♪♪♫♫ If you go down to the woods today…

I saw the piece on Citytv with me last Friday night. It was pretty good I thought, even though the cameraman thought I was joking when I asked him to get on my ‘good side.’ The best part of the segment was when Verna Mai from Cancer Care Ontario stated on air that I should never have been denied a mammogram when I had a Doctor’s note; that everyone who has a suspicion is eligible to get a mammogram, regardless of their age. Her saying that vindicated my whole initiative on informing others what I went through in the early stages of my discovery. That is what I wanted out of it; for someone to say I shouldn’t have been turned away. And it was said on the 6 o’clock news. Thanks Citytv! You helped me accomplish that goal, and it didn’t take a long time to get that message out there. Mission: accomplished.

So, next!!! Now I’m on a roll! I’ve come up with a new fun initiative; I’m going to host a Teddy Bear Picnic to benefit the cancer ward at Sick Kid’s hospital. I remember being young and going to one at Harbourfront downtown Toronto with my Gran and my brother. I remember my teddy won a big blue 2nd place ribbon for the biggest bear contest. I still have that ribbon – and that bear! But I haven’t heard of such an event since I was young. I plan on changing that.

Not one to sit on my laurels, I’ve already rented out the park where I want to hold it (a huge venue that can accommodate hundreds), I’ve set the date (August 30th) and now it’s simply a matter of sponsorship and planning. Basically, the concept is as follows: families will come out for the day with their teddy bears to participate in a bunch of different activities, such as bouncy castles, inflatable slides, a dunk tank, relay races, egg/spoon races, 3-legged races, some carnival type games (think ring toss) and of course a barbeque with burgers, hot dogs, etc. and other treats, like a popcorn cart and sno-cone machine. There will be face-painting and crafts, as well as teddy bear judging contests, and an opportunity to purchase a bear for a child who is at Sick Kid’s, along with a card that they can make to send with the bear. It’ll possibly teach kids about giving back and sharing in a gentle, non-scary kind of way. My friend also suggested setting up a teddy bear clinic where kids can bring their bear for a check up, and maybe get a hole mended if needed. How cute! :D The charge will be nominal, but it’ll be enough to have a fun day and benefit the hospital. I’m pretty stoked about this as I do think we’ll see a huge turnout, especially with ‘the network’ getting involved. My sphere of influence is mostly personality type A, so I imagine this will be executed well and with a lot of support and help. I’m planning on contacting the Girl Guides association to see about getting a whole bunch of volunteers to help, in exchange for some type of merit/volunteer badge. I’m inviting the Big Brothers/Sisters clubs as well as other similar organizations. I’m currently talking to a party rental place to see about getting the inflatable equipment donated in exchange for sponsorship perks. I’m going to have a website created, and of course flyers and media press releases, all in due time. I have friends who know people too, so we’re now figuring out our game plan on who we’d like to get to sponsor the food aspect and all the other supplies we’ll need to pull this off. Firstly, I’m still awaiting approval from the City on my creative concept as there is so much red tape surrounding what you can and can’t do in a public park. Once I get that, it’s full speed ahead! Feel free to contact me at kellysjourney@yahoo.ca with any ideas you have or suggestions/contacts for sponsorship. I really do think this’ll be huge; I’m sure it’ll get press and I have no doubt it’ll turn into an annual event. I’ll also have a website built for this specifically. Get on board now! :D

My goal is to raise $10k for the hospital. If you wonder why I’m doing this for Sick Kid’s as opposed to Princess Margaret, I’ve mentioned here previously that SK is very close to my heart as my brother spent time there as a kid, and they were so good to him and my family. I’ve to date raised almost $5k for the Weekend to End Breast Cancer, so why not help out two great hospitals simultaneously right? I’m really excited about this as I know that it’ll be so much fun not only to plan it, but to see all the kids enjoying themselves, and knowing I helped with that. You can too, just contact me and let me know how you’d like to be involved. We’ll hold an event that will be so much fun for the community while helping out an amazing hospital, how great is that?!