Introducing Hey Babies!

One Spark is incredibly excited to announce the anticipated Fall 2015 launch of Hey Babies, a new enterprise of our amazing corporate supporters, CCI Studios.  Hey Babies will be an online retailer of previously loved and practically new baby and child clothing, as well as maternity clothing: the site will be updated with quality items daily and the sales/shipping process will be quick, seamless, and user friendly.  

The most amazing part of the Hey Babies initiative is that it will support the work of One Spark - and our mandate of addressing violence against women - on a number of meaningful levels: a percentage of Hey Babies' profits will be donated to provide ongoing funding to One Spark; Hey Babies will provide career development opportunities for women experiencing violence; and it will provide an amazing channel for generating awareness of One Spark and issues associated with violence against women. Hey Babies is truly a unique, inspiring, and socially conscious initiative that we are thrilled to see coming to life!

Hey Babies' inventory will be donated by community members, who in turn will be given a gift certificate to shop on their site.  If you have children's and/or maternity clothes that you would like to put to amazing use, let us know and we will arrange to have them collected for Hey Babies re-sale.  To schedule a pick-up, email me directly at corrie@one-spark.ca

For more information, check out the blog of CCI Studios' Vice President, Heather Lapier:
http://audreysupperstory.blogspot.ca/2015/01/hey-babies.html.

We are so grateful to CCI for this partnership opportunity and look forward to the official launch later this year!!  Stay tuned for Hey Babies updates as the launch date approaches!

Purple Scarves and Supporting Your Local Women's Shelter

Be part of the Wrapped in Courage Campaign by wearing a purple scarf this month.

November is Woman Abuse Awareness Month.  One of the amazing ways you can show your support for women and children living with violence is to take part in the "Wrapped in Courage" campaign, which asks you wear a purple scarf as a symbol of solidarity with abused women and children.  I'm going to ask you to do one more thing.

Please think about lending your support to your local women's shelter. Over the past 10 years I have worked closely with many shelters across Ontario and here's what I would like you to know: every shelter I have come to know has lived and breathed the plight of women and children living with abuse.  The Executive Directors, Managers, Front Line Workers, Counsellors, Advocates, Administrators, Support Staff, and Fundraisers that work in women's shelters are a 24-7, 365 day-a-year lifeline to women and children in crisis.  The work that happens in shelters saves and changes lives, usually with scarce resources, tight funding, and limited capacity.  But none of those barriers limits the work or indomitable commitment of shelter workers to provide safe haven and a way forward for abused women and children.  Similarly, I can tell you that the women that access shelter services are the very embodiment of courage and strength.  But as the "Wrapped in Courage" campaign reminds us: the courage of a woman alone is not enough.  Shelters need your donations, support, volunteer time, and advocacy.

So, yes, wear a purple scarf this month and let people know that you stand with all women and children living with abuse.  And then please lend your skills, time, and/or dollars to your local women's shelter.

Peace,
Corrie
One Spark Executive Director

An Amazing Day

I'd just like to take a moment to thank everyone who made yesterday's golf tournament such an amazing and successful event.  From our title sponsor, CCI Studios, to our Board of Directors (and our trail-blazing President, Jo-Anne Liburd) to our Fundraising Intern, Fatima Amjad, to our incredible volunteers and our big-hearted golfers: you are the reason our work will continue to be done.  Thank you from all of us at One Spark.  Can't wait to see you all back next year.

Peace and courage,
Corrie Schneider, One Spark Executive Director

One Spark Celebrates its First Birthday!

It was a year ago this week - on August 23rd - that One Spark officially became a registered entity and life was breathed into a vision of ensuring that no woman faces financial barriers to living a life without violence.  As cliché as it may sound to say that time flies, One Spark's first year has come and gone in a blink, and yet has been packed with planning, activity, engagement, and excitement both about what has been accomplished and what lies just over the horizon.

Here are some of our favourite year one highlights:

• On December 17th, 2013 the One Spark Board of Directors convened its first official meeting.  We are extremely proud of the dynamic group that has worked diligently over the past year to govern, guide, and serve as the heart and soul of the organization.  Our inaugural Board of Directors includes President, Jo-Anne Liburd; Vice-President, Flavio Volpe; Secretary, Rachel Ryan; Treasurer, Howie Paskowitz; Member Marlo Taylor; and Member Heather Lapier.  Their giving of time and talent is the reason One Spark can effectively deliver its mission.

• On November 25th, 2013 One Spark launched its inaugural Candle Campaign.  For the 11 days between November 25th (The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) and December 6th (The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women), we promoted the campaign, which asked people to place lit candles in their window on December 6th to honour, remember, and shine a light on victims of domestic violence.  We then asked people to share their pictures on the One Spark Facebook page and were so proud to see our page glow!  This year, we are raising the bar on campaign engagement and eventually hope to light up the world on December 6th.

• We launched a drive to collect used laptops for women participating in our programs.  We had both corporate and individual donors generously give us computers for re-use.  We will continue to collect any laptops that are functional...your retiring laptop is a critical business tool for a woman escaping violence.

• We met with potential community partners and developed opportunities for One Spark's programming to enhance the capacity of organizations already doing great work.  We were thrilled to be so warmly welcomed by the Workplace Group in Sarnia, one of the first program partners to come on board.

• We reviewed, finalized, tested, and re-tested program components to ensure we are providing the highest and most effective levels of programming and service to women living with violence.  We were humbled by the work of Greg Zatulovsky and Leanne Ho, two accountants who so generously gave of the time to peer review our programs and make valuable recommendations for program enhancements.  We are also grateful for the amazing engagement of Lynn Bice, an entrepreneur that assisted us with beta testing and ensured we had thought of program development from every angle.

