May 2011
1 post
The trip of a lifetime: GEN7 Messenger Mike Auksi...
Here’s a little closure for some of my Estonian Blogs:
“I have just returned from Saskatoon at the 2011 National Aboriginal Hockey Championships. My role was as the Off-Ice Coordinator with Team Ontario.
First off, I have to give credit to the young men. I’ve never seen a group play so hard, so smart and with so much courage. For 12 skaters and 3 goalies, to play 4 full 60...
April 2011
3 posts
Participating in ACTIVATE Three Years in a Row
—By Emily Rowell
2009, 2010, 2011 … three years of my life that I was very fortunate to be part of ACTIVATE Youth Leadership Conference. This forum has changed my life. This is NOT an exaggeration. It’s just the truth.
There will be some among you that surely will say, I am sure that some of you will say, that a week-long forum that I’ve attended it three years in a row,...
ACTIVEZ-Trois années de suite
2009, 2010, 2011…trois années de ma vie où j’ai eu la grande chance de pouvoir participer à ACTIVEZ. Ce forum m’a changé la vie. Ce n’est PAS une exagération. C’est simplement la vérité.
Il y en a entre vous sûrement qui diront qu’un forum d’une semaine, même si je l’ai vécue trois fois, ne peut pas changer la vie d’une personne. Vous, vous êtes des sceptiques et vous n’avez jamais vécu ACTIVEZ....
Practice makes perfect for GEN7 Messenger Michael...
Ojibway-Estonian Michael Mahkwa Auksi is a Hockey player and GEN7 Messenger with Motivate Canada. Currently, he’s practicing to qualify for Team Estonia.
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April 9, 2011
I want to chat a bit about my time thus far in Estonia…my teammates are unbelievably cool…it’s not easy to work a 9th defenseman into drills, especially when he has his eyes on your spot. Same goes...
January 2011
4 posts
My Adventure at ACTIVATE →
Fundraising to attend ACTIVATE →
My Favourite Things! →
3 tags
Fake nails, custom decals and taking risks
Sometimes I wonder why things are the way they are. Actually, I wonder this frequently, about many things. For example, why do Starbucks go by tall, grande, and venti when the rest of the world seems to do just fine with small, medium and large? Or, why do people wear fake nails when the second you put them on your functional abilities decrease significantly. Today I even wondered why I sent my...
November 2010
3 posts
Rêveurs du Canada: Megan Imrie, biathlète
Megan Imrie, de Falcon Lake, au Manitoba, est ce mois-ci « Reveuse du Canada ». Megan a non seulement participé à la première conférence Activate! en 2004; mais elle a aussi représenté le Canada en biathlon aux Jeux olympiques d’hiver 2010. Plus tôt cette année, Megan et moi avons discuté son expérience.
RM: Comment avez-vous commencé le biathlon?
MI: Mes parents étaient des membres...
Canadian Dreamers: Megan Imrie, Biathlete
This month’s Canadian Dreamer is 24-year-old Megan Imrie of Falcon Lake, Manitoba. Megan not only participated in the first Activate! Conference in 2004; she also represented Canada in the biathlon at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. I sat down with Megan earlier this year to talk about her journey as an athlete and big dreamer.
RM: How did you get involved in biathlon?
MI: My parents were active...
Volunteer flashback
I was shuffling my feet along the crisp, cold leaves that had recently fallen from the tree in front of my home as I slowly approached my front door. It had been a really strange day, and I was feeling less than motivated. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but I had woken up that morning with a desire for excitement and sparkle in my day. However, I was given dull, boring, and drawn out instead. I...
October 2010
1 post
A thanksgiving tale of unexpected kindness
I have to admit, although Thanksgiving is supposed to be a wonderful time of family, friends, food, and of course, an extra day off school, I just couldn’t get myself enthused about it. As classes wrapped up for the week, I sluggishly got off the bus and slowly walked up to my doorstep where the rest of my weekend would await me. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy that the weekend had...
September 2010
1 post
Be the change
You know how every image looks different? Each image is made up of different lines connected with one another in a unique way to create a picture to represent that object, place or person. For example, it is really obvious that an apple looks different than a banana. They may be both fruits, but an apple takes a round shape, whereas a banana takes on a long narrow shape.
Someone said to me this...
