Moving toward a Spring 2011 start date. Time to finish off the Tuxedo Painting!

We have raised enough money to execute the project.
We’ve had a good week in the offices of The Green Tux
Project! We are close to pinning down the budget, which has been boosted by an additional contribution from the Catholic School Board and an amazingly generous offer from Dufferin Construction to give us the asphalt
we need for the project in-kind. (Thanks Ed!) 

We have just about reached the goal we set for ourselves three years ago and are working toward plans to begin renovation this year. There has been an inspiring amount of money donated to this project over the past three years. Through the generous contributions of parents of St Joseph Children, relatives of these children and a truly generous community we have collected $93,165.68. This has been with 6 fundraising events through the years at the school, Ted’s amazing Schoolyard to Schoolyard Ride and the Bella Notte Gala last fall which succeeded in raising almost half this amount. $17,000 of this amount was raised for the Cool our School project. The School Board installed AC in the school and allowed us to transfer the fundraised money for this project. Many thanks to all who believe this can happen for our children!

The City of Hamilton with Brian McHattie’s support has donated $100,000. This is an outstanding amount of money which I think shows great support for the direction in which we would like to see our children’s outdoor space develop. The City of Hamilton is a great  promoter of green space within the city; so beneficial to our young citizens growing up in the downtown core.

Our Catholic School Board has also contributed $35,000 to the project with the recommendation for another $50,000 to be approved in June. We are, of course, still accepting donations and in-kind contributions so if anyone has a lead or wants to help out, you can contact us though this blog or through the school.

We are hoping to organize a school and community building day toward the completion of the project so look out for more information on this and lots of other exciting things going on.

Natural Playgrounds

We had an inspiring meeting today with Adam Bienenstock whose company designs and builds natural playgrounds. We are hoping to partner with them to “engage our children with nature” with rolling hills, winding pathways, giant logs, boulders and large native trees and shrubs defining spaces filled with art, music and nature.

Our children no longer have the freedom to roam or explore like we did when we were kids. “Our playgrounds have become flattened, paved and sterilized land punctuated with cataloged monuments of plastic and steel while obesity rates, diabetes, asthma and ADHD run out of control through our children. For the first time in history our children will have a shorter lifespan than their parents. This happened on our watch.”

We have an opportunity with our space to turn it into something that will engage and inspire our children.  “Not only is nature a fun place to play, it is proven time and time again that children who frequent in nature have enhanced mental capacities, greater motor control, larger imaginations and greater creativity.  Let nature teach our children.”

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“Natural Playgrounds should be the standard for all our playgrounds. They truly connect children with nature through play and are a sort of classroom for the next generation of environmental stewards.”
~Dr. David Suzuki

Adam’s company was awarded the Winner of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce Business Achievement Award on Wednesday. What a wonderful contribution to our children’s lives! Congratulations!

Bella Notte Photo Booth

Pictures are available now from Bella Notte’s fantastic Photo Booth. The festive, fun booth added sparkle to the Gala and was donated by Steven Sager. Steve and Roberta did a great job organizing all these beautiful memories of the evening. Take a look at some of these shots and under each image on the gallery is a number. Use that number to order your print.
He will mail the prints directly to your home.  At the Gala, you prepaid for one print.
Additional 5×7 prints may be ordered via cheque. Steven will donate all proceeds to the Green Tux Project. Thank you Steve!

Stephen Sager Photography
905.921.3123 Cell
647.477.7579 Toronto

The Call of The Wild Helps Children Learn

This is a very interesting and relevent article published today in The Globe and Mail. It strengthens my belief that we need to get our children outside in a healthy, safe and educational environment.

“Studies suggest that interacting with nature can help children pay attention, motivate them to learn and improve both classroom behaviour and scores on standardized tests. Neuroscientists and psychologists are investigating why nature is good for young brains and how being around trees and shrubs helps recharge the circuitry that children use to focus on a page of fractions or a spelling test.”

Read on…

The Call of the Wild Helps Children Learn.

