#SecretSantaGuelph 4 - Guelph helps feed neighbourhood kids

Since 2014, we at GLVH have been proud sponsors of a grass-roots initiative designed to help support the Food & Friends program at Brant Ave Public School. #SecretSantaGuelph, a Twitter-based fundraising effort headed up by community leader Bang Ly, directly benefits the community around our clinic by helping to extend the food available to children at school, as well as the food pantry available to families in need.

How does it work? If you have a Twitter account, you can sign up to be matched with another #SecretSantaGuelph participant. You'll follow them on Twitter, get some gift ideas, and find something in the $15 range that you think they'd like. You'll also need to make a donation to the cause to help feed those kids!

2014's event raised nearly $13,000 from donations and sponsors and the Secret Santa Guelph team is aiming for even higher heights in 2015. This year's event is taking place Dec 6th at the Guelph Concert Theatre - big enough for a party of epic proportions! If you haven't signed up yet, you can do so at secretsantaguelph.com and you can even donate online to make it super easy (just make sure you include #secretsantaguelph in your donation form so the funds go to the right place!).

Oh! And don't forget to check out all the sponsors (including us!) and what they have to offer for #SecretSantaGuelph participants.

Here at GLVH we've got lots of toys and gifts and treats for your pet-loving Secret Santa match - we know there are lots of pet owners participating in the event this year. But really, the most important part of this event is the community that comes together. We're helping because these kids are our neighbours, they could be families we see in the clinic and no one should have to go to school or to bed hungry. Let's feed some kids, Guelph.

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Secret Santa Guelph (2014 Edition)

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The team here at GLVH are pleased to be able to contribute to the juggernaut that is the #SecretSantaGuelph project again this holiday season.

Secret Santa Guelph is charitable project run by the unstoppable Bang Ly, an east end Guelph resident who grew up nearby in the Brant Ave neighbourhood. Knowing there was a gap in funding for the food program at Brant Ave Public School, Bang started Secret Santa Guelph a few years ago as a way to raise some funds to help expand their program.

Last year, the $3000 raised by the 75 participants allowed the food program (provided in part by the Ontario government, and by the Children's Foundation of Guelph Wellington as well as Breakfast Club of Canada) to expand to 4 days a week until the end of the school year.

This year, Bang was dreaming big. The e-bar at the Bookshelf has been reserved for the evening of December 7th, and it is expected that over 160 participants will be exchanging gifts and bringing cash contributions to the food program at Brant Ave PS. The goal was to raise enough funds to help the program continue for 5 days a week from March (when funding would have run out) until the end of June. This means that not only will kids who need it be able to have a healthy breakfast each school morning, but there will also be healthy snacks available for them during the day.

We are so thrilled that with the help of so many generous Guelphites and corporate sponsors, that $5000 goal has already been surpassed by the commitments made so far! Now, the local food pantry in the neighbourhood will also be receiving a cash boost so that parents from those lower-income families can have options available to them to help send a healthy lunch to school for their kids.

How can you get in on the action? For just a $25 donation to the program and a $15 value gift for your #SecretSantaGuelph match, you're in, and you're helping.

(Why the hashtag before #SecretSantaGuelph, you might be asking? This project is Twitter-based, and you must have a Twitter account to sign up! You can follow the other participants, and everyone will be tweeting gift ideas for themselves... and maybe some for their friends, too!)

For more information, or to sign up for one of the remaining spots, visit the Secret Santa Guelph blog.

Guelph Lake Vet sponsors #SecretSantaGuelph

Guelph Lake Veterinary Hospital is pleased to be a corporate sponsor of the 3rd Annual #SecretSantaGuelph project. Led by Bang Ly, the project is a fundraiser for Guelph's Brant Avenue Public School and the Children's Foundation Food & Friends Program. The goal is to raise enough money in Zehrs gift cards to extend the Food & Friends Program at Brant Ave to a full 5-day a week program through until the end of June. Currently they only have enough funds for 3 days a week until May.

Dr. Scott and the staff of Guelph Lake Vet believe in giving back to their community and are happy to be able to be a part of this program for a nearby school. To follow along with the progress of the #SecretSantaGuelph project, you can follow GLVH on Twitter @guelphlakevet, or search the #SecretSantaGuelph hashtag to check out the other participants. Registration is closed for this year's gift exchange at Atmosphere Cafe, but there's lots of fun still to be had watching hints and surprises from the Twitter participants!

Update as of Saturday, November 16th: Through donations to the #SecretSantaGuelph campaign so far, the project has already raised enough to meet the needs of the school for 4 days a week until June! Let's see if we can get to 5 days a week. Donations are being accepted now in the form of Zehrs gift cards - contact Bang Ly directly via their website!