#RideForRefuge Well I Did It…Kinda

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Alberta, Calgary, community, compassion, Diana Schwenk, Fundraising, generosity, Gratitude, Hump Day Chronicles, laughter, Life's like that, living in the moment, Oxford House, passion, Purpose, recovery, Relationships, Ride for Refuge, thank you, world issues

Post registration, pre-ride photo.

WE HAD ANTICIPATED WARMER WEATHER, 19c/67f degrees to be exact, but in Calgary, it is hard to predict weather beyond 48 hours. On ride day, it seemed nice enough outside early in the morning, but it got quite windy and cold after the riders were sent out. And I swear, that no matter what direction the route took, the wind was blowing cold and full blast, into my face. Coupled with that, having gained at least 15 pounds since last year’s ride, I ended up having to dismount, a couple of times, part way up hills, and walk them.

I can laugh about it today, but another thing I did on ride day, was miss the 10km turn off, so I unwittingly rode about 5km more than I signed up for,(probably a good thing, seeing as I have gained weight), but I took two others with me! So you’d have to ask Earl and Kellie how they felt about me misleading them – sorry guys!

None of that is important when compared to the benefit that resulted through the compassionate efforts of the riders, walkers, donors and volunteers, who all played a role in raising over $20,000 for Oxford House. Practically speaking, this means that eight men or women in recovery, will have a home, and support in their recovery, for an entire year!

I personally want to thank those 20 people who supported my ride – together we raised $1,335! Also, I want to thank the 12 people who joined my team  who along with you, fundraised $5,460 in total for Oxford House.

My team, the Riders for Recovery

(L-R) Diana, Earl, Kellie, Tracey, Trish, Dean, Michael, Leanne, Ava and Pat. And missing from this photo are: Jaidyn, Ziyan, Karim and Donald

Who says you can’t goof around and work hard at the same time?

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

 

#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

We Did It Together – Thank You!

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Alberta, Calgary, community, compassion, Diana Schwenk, Edmonton, Events, Fundraising, Hump Day Chronicles, Oxford House, recovery, Ride for Refuge, thank you

Here are all the people who rode and walked for Oxford House on Saturday, October 1, 2016. That’s me, second from the left!

It was a great day. It was raining and I was soaked to the bone, but they told me that last year there were some pretty strong winds which made the hills all the much harder.

Let’s ride!

Some of the hills were a challenge for me, but I pushed through one push of the pedal at a time. I just kept thinking about the residents we would be helping and those of you who supported my ride.

And at the eleventh hour, a final donation came in that helped me reach my personal goal of $2,000 which will provide 1 resident in recovery with a safe and supported home for an entire year – thanks to you and all the others who supported me!

At an organizational level, Oxford House raised in excess of $13,000 which will provide an entire house of 5 residents, and then some, a safe and sober home for an entire year!

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

Thanks again to everybody who supported me and all the Oxford House riders and Walkers!

Like Oxford House on Facebook

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Thank You For Your Support!

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addiction, Alberta, Calgary, Canada, Edmonton, Fundraising, living in the moment, mission, Oxford House, passion, Purpose, recovery, Ride for Refuge

It means so much more than I can express in words, but I’m going to give it a shot!

On October 1st, I’m taking part in the Ride for Refuge to support a charity that’s very close to my heart – Oxford House Foundation of Canada.

I am so grateful to those of you who made a donation. Your support means so much to me, but more importantly it makes a huge difference in the life of someone in recovery living in an Oxford home.

To date, you have helped me raise $725. That translates to providing a safe and sober home for a man or woman in recovery for 133 days! And that’s just amazing – YOU are amazing!

Let me tell you why this matters so much to me; why I’ve decided to participate in the Ride for Refuge to support Oxford House.

As you might know, I’ve spent the last twenty-five plus years in the non-profit sector, working toward empowering some of the most vulnerable people to live their lives to the fullest. I have now found myself at Oxford House, an organization that helps men and women in recovery by providing a home – a safe place where they can be themselves and honest about their situation. Where they can get support from experienced and caring support workers. Where they can be supported by, and provide support for, their roommates who are taking the same journey toward an enriched and full life equipped with the tools they need to stay sober.

I’ve only been at Oxford House for a little over a year and have met so many amazing people through Oxford House, like John, who made an insane amount of money up north and fell headfirst into addiction. When he was finally ready to take his life back, he found his way to Oxford House where he found a job with way less pay than he was used to, yet allowed him the space he needed to work on his sobriety and help others along the way by volunteering at meetings. To his amazement, John was able to save more money than he thought possible because he was no longer feeding his addiction. John has come a long way since he first landed on our doorstep. He continues to go to meetings, work with sponsees and share his story.

John plans to marry his girlfriend soon and has just purchased his first home. I am so proud of John, and so proud to work with the amazing and passionate team at Oxford House as they help countless other men and women to take their lives back.

So thank you so much for supporting my ride. You are making a huge difference!

Can I ask one more thing of you? Would you kindly share this post with others in the blogosphere or Facebook, Twitter, etc., who may be interested in supporting me on my ride to help others like John?

