#YYCRocksforRecovery – A Huge Success!

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#yycrocksforrecovery, addiction, Alberta, believe, Calgary, community, compassion, courage, dancing, Diana Schwenk, Events, Fundraising, generosity, giving, Hump Day Chronicles, joy, kindness, Kings Head Pub, music, non-profit, passion, Purpose, recovery, Relationships, TLB Group

Wow – YYC Rocks for recovery raised $4,300!

Enough to provide a safe and sober Oxford home for two individuals for more than a year!

The energy and support at King’s Head Pub on Sunday, October 16^th for YYC Rocks for Recovery was palpable. 

Personally, and as a representative of Oxford House, I am so grateful to the TLB Group and its many volunteers who manned the door, sold wares, ran the auction, emceed the event, and who knows what else; King’s Head Pub, who provided all the food for volunteers; the Twenty-eight super talented bands who rocked the house down all afternoon and into the early hours of the morning; the amazing sponsors, the silent auction donors, and those who attended.

What a night!

I mean, how often can you get to see such high quality talent from so many musicians for $10 at the door these days? And each and every band played for free, played for Oxford House, played for the love of their craft – many sticking around after their set to support their fellow musicians.

Tracey, my coworker and I volunteered for a shift at the door early in the afternoon. The TLB volunteers were so welcoming and took the time to explain what we needed to do. It didn’t take me long to hand over the cover-charge-taking and tracking duties to Tracey who is the Financial Coordinator at Oxford House and way more proficient at these things than I am. That left me free to do the hand stamping, free haircut coupon distribution and the directing of musicians and volunteers to where they needed to go. The volunteer door shift was a blast.  One could feel the good vibes that came in with attendees.

Much to my pleasant surprise, my long-time friend Carmen whom I ran into by chance the day before on 17^th Avenue, showed up with her niece Stephanie to support the event. Carmen bid on several auction items, the last of which lit her face up like a Christmas tree when she won it. She can’t wait to take her friend from Montana on a guided fly fishing tour on the Bow River.

Mike Robertson, who donated the package for the auction stopped by to chat with us and was thrilled that Carmen was so happy about her upcoming fishing adventure. “I’ve been in recovery for thirteen years,” Mike told us. “And when I heard about YYC Rocks for Recovery I just had to do my little part.”

And that same spirit of generosity permeated the entire event. I was so blown away by everyone involved – it was ‘community in action’, coming together as one to rock the world of individuals in recovery.

Enjoy the photo gallery below

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And now a little taste of the stage and people thoroughly enjoying themselves on the dance floor…

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

For more information on the TLB Group

For WAY more photos and videos: YYC Rocks for Recovery Event Page

For more information about Oxford House

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What Kind of Giver are You?

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200 words, authentic, community, generosity, giving, honesty, integrity, love, motivation, scorekeeper, true to yourself

Teach us to give and not to count the cost. ~Saint Ignatius

I ADMIT IT. I’VE ALWAYS BEEN a bit of a scorekeeper. I don’t like that about myself. But it’s true.

To be fair, I used to be way worse. I’d like to think I’ve grown as a person during the half century I’ve been on earth. And really, I mostly keep score when I feel indebted to someone.

You know, as in ‘you paid for breakfast last time so I can’t sleep peacefully until I buy you breakfast and then we’re even,’ kind of way?

But the concept that I might keep score, especially when I begin to feel as though I’m always giving and someone else is always taking, is not a foreign one to me either.

So what is my motivation for giving?

Don’t get me wrong, sometimes when I give, it’s from a place of love and compassion. But when I give because I feel indebted, or I give because I expect my giving will be reciprocated, can that truly be called giving?

When I give, I want to give without counting the cost.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

What kind of giver are you?

How Do You Feel About It?

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200 words, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, gifts, giving, good intentions, helpful, open-minded, perspective, tolerance, understanding

Cat Food Is For People – Seth Godin

photo found at http://www.morenormalthannot.com

The above quote was the title of a recent post written by Godin.

He wrote that even the gifts we give others are at least as much about how they make us feel to give them, as they are about how the recipient of the gift feels.

He concluded by saying if cat food was really for cats it would come in mouse flavor.

Truth is, most of us wouldn’t buy mouse-meat cat food because it sounds disgusting, and since kitty doesn’t buy her own food, pet foods contain ingredients that appeal to us.

Seth’s post got me thinking how this phenomenon occurs in other ways.

Like when we view other cultures and their customs for example, we interpret them according to our own beliefs.

Often, especially when a certain custom offends our own sensibility, we want to enlighten our fellow humans with our version of what is right.

If you think about it, it’s kind of arrogant.

When we position our beliefs as superior over another’s beliefs, we lessen our ability to understand and care about them.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

Generosity or Charity?

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200 words, Albert Camus, Charity, compassion, generosity, giving, have nots, haves, joy, love, poverty

Too many have dispensed with generosity in order to practice charity. ~ Albert Camus

I have to admit that when I first read this quote it seemed odd to me.

It sounds like Mr. Camus thinks less of charity than generosity.

I find it interesting that he found it necessary to distinguish between the two.

In an effort to understand the difference, I looked up the definition of both words.

These definitions seem to suggest that generosity is an act of giving regardless of the existence of need.

And charity is focussed on bringing relief to the poor.

Generosity is giving because it brings joy.

Charity is a compassionate response motivated by love and a desire to improve someone’s condition.

Perhaps one could even say that generosity is more spontaneous and fun – a way to surprise someone.

And charity is more thoughtful and planned – a way for the ‘haves’ to ease the discomfort of the ‘have nots.’

Is generosity more freely given?

Is charity motivated by a sense of duty?

Or is the line more fuzzy than clear?

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

What do you think?

Would you say that you are generous or charitable?