August 2010
1 post
Youth Development: A Double Rainbow (all the way...
Do you know what I think are really beautiful? Rainbows.
Yeah, that’s right, rainbows. Not that I should have to defend my masculinity by explaining exactly why I find them to be so, but, for the sake of clarity, I will oblige all those who might find themselves giggling at such a seemingly silly statement.
First and foremost, if you’ve ever seen a rainbow, you would undoubtedly...
July 2010
4 posts
3 tags
Rêveurs du Canada: Ramesh Ferris, survivant de la...
Qu’est-ce que savez-vous sur la polio? Si vous dites « Pas beaucoup » vous n’êtes pas seul. La poliomyélite, une maladie virale qui affecte le système nerveux, a rarement été vue au Canada depuis l’invention du vaccin contre la poliomyélite par le Dr Jonas Salk dans les années 1950s.
Dans beaucoup d’endroits dans le monde, cependant, la poliomyélite reste un problème. En l’Inde, par...
3 tags
My summer at Motivate Canada: part 2
My first week on the job I had the privilege of attending the Youth Social Infrastructure of Ontario gathering in Bancroft, building a network of youth serving organizations to share best practices and form a collective vision for the future. I also had the opportunity shortly after to take part in a Motivate Canada staff retreat, participating fully in discussions to develop the future of the...
Canadian Dreamers: Ramesh Ferris, Polio Survivor
What do you know about polio? If you say, “Not much,” you are not alone. Poliomyelitis, a viral disease that affects the nervous system, has rarely been seen in Canada since the invention of the polio vaccine by Dr. Jonas Salk in the early 1950s.
In much of the rest of the world, however, polio remains a huge problem. In India, for example, 741 new cases of polio were reported in 2009, due to...
4 tags
My summer at Motivate Canada: part 1
I was first introduced to Motivate Canada after my first year of university, in May 2008, as a delegate at the ACTIVATE National Youth Leadership Conference. I experienced the powerful impact that came from gathering a group of youth leaders with a shared passion for sport and physical activity from across Canada. With my horizons broadened and my realization about the potential to use sport as...
May 2010
3 posts
2 tags
Accelerating the Movement of Youth Work in Ontario
This weekend, among the snowy nights and warm sleeping bags, more than 80 delegates from across Ontario came to Cedar Ridge in McArthur’s Mills to discuss Youth Social Infrastructure. We celebrated, amplified, explored and accelerated the movement of youth work in Ontario. The desire is to accelerate youth work that actually works. It was identified that many sectors want to engage youth in a...
Find Your Happiness
Have you ever been involved in a group or team just because other people thought you should? Or have you been doing something that you really didn’t like but thought it would bring you happiness? That’s what was going on in my life prior to ACTIVATE and through the experience of ACTIVATE it gave me a new and improved outlook and life and actually brought me the greatest joy I’ve...
April 2010
5 posts
2 tags
ACTIVATE 2010: What kind of book will you write?
I was walking into Chapters the other day and my eyes started running wild. There is something about that place that gets my heart racing and my legs moving faster and faster as I walk. That may sound strange, but give me a second to explain and perhaps you’ll agree with my reasoning.
That place is filled with ideas. Creative ideas by people like you and me, that decided to pick up a pen and a...
Rêveurs du Canada: Jeff Preston, activiste de la...
Beaucoup d’entre nous pouvons monter dans un autobus, métro, ou taxi quand cela nous convient. Mais pour les nombreux canadiens ayant un handicap, le transport doit être organisé des jours à l’avance. De plus, ce transport risque d’être annulé ou d’avoir un délai avec très peu d’autres options pour arriver à la destination voulue.
Jeff Preston de London, en Ontario, espère changer...
Canadian Dreamers: Jeff Preston, Mobility Activist
Many of us take spontaneity for granted. We are lucky enough to be able to access buses, subways, and taxis with little advanced notice in order to meet up with friends or family when new plans develop. For many Canadians with disabilities, however, this is far from the case. Transportation arrangements often need to be made days in advance, are costly, and can be cancelled or delayed with few...
Don't let rejection scare you away
The application process is complete. The selection is finalized. The results are being distributed. But, here’s the secret. It’s only just begun.