Bella Notte Photos and Green Tux Update

We have new photo’s on the site of the Bella Notte Gala. Steven Sager took most of these shots. As you can see, it was a beautiful night and we raised $44,000 for The Green Tux Project. We need to keep this enthusiasm going, so we can achieve this goal in the spring of 2011. We have $100,000 committed to this project from the city of Hamilton, and $70,000 from the HWCDSB. We are at a new high of $258,500.

Did you know that the playground at St Joseph Elementary School was condemned three years ago? It is still there on the site and our children still play on it every day. The front entrance where we enter to pick our children up every day is not up to code. The drainage on the site is not working so the schoolyard ices up instead of draining off after a snowfall and freeze and the children are not allowed outside for fear they might get hurt.

Did you know that the bulk of the budget we are trying to raise will go to site redevelopment just to make it safe for our children to be outside on that yard? Did you know that a very small part of the budget is actually for a play structure for the lower grades? We have taken the suggestions of students, parents, teachers and administration to create a plan that might benefit all 10 grades at St. Joseph. We have a template and plans created from the feedback we have been given and with the input of two very creative architects, but it is still very much a work in progress.

Did you know that there is at least one representative at the Catholic School Council meeting every month to answer any questions and concerns about this project?

We welcome all feedback and suggestions from everybody involved with St. Joseph’s School and that we envision a bright, safe and fun future for all of our children at the school and in the surrounding community. Anyone who would like to get involved with The Green Tux Project can contact us though the comment section of this blog or through the school.We need lots of involved people to get a project of this size out of our imaginations and into reality!

Thanks to all the people who made our Venetian Masked Gala a tremendous success! I am overwhelmed with the spirit of generosity that we received.

Whew…It’s Over and It Was Good!

It’s hard to believe that Bella Notte, the Venetian Masked Gala is over. The big night has come and gone and St. Joseph’s Elementary is a lot closer to its goal.

It was a stellar evening with 200 people in attendance, the “Green Tuxini” and “Sam Matini” martini’s being poured and the silent auction aisle flooded with people.

Thank you to all the people who donned masks and danced it up to Funkhaus, enjoyed Italian Tapas and sipped Flat Rock Cellars Chardonnay. You made the live auction exciting, with awesome auctioneer Mike Kindiak cajoling the crowd. Julie Shea’s Scotch Bar was a draw for discerning palates to taste differing scotch producers.

What a great boost to The Green Tux Project and I thank all the people who think this will make a difference in our children’s lives and have been a positive support for all of us involved.

Sneak Peek #28: Take your Vehicle to the Spa!

Get a spa treatment for your vehicle.

We’ll:

-Perform a Lube, Oil and Filter
-Rotate the tires
-Inspect brakes and all fluids
-Pamper your vehicle with a full interior and exterior detail
(clean, vacuum and shampoo)

a $199 Value

Sneak Peek #27: Season 8 Finale Taping of the Rick Mercer Report

Win an invitation for you and 3 guests to enjoy the Season 8 Finale taping of the Rick Mercer Report on Friday March 25, 2011.
Very Rare!

Sneak Peak #26: Afternoon On Set of Kids’ CBC

You can win an exclusive afternoon on the set of Kids’ CBC. You have gained access to an “All-Hands-On-Deck” shot that will allow you to see how Children’s Television is made in Canada.
ALL ABOARD!!
Join Patty and Sid and our Kids’ Canada cast of wonderful personalities including Mamma Yamma, Saumon and Captian Claw for an amazing taping of our show in our brand new Caboose set. It’s an exciting day and one that only comes a few times a year.
When: November 29th

With this comes a gift certificate to Joe Badali’s Ristorante Italiano & Bar for $25.

Sneak Peak #25: Shelley Blair Jewellery Design – Lucky Key Draw

Buy the key that opens the lock and win a stunning piece of jewellery
designed specifically for Bella Notte!

Shelley Blair is a master of blending precious with semi-precious stones and metals.
Her work is asymmetrical and playful with colour.
She will design to order and redesign dated pieces to bring out the best in them.
Don’t miss this opportunity to win a really special piece of jewellery
that you will treasure.

*the ring in the picture is an example of her work, the actual piece will be on display at Bella Notte*