Today my daughter Kyrsti was very happy that I chose not to maintain septic tanks for a living.
Instead she had the opportunity of a lifetime....
to sit in on an executive meeting for Hair Massacure with the president of Make-A-Wish (Bruce Bevan), Executive Director of Make-A-Wish (Cathy Gabucci), C.E.O of Ronald McDonald House (Larry Mathieson - who I met for the first time and is very nice btw), Brian Shea (V.P Corporate Giving Stollery), and last but not least - Jaime Caza (C.R. for McDonald's Restaurants of Northern AB), and Lize her wonderful assistant (who also brought her daughter to work).
I am most proud of this day as it proved that my vision years back was real - charities CAN work together collaboratively.
It also proved that short people are not to be reckoned with. By that, I am referring to Jaime.
She is really the unsung hero here and would blush if I told her so.
Jaime Caza and I met in 2006 when I was looking for a sponsorship to feed our volunteers.
That year we got cheeseburgers.
The following year, we moved up in the world and received some Big Macs and Quarter Pounders.
Moving on, we received a varied menu with a sample of nearly everything McDonalds has to offer.
Meanwhile Jaime and I became well acquainted due to the meetings around the needs of the event.
I quickly realized this woman (of my height) was going to be friend.
I did not realize that I would eventually learn that she too had a child with a life threatening illness.
She became a wish mom, and I the Wish Granter for her daughter. I learned that we share quite a lot in common and life has not been the same since I met her.
Jaime has had a soft spot for the Massacure for years now, her wheels constantly turning with regards to how she can better support us through her job and connections.
In 2007, Jaime inspired and created "Team Hope" who raised 25,000 for HM. Her daughter (wish kid) and son even shaved. This is how I met the infamous Christie and her sister Ginger.
In 2008, Jaime came up with the paper Kali Bears campaign, sold in the corporate restaurants in Jan-Feb.
More dollars for H.M., improved awareness, and credibility to have the backing of McDonald's branding (which is almost unheard of).
I know Jaime stepped outside her comfort zone (to put it mildly) to put that into motion. It was not an easy endeavour to convince the restaurants and upper management to support a charity that is not their own.
Jaime knew that supporting Ronald McDonald House would solve the continued sponsorship issue with our 5 year contract up for renewal. Hair Massacure will continue to receive increased support from McDonald's and in turn we will give back to their charity RMH. Nice!!
With adding another charity, we are hopeful to grow by reaching another demographic, thereby helping more kids and families in need.
The day ended in the apple store. I was on my desperate hunt for an Iphone 4 (oh dont get me started...) when Kyrsti and I spotted a 1 year old baby in a stroller with tubes in her nose. Like flies to honey, I made my way over and discovered that she is a heart patient staying at the RM House.
I am most excited to go for a tour that Jaime arranged for next week. We will get to meet more families, and under better circumstances as opposed to the hospital.
I will end my blog with a huge THANK YOU to my dear humble short friend, who made this all possible.
I will also mention how I enjoyed hanging with my kid today, who will one day likely take over for me once I start chasing sea gulls and sucking my thumb.
Today will go down in history as a great day!
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