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TELUS Employees “Give Where They Live”

Mr. Woodhead

Mr. Ted Woodhead, Vice President of Federal Government and Regulatory Affairs at TELUS, pitched in to clean the toys that our toddlers use during outdoor play!

On Saturday, May 31st, 2014, TELUS Ottawa employees returned to Youville Centre for their annual TELUS Day of Giving. Each spring, TELUS demonstrates its Day of Giving motto: “Give Where You Live” by giving their employees the opportunity to choose to volunteer at a local charity that is participating in the program. We were fortunate to have some of the same volunteers back again this year, and happy to see some new faces as well!

Best Weeder

This young lady weeded our entire yard by hand! She worked hard all day with smile on her face.

Great Team

Group with Planter

The employees and their families got to work weeding, raking, pruning and planting, all in an effort to make our yard and gardens clean and beautiful! Our childcare play yards were raked, and the equipment and toys were washed and organized neatly. Even Mr. Ted Woodhead, Senior Vice President of Federal Government and Regulatory Affairs at TELUS, pitched in to spruce up our play yards for the 55 infants and toddlers we serve each day.

Play yard cleanup

Our play yard equipment never looked so clean!

By the end of the day, we had fresh herb gardens, beautiful flowers and a clean yard and property due to the hard work of the families and individuals who chose to “give where they live”.

Herb Garden

garden

 

Happy Volunteers

Special thanks to Ted Woodhead, Shannon Gorman, Sarah Arden, and Greg Purdy for working so hard to make this day such a success, and for TELUS’ generous donation that made it all possible!

Group Shot of Entire Team

Celebrating Volunteerism with the Governor General of Canada

All Photos by: Cpl Carbe Orellana, Rideau Hall. ©Her Majesty The Queen in Right of Canada represented by the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General (2013)

In celebration of International Volunteer Day, Youville Centre had two very special volunteers visit us on December 5, 2013. Their Excellencies the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, and Mrs. Sharon Johnston stopped by Youville Centre to help us prepare for the holiday season! December 5th also happened to be Community Action Day, a joint venture between United Way Ottawa and Volunteer Ottawa that creates volunteer opportunities at non-profit organizations for workplace teams. This year, we were fortunate to have a lively group from Hydro Ottawa choose Youville Centre to give back and help us prepare for the holidays.

Governor General and baby-2His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canadahas a heart to heart with 1 year old Hayleigh.

As the Hydro Ottawa volunteers got to work baking cookies for our Christmas luncheon and decorating the centre for the holidays, we welcomed Their Excellencies by giving them a tour of the centre. In true volunteer spirit, they jumped in and helped out with the tasks of the day, enjoying the company of our students, infants and toddlers along the way.

Lunch Room Scene-2His Excellency says hello to some of Youville Centre’s toddlers, staff and volunteers as they enjoy a healthy snack in the children’s dining room.

Governor General - Lending Library - YouvilleL to R: Youville Centre Board President Megan Wallace, Executive Director Cindy Simpson, Youville student Madison and her son Chase, Her Excellency Sharon Johnston, the Governor General of Canada, and Youville student Skylah and her son Mason.

During a tour of the centre, Youville Centre’s Board President, Megan Wallace, and Executive Director, Cindy Simpson proudly showed off Youville’s new Lending Library, which was donated by Walton Developments to support our Me, My Baby, Our World Parenting Program. This investment was made possible through United Way Ottawa. Impressed by the library and its educational toys and books, our special guests decided to donate some of their favourite books! When the books arrived at the centre shortly after this visit, they were beautifully bound in official ribbon from Rideau Hall.

GG and Sharon bakingDuring their time in the centre, our special volunteers helped the Hydro Ottawa volunteers in their tasks of baking Christmas cookies and trimming the tree. Their Excellencies embraced the tasks with enthusiasm — The Governor General even agreed to wear our special Christmas teddy bear apron!

Trimming the treeYouville Centre’s tree was made brighter by the Governor General of Canada.

Classroom Group ShotYouville Centre’s young mothers, staff and volunteers all thoroughly enjoyed meeting Their Excellencies.

Group Shot with Hydro Ottawa VolunteersHydro Ottawa volunteers enjoyed sharing their volunteer tasks with our special guests.

It was a wonderful treat to receive a visit from Their Excellencies. It was inspiring to see them roll up their sleeves and volunteer; celebrating what they called one of their “Giving Moments“. Many thanks to Their Excellencies; Hydro Ottawa volunteers; United Way Ottawa and Volunteer Ottawa for helping to make December 5th a very memorable day for Youville Centre.

Holiday Helping Hands

For the second consecutive year, Youville Centre participated in Community Action Day this December. Community Action Day (CAD) is a joint initiative between United Way Ottawa and Volunteer Ottawa that gives corporate and government employees the chance to get out of the office and roll up their sleeves to take action by volunteering with charities and non-profit organizations for a day.

This year Youville Centre was lucky enough to host a team of passionate women from The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat who helped us prepare our centre for the holiday season!

This small group of caring, compassionate volunteers baked hundreds of cookies for both our Holiday Craft Day and our Christmas luncheon for the young Moms and their children. Especially for our students, the holidays can be a stressful time of year, so we enjoy giving them a little Christmas cheer, and volunteers allow us to do this.

These volunteers even went above and beyond, and fashioned a cookie in the shape of our logo for Staff to admire and enjoy!

After the tree was trimmed, the centre was decorated and the cookies were baked, this group of wonderful volunteers knew a lot more about Youville Centre and the services we provide. Youville Centre would like to thank The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat for lending their employees to us, for a day of community action!