6 Cans of Non-Perishable Food

There was a lot of talk today about what can be shipped in this container, leaving Friday. This container is an emergency supplies container.

We have so many people who want to send shoes and baby clothes and school supplies, and many other wonderful things. We are called Containers of Hope for Haiti... we are hoping to pack and send many more containers, once this one is packed, shipped, sealed, delivered and distributed safely and successfully. One at a time... it certainly is easy to get carried away! That being said, don't get rid of all those other wonderful donations and things you want to send. Just hold on to them and we will keep you posted as to what's next!

In the meantime, 6 days left until this container, filled with so many fantastic things from all the generous people here in the GTA, leaves. If you haven't given yet and still want to, there's time!

As well, feel free to comment on anything I have written. It's nice to know people are reading. And so many people have so many great stories to share. I would love to hear them!

Meeting today, Packing tomorrow.

Great turnout at the meeting this morning. So many new faces, so many great ideas and lots of loose ends tied up!



The camera crew on Thursday was from Cogeco and the piece they are doing on Containers of Hope for Haiti was on Friday and will be on throughout the weekend too. So, check us out!

We are heading to Royalton again tomorrow at 2pm to resume the organising and packing and inventorying. More tents and tarps to come apparently and calls coming in to say that drop-boxes are full to overflowing. How exciting!

I am not sure how all this would have been possible, or progressed and developed so smoothly without the generosity of Victor Brewda and his staff at Royalton, (especially Adelia, who is always there to meet us with a smile), as well as Pat Moreno and the people at United Van Lines in Mississauga. They provided us with boxes and tape which has made the packing so much easier.

6 Days till departure!

7 Rolls of Toilet Paper

Or perhaps more like 700! Boxes and boxes, and still MORE boxes, were filled with rolls of toilet paper.

And many boxes of blankets and sleeping bags. And oh, so many tents! We have an amazing collection going. Scouts and guides have been helping too and the equipment and supplies they are sending are fantastic.

And that's right! 7 rolls of toilet paper means only 7 days left! I am still astounded at just how much has been done in just one week. It's hard to believe it was just 2 weeks ago that we were all gathered around a table breathing life into this dream.

First Big Day of Packing

And big it was! With over 20 volunteers organising and sorting and packing and moving and stacking and labelling last night, (along with a camera crew conducting some interviews), we managed to get over 120 boxes ready to go. They have been packed, checked, sealed, recorded and stuck with yellow tape by Anna and Lara so we don't record them twice.

The pile of collection items that had been dropped off when we got there was a little overwhelming. I wasn't sure we would manage to get it all done in a few hours, but we did. What a sense of satisfaction to see the stacks of boxes growing. Nice to see, and amazing to see that we are only alraedy about halfway there to filling this container. Laying out all the boxes as we have has really made apparent the true size of the container, and it's HUGE, so bring in your stuff and continue to spread the word. One week today that container is leaving.This was the end of the night, just the five of us left and the boxes neatly stacked.

Amazing!

8 Stirring Spoons

A group of girls helped pack the boxes yesterday and commented about the bags of rice people were sending. They were so excited to see all the food being sent over to the people. One asked me how they would cook the rice if they don't have anything any more. We were so happy to see some pots in our donations and some cooking spoons too. There were also a couple of cases of water. I told her they would manage. They are a resilient people with many creative ideas when it comes to cooking. I told her they can do amazing things with a machete when it comes to a tin can!

The collection boxes are filling

We got word yesterday that the collection box at Knox Presbyterian on Dunn had "joyfully overflowed onto the floor" and here's the proof! Look at all the wonderful things to send to our friends in Haiti.

9 Tubes of Toothpaste

Sometimes we take the simplest things for granted, like clean teeth.

Toothbrushes and toothpaste are on our list. There was talk at one school of every student bringing in a toothbrush. Now that's a lot of clean teeth!