• We laid the groundwork for the very first One Spark Golf Tournament happening on October 2nd, 2014 at Deer Creek Golf Course in Ajax, and we are thrilled to have brought on board our fabulous Fundraising Intern, Fatima Amjad, to help make it happen.  We were also thrilled and grateful that the amazing CCI Studios signed on as our title sponsor.  If you are looking for a birthday present to be treasured by One Spark, this would be it!  Come out and join us and be the spark that ensures that we continue to increase our impact on the lives of women and children living with violence.

• On August 1st, 2014, One Spark officially became a registered charity, which means the charitable donation portion of your golf tournament fees are tax deductible!  We are thrilled about the ways in which our charitable designation will open doors for us to more effectively serve the women participating in our programs.

So, now we journey into the amazing possibilities of our second year.  We have big plans and vast work to be done.  We're excited to see you along the way in all the ways that you can be part of our mission to help women live lives free of violence.  Here's to another incredible year!!!

Honouring World Humanitarian Day

Today is World Humanitarian Day.  We just wanted to take a few minutes to reflect on all who dedicate their lives to bringing aid, comfort, relief, and peace to so many around the globe.  In particular, we wanted to remember those who have paid the ultimate price for their commitment to relieving the struggles of others.

To put this in perspective, the year 2013 set a new record for violence against civilian aid operations, with 251 separate attacks affecting 460 aid workers. Of the 460 victims, 155 aid workers were killed, 171 were seriously wounded, and 134 were kidnapped. Overall this represents a 66 per cent increase  in the number of victims from 2012.

We, at One Spark, want to thank all who so selflessly walk into the crises and tragedies that most of us only read about or see on the news in order to provide comfort and dignity to those affected.  Here's to you, and thank you.

"To be bold, to be brave.
It is the thinking that the heart can still be saved
And the darkness can come quick
The danger's in the anger and the hanging on to it.
We are Love
We are One
We are how we treat each other when the day is done
We are Peace
We are War
We are how we treat each other and nothing more.
Tell me what it is that you see
A world that's filled with endless possibilites?
Heroes don't look like they used to, they look like you do."
                                                         -Nothing More by the Alternate Routes

One Spark Receives Official Charitable Status

We are proud to announce that the Canada Revenue Agency has approved One Spark for official charitable status.  This is an exciting development and major milestone for the organization: it will open up funding channels for the important work of the organization and allow us to issue tax receipts for the generous donations made by our supporters.  We look forward to demonstrating to our stakeholders our firm commitment to the accountability standards expected of Canadian charities. 

Most importantly, we look forward to the many ways that charitable designation will ultimately benefit the women we serve and enhance our ability to assist women to access the financial means to escape violence. Access to charitable funding will allow us to maximize our reach and to diligently seek the resources that will sustain our work to end violence.  For all of these reasons, we celebrate this important and wonderful step forward for One Spark.

One Spark is Seeking a Fundraising Summer Intern

FUNDRAISING INTERN

About One Spark

One Spark (www.one-spark.ca) is a new organization (launched October 2013) with the goal of eliminating obstacles to financial sustainability for women facing violence—a critical component of supporting women’s transition to a violence-free life. We work with women experiencing violence to create a simple business plan that outlines how they might contribute to their financial safety plan by generating income working for themselves. We facilitate the process of registering a woman's business, including covering the cost of registration, provide training on basic business issues, and provide women with a laptop computer and the basic software required to engage in business-related activities. As a new organization, we are pursuing fundraising opportunities and are looking for support from a summer intern.

About this Position

We are looking for a savvy intern to start immediately and work throughout the summer to help us prepare for our first large fundraising event – a golf tournament that will kickstart our ability to deliver services to women who need them and will introduce One Spark to potential long-term donors. The tournament will be held on October 2nd. The intern will work directly with the Executive Director and Chair of the Board to help us ensure the success of the event through securing sponsorships and silent auction donations.

The intern will be expected to conduct the following activities:

·         Reach out to and secure donations from prospects who can offer items worth $100-$2,000 for our event silent auction

·         Reach out to and secure sponsorships from organizations/individuals willing to sponsor various aspects of the event (e.g. lunch, dinner tables, golf holes, hole-in-one competition, etc.)

·         Communicate regularly with the ED and Chair and participate in periodic meetings

·         Share progress with the event planning committee (to meet at least once a month in the evening during July, August and September 2014)

·         Liaise with donors and sponsors as appropriate and steward our relationship with them to ensure their experience with One Spark is positive and meets their expectations

·         Arrange for silent auction items (and other items) to be delivered to the venue or designated location

 

Skills Required

We are looking for a smart, organized, tenacious and likeable individual. The ideal candidate isn’t shy about asking for support and loves to connect with people to create win-win situations. You are professional and well-spoken and sensitive to the important issues of domestic violence. You respect and will adhere to One Spark’s values and are excited to represent our organization to potential supporters. Prior sponsorship and fundraising experience is a definite asset.

 

Location

Flexible. The intern can work primarily from home if s/he wishes. Occasionally, s/he may need to work at or near the Chair’s home office in downtown Toronto in order to have immediate access to advice, answers, and plenty of junk food.

 

Work Term

Up to two months, starting immediately

 

Compensation

$800 honorarium ($400/month) + 10% commission on all sponsorship and silent auction revenue from the event.

 

To apply, please email corrie@one-spark.ca.