Donations to this worthy cause can be made securely through the link below – using credit card or Paypal, and your friends will receive a charitable receipt immediately. 

https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/FundraisingPage.aspx?registrationID=3475343&langPref=en-CA

Thank you again for helping me to reach my goal!

Diana

Oxford House is on Facebook and Twitter!

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addiction, Alberta, Calgary, Canada, caring, community, compassion, connecting, Diana Schwenk, dry housing, Edmonton, facebook, home, Hump Day Chronicles, non-profit, Oxford House, recovery, stories, Twitter

Meet Earl, Oxford House’s Program Coordinator and Tracey, Finance Coordinator and Vince, Support Worker and yup, that’s me at the end as we appear on our new Oxford House Facebook page!

See that yellow oval circle I drew around the sign up button? That’s where you would click on our Facebook page to sign up to receive awesome emails from us. And that’s just what I’m asking you to do. Sign up and like our page. You can also find us on twitter @OxfordHouseAB!

It just blows my mind that as of today, I’ve been at Oxford House for 271 days and I’m feeling very grateful to be here. I’ve participated in two events. Arranged for three plaques to be given to generous funders. Developed and implemented a monthly donor program. Sent out a media release for needed items during the holidays. Created an annual report. Thanked countless folks for their generosity. Pulled and analyzed loads of data and…and can you tell I’ve been in up to my armpits in stats???

Yet stats are only what we use to back up our incredible stories and that, as you know if you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, is what really turns my crank. Because stories are what connect us.

Like Janice who told me in a matter-of-fact way, “I’ve been a low-life my whole life.” Heart-breaking words, but it’s not unusual for people to feel this way when they first come to Oxford House.

“I love it here,” she said while we chatted on the phone.

Believe it or not, it’s also something she has to get used to – living in a sober house, free from the pressure of people enticing her to have a drink, that is.

Last year Janice was in a serious car accident that resulted in brain damage leaving the whole left side of her body numb.

She spent a month of her four-month stay at the hospital in a coma. “It was a wakeup call.”

More determined than ever, Janice signed up for a six-week treatment program and then applied for housing with us.

Since living here, Janice is grateful to have a place to call home. “It is hard sometimes, I feel lonely.” But she’s working on that too, having recently signed up for an art journal course and registering with a job placement agency.

Janice is not a low-life. And we will stick by her until she knows this for herself and is ready to move on.

I think we can all relate to Janice in the sense that we’ve all had wake up calls, we’ve all felt lonely and deficient in some way. I know there have certainly been times when I’ve felt that I didn’t quite measure up.

Our stories and your stories and their stories form a beautiful tapestry of our collective human experience.

And that’s why we want to share our stories with you. And we really, really want you to share your passions and stories with us.

So what do you say?

Will you connect with us on Facebook and Twitter?

I hope you say yes by clicking the links above!

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

What Does Home Mean To You?

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addiction, Calgary, caring, community, courage, Diana Schwenk, dignity, dreams, family, health, home, Hump Day Chronicles, joy, laughter, life, living in the moment, non-profit, Oxford House, Purpose, recovery, Relationships, sobriety

As most of you know, I started working at Oxford House Foundation of Canada as their Development Coordinator in May.

Essentially, I am the fundraiser, community engager, the Talker as one of my co-workers recently declared, and whatever else is required to help out when needed.

And I am happy to do it!

It would be somewhat of an understatement if I were to say I love it there, but I’m not quite sure how to say it differently.

All I know is that the people I work with were quick to welcome me to the Oxford family, and their passion and commitment for the organization and the work they do is inspiring.

They make me want to do a really, really good job!

For those of you who do not know, Oxford House is a network of 30 houses in Calgary and Edmonton that provide homes for over 140 men and women who are in recovery from addictions.

The concept is simple. Contribute your share of the household’s expenses and chores. Stay clean and sober. Join the workforce and take your life back.

Recovery is possible in an Oxford Home. And men and women in recovery benefit greatly from the peer-to-peer support they find in each other and the support they receive from dedicated staff who have lived experience, most of whom are also alumni of an Oxford home!

It takes hands to build a house. It takes hearts to build a home.

Speaking of home. It’s been the talk around our proverbial water cooler lately.

Our Oxford family has really embraced the word home.

Because we know that a house is just four walls. It keeps out the weather.

It provides security from the outside world. It gives you a place to be when there’s nowhere else to go.

But a home…

that’s where friends and family gather.

A home is where you can put your feet up and relax.

Home is where you sit around the table, eat a meal together, share your hopes and your dreams, ask for advice. Cry until you laugh. Laugh until you cry.

Home is where you can challenge others to be their best and also be challenged yourself toward the same end.

Yeah, sure, sometimes it hurts, but it comes from people who care and that makes it a precious gift.

Yes, home has become a theme; in our houses and at the office. Whenever we talk about programs or events or gatherings, we think about how to create a sense of home.

What images are conjured up when you think of home? What’s your favourite childhood memory of home? Does it seem  like I’m picking your brain for more images of home? So what? We’re all friends here, right? ❤

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

What does home mean to you?