I'd like to start off by thanking everyone who supported our brief, yet very successful "12 Days Of Action" campaign in support of the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation and our local community shelter - The West Island Women's Shelter. 

In the past year, the shelter received over 9000 calls for help through their External Services program, which is 3000 more calls than the average, and they currently provide 140 hours of counselling services per week. This is all made possible by generous donations.

Many of our usual community fundraising activities were cancelled this year due to COVID... so this allowed us the chance to make up for some of those lost opportunities. 

On Wednesday we handed over a cheque for $3,850, along with dozens of new toys that will be donated to the children who will likely be spending Christmas at the shelter this year, and who might otherwise have no way to receive gifts.

It is our commitment as a team to continuously give back. We feel very fortunate to be able to do what we do and we find great reward through service to others. This year is especially important as so many charity organizations are struggling to keep up with demand. Therefore, we are going to keep cranking up the dial and encouraging others to do the same! 

Another cause that's very important to us is our support of the Alzheimer Society of Montreal (ASM). Ever since my father Max was diagnosed with dementia 20 years ago, our family has been actively involved with this organization and closely aligned with their mission and objectives. 

As you know, I'm a sucker for a good story, and even more so for an inspiring one! A few years ago we started to hear about this crazy postal carrier from Toronto who was skating on outdoor rinks in the middle of winter for 19 hours and 26 minutes in support of Alzheimer's awareness. His name is Steve McNeil, and for the past 2 years, we have joined him for his stop in Montreal during his marathon skating tour across Canada. Here is a link to a great piece on Steve that was recently featured on CTV News. 

This year I will be showing my support once again by participating virtually in Steve's #1926Challenge. Along with my 2 brothers, Scott and Sean (and anyone else crazy enough to join us) - we will be roller skating (or roller-blading) for 19 minutes and 26 seconds in the freezing cold - wearing only shorts and a t-shirt. We're asking for symbolic donations of $19.26 towards the Alzheimer Society of Montreal. 

Lastly, I'll be continuing another yearly tradition that my friend Jeremy Rubin and I started about 5 years ago. Each year around this time, we get our 5 kids together (3 of mine and 2 of his) and we prepare care packages for the homeless. 

We did this as a way to ensure that our kids don't grow up in a naive and over-protective "bubble." We want them to see first-hand what homelessness looks like and that people who don't have a home are people just like us who deserve our love and respect as much as anyone else. 

The kids make sandwiches, and we include fresh fruits and vegetables of course. We also add hygiene products like toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, etc. And this year, we've teamed up with an incredible organization called Sock Footage. 

Did you know that socks are one of the most needed and rarely donated items for the homeless? That's why for every pair of socks purchased on the Sock Footage website, including all subscription plans, they will donate a pair of socks to someone in need. 

If this inspires you, and you feel like you want to take action, here's one way you can help: 

1 - Go to www.sockfootage.com between today and Dec. 20th. 

2 - Choose the socks you want to purchase 

3 - At checkout enter promo code: HITTHESTREETS20 

4 - Check off the box to send donations to Jeremy Rubin’s hit the streets initiative 

You’ll get the socks for yourself! We’ll get the socks to donate!

 I want to wrap up by saying that as much as donations are appreciated, they're not the ultimate objective here. In fact, I'd feel a much greater sense of accomplishment if this week's Log inspires you to do something in the spirit of giving back. No matter how small the gesture, you just might find it brings you a genuine sense of joy. 

Help shovel your neighbour's walkway. Buy a coffee for the car behind you in the drive-through. Stop and talk to the next homeless person you see, instead of pretending they don't exist. Whatever you do - please remember that we're all in this together. 

Signing off.... 

Capt'n Mark