There are two reactions that you might have experienced when opening that email from Motivate Canada. One being, a huge burst of excitement, a sense of accomplishment and an extreme amount of anticipation for what May has in store for you. Why?...
The Language of Motivation
Words are strange and wondrous creatures. They can shape your perspective, enhance your understanding, they can define or obscure. They can motivate. History has borne witness to the power of words both great and small. Words like ‘equality’ and ‘tolerance’ have the power to change lives.
And then there’s the words that periodically come along and transform my entire outlook. These words...
March 2010
1 post
February 2010
8 posts
4 tags
When all you see are No Parking signs, don’t give...
Picture this. You’re driving around a parking lot, where there are no empty spots, until out of the corner of your eye you see a vacant space where you will surely fit in. Normally you hate parallel parking, but it looks like you have no choice. After manoeuvring your car into the space, you feel satisfied with yourself.
But then you look up and see it. Suddenly all your hard work is erased and...
5 tags
Rêveurs du Canada: Kara Zakrzewski, athlète de...
La plupart des gens, quand ils pensent à du sable, pensent à se détendre sur une plage ensoleillée. Pour Kara Zakrzewski cependant, le sable n’est pas un endroit pour se relaxer. Pour elle, le sable est la fondation sur laquelle ses rêves olympiques sont construits.
Zakrzewski, qui habite à Mississauga, a commencé à jouer au volley-ball de plage en 1997, pour maintenir sa forme physique pour le...
4 tags
Canadian Dreamers: Kara Zakrzewski, Beach...
When most people think about sand, they think about lazing around on a sunny beach. For 30-year-old Mississauga native Kara Zakrzewski, however, sand is no place for slacking off. It’s the stuff Olympic dreams are built on.
Zakrzewski first started playing beach volleyball in 1997, as a way to stay in shape for indoor volleyball. She quickly fell in love with playing on the sand, however;...
How to make lattes and become an ACTIVATOR
Every day I go to Starbucks to study and every day I am amazed at the baristas. I will be sitting on the couch studying for a test when a person will walk in and order an outrageous drink. No longer are people ordering a regular latte, but instead a half soy, double shot, with extra water, hold the whip, but add extra foam, and chocolate shavings instead of the chocolate sauce latte. The...
4 tags
Attending ACTIVATE: my perseverance paid off
I was walking into Law class, discussing the ACTIVATE application with a friend of mine. As I sat down a girl behind me was curious to know what we were talking about. I explained to her what it was about, and she said that she was going to go home and apply that night. I didn’t dwell on it too much at the time and continued on with my day. A few weeks later, she came up to me and said that her...
January 2010
4 posts
3 tags
December 2009
2 posts
November 2009
8 posts
What Moves You?
Remarkable things are done every day, in great ways and small, by people all over the world and particularly in our very own communities.
Each one of us is capable of amazing feats of strength, will, selflessness, and compassion.
Each day brims with potential, and there is only one small setback on the path to reaching that potential every day. It just takes one thing to move from an idea to...
A SOGO Active story: yoga for the mind and body
Ellie Smith is one of the Day Program Councillors at the Central Toronto Youth Service’s New Outlook. She works in a transitional program for youth from 15 to 21 who have mental illnesses.
The New Outlook day program received funding from SOGO Active with the help of Megan Sutherland, from Motivate Canada. This money has been used to set up weekly yoga classes and a Wii fit station for the...
Rêveurs du Canada: Brad Zdanivsky, escaladeur
English version published below
Imaginez le scénario suivant: vous êtes suspendu cinq cents mètres en l’air, seulement par quelques cordes. Le rocher qui vous êtes en train de grimper se gratte à votre épaule.
Si vous êtes comme la plupart de gens, vous pourriez commencer à paniquer. Mais si vous êtes un escaladeur comme Brad Zdanivsky, vous ressentez un sentiment familier – le bonheur...
4 tags
Canadian Dreamers: Brad Zdanivsky, Rock Climber
Imagine the following scenario: you are hanging five hundred metres in the air, suspended by little more than a few ropes. The granite rock face you are climbing lightly scrapes your shoulders, challenging you to stop fighting gravity’s desire to pull you down.
If you are like most people, you might start to panic, if not give up. But if you are a rock climber like 33-year-old Brad Zdanivsky,...
5 tags
4 tags
October 2009
6 posts
