all this?

Until the end of July, 2013, Dizolve is donating the entire purchase price of every package sold (less shipping and handling) to the Alberta Floods Fund. Yes, you read that right - 100% of all profits. At $12 per box, this campaign could really make a difference. If 1% of the population purchased a single box, over $4.2 million would be donated. If 10% of the population purchased 3 boxes, over $126 million would be donated! This is one of the most compelling fundraising campaigns I've come across - the cause is urgent, the charity is reputable and the donor gets something (very useful) in return!

To make a purchase/donation yourself, head over to Dizolve's Alberta Flood Relief campaign page. You can buy online or order by phone. If you're interested in spreading the word to others, Dizolve makes it easy - you can send an e-card or print postcards to hand out. Or simply pass along the above link or this blog post!

Thanks for reading and I hope you'll join me in sharing and/or contributing to this terrific campaign!


Disclosure:  This is a sponsored post. The company who sponsored it provided me with compensation in the form of product. Regardless, I only publish posts which reflect my own, completely honest opinions and which I believe are valuable to share with my readers.