Karen Shank Foundation

August 7th, 2008 - Volunteer Day: Charity Ride

On August 17th, the Karen Shank Foundation will be assisting Erinoak Kids in their Motorcycle Charity Ride. Volunteers will be asked to help welcome and register riders, and to assist with marshalling and organizing riders for departure. Riders will be supporting Erinoak Kids in its’ quest to help all children achieve the best quality of life they can. They also help the child’s family as they cope with the special needs of their child. Please contact Hazlon Schepmyer hazlon@karenshankfoundation.org, our volunteer co-ordinator for more information.

October 25th, 2008 - 4th Annual Indoor Volleyball Tournament

October 25th is the date to remember! We hope to see you at Mentor College for our 4th Annual Indoor Tournament. We will once again be hosting competition levels of Intermediate 6’s and Recreational 6’s. Registration is $240 with the added incentive for half of your registration fee to be refunded if you raise an amount equal to or more than the registration fee.

A lunch BBQ will be available on site. Last year, over 20 teams competed and helped to raise $7,000 for Halton Women’s Place. Once again, our goal is to maintain our standing as a Safe Shelter Sponsor with Halton Women’s Place. With our donation, this allows a room at the shelter to remain open for the year. Our added goal this year is to reach our $50,000 donation milestone. Stay tuned for more details.

June 7th - SPIKE OUT HUNGER Beach Volleyball Tournament

Our 3rd annual SPIKE OUT HUNGER Beach Volleyball Tournament was held on Saturday June 7th 2008. On a steamy day in Vaughan, a competitive and entertaining day was had by all. Thanks to the wonderful turnout of players and volunteers, the Karen Shank Foundation was able to achieve the following:

Through the generosity of players, donors and the local business community, we presented a cheque to Eden Community Food Bank for $6,500.00. With these funds, Eden plans to purchase an industrial freezer to match the fridge they were able to purchase from last summer’s fundraiser. This will be highly successful in allowing them to store and save more perishable items, such as fruits and vegetables, so that they may reach those who need them the most.

Another success of our tournament this year was our Spike Out Hunger Challenge. Participants in our event helped collect a mini-van full of food for the University of Toronto: Mississauga Campus Food Bank. In addition, the Karen Shank Foundation presented the Food Bank with $700.00 from raffle sales. Please check out our pictures!

December 2007 - Halton Women's Place Holiday Hamper Days

On Saturday December 8th and Saturday December 15th, the Karen Shank Foundation hosted its 2007 Halton Women's Place Holiday Hamper Days. A remarkable group of almost 40 volunteers worked tirelessly for over 8 hours to sort, wrap, organizer and deliver hampers. It was a wonderful show of community support that included groups of friends and family.

October 20, 2007 - 3rd Annual Volleyball Tournament and Dinner

The Karen Shank Foundation hosted its 3rd Annual Volleyball Tournament and dinner at Mentor College on October 20th, 2007. Thanks to tremendous support from our sold-out event, $7,000 was donated to Halton Women's Place, which goes towards the Safe Shelter Campaign to sponsor a bedroom in their shelter for the next year. Pictures are available online.

September 15, 2007 - Annual General Meeting

On Saturday September 15th the Karen Shank Foundation held its 2nd annual general meeting. Following this meeting volunteers and board of directors enjoyed a volunteer appreciation BBQ.

August 19, 2007 - Halton Womens Place Volunteer Day

20 dedicated volunteers from the Karen Shank Foundation gave their Sunday afternoon to help the Halton Women's Place with a special project. HWP is opening a second-hand store in Burlington and needed a small army to sort the bags and bags of used items donated by the community. After a few hours of hard work mixed in with a lot of laughter and fellowship, donations were sorted, bagged and loaded onto a moving truck for delivery to the new store. Several of our volunteers made the day a family event by bringing their moms, sisters or children.

Check out HWP's new store, The Next Step, located at 484 Plains Road East, Unit #7 in Burlington.

June 16, 2007 - 2nd Annual Beach Volleyball Tournament

Thanks to everyone who participated in our Beach Volleyball Tournament this past weekend. Through your support, pledges and donations, we were able to raise $9000 for the Eden Community Food Bank! This event couldn't have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors, volunteers and participants.

Pictures from the event are online! You can view them here.

May 12, 2007 - COPING Centre Cleanup Day

The volunteers put in a long day of work painting, gardening, clearing brush, and cleaning to help out this worthy organization. In the end, the volunteers are tired but have had a fun day of volunteering with their friends. Part of the Karen Shank Foundation's mission is to develop a sense of activism in the community, and this community volunteer day fits that goal very well.

COPING is an organization that provides free grief counseling services to those who have lost a loved one. More information is available at copingcentre.com. Pictures from this event are online here.

December, 2006 - Halton Women's Place Holiday Hamper

The Karen Shank Foundation and a group of dedicated volunteers gave 85 hours of their time to assist with the Holiday Hamper program. This program provided a special Christmas to 250 women and their children by filling out their wish lists and giving them a Christmas that would not otherwise have been possible. Pictures from this event are online here.

November 4, 2006 - 2nd Annual Indoor Volleyball Tournament and Dinner

This sold-out court volleyball tournament in support of the Canadian Red Cross brought out 16 teams for a competitive day of volleyball. Through the efforts of our many participants, $5,500 was raised for local disaster relief. The day ended with a gourmet meal at Gabriel's Restaurant, a slide show of the day's highlights, and a lively raffle. Photos from the event are online here.

October 22, 2006 - Self Defense Class

Linda Langerak, founder of RAVEN self defense, taught a 3-hour, fully participative women's self defense course with 100% of the registration fees going to Halton Women's Place. Those who attended the class learned vital moves to help them not only avoid potentially dangerous situations but to help them defend themselves in the event of an attack. Pictures from this event are online here.

July 29, 2006 - Beach Volleyball Tournament

The brand new courts at Village Oasis were the perfect spot for our first beach volleyball tournament. The venue was animated with a full set of teams competing for top prizes, vendors handing out refreshing freebies, participants enjoying the great food from the restaurant, and many taking home fantastic raffle prizes. Thanks to our dedicated players, $6,500 was donated to Halton Women's Place to sponsor a bedroom in one of their shelters. Pictures from the event are available here.

May 6, 2006 - COPING Centre Clean Up Day

Everything can be made fun with a little help from your friends! 7 hearty volunteers from the Karen Shank Foundation put their hearts and backs into helping the COPING Centre with its annual spring clean-up day in Cambridge. COPING is Caring for Other People in Grief, an organization that helps hundreds of people dealing with the loss of a loved one through its free support groups and grief counseling. Several hours were spent painting, clearing brush, gardening and otherwise making a direct impact on the physical grounds of this important facility. Pictures from this event are online here.

November 5, 2005 - Volleyball Tournament and Dinner

The first Karen Shank Foundation event was a court volleyball tournament and a gourmet dinner at Gabriel's Restaurant. This inaugural event raised $6,700 for the Canadian Red Cross local disaster relief and set the standard for all other events to follow. Photos from the day and evening are online here.