Two pictures say a million words…

Quick progress update

We can’t tell you what this is yet, but here’s a sneak peek at something super-amazing that was designed and created especially for The Willpower Project…

And we had some great news today – The Pump House in Ottawa is donating a very important item that would have eaten up a big chunk of our budget. We have to keep it a secret for now, but all will be revealed once the basement is done :-)

We’ve re-opened our YouCaring fundraiser campaign with a new goal of raising $8,000. We’re close to $6,500 now, so not too much more to go. Donations of any size are very much appreciated :-)

Thank you Tribute Decor!

We’re beyond thrilled that Susan at Tribute Decor – a vintage, retro, and antique furniture small business in Kingston – has offered to donate anything we want to The WillPower Project. Yep, you read that right – ANYTHING WE WANT! We’ll take one of everything please ;-) Seriously, how amazing is that?! Now the hard part will be narrowing down the choices to a reasonable number!

Susan scours flea markets and sales for antique furniture, lighting, art, accessories, and whatever else catches her eye. She’s found some amazing treasures – take a look!

Art Deco Buffet

 

Vintage Coca-Cola Signage and Bauhaus Chairs

 

Art Deco Shot Dispenser

 

Vintage Brass Bar Cart

 

Retro Mushroom Lamp

 

Vintage Leather Sling Lounge Chair & Ottoman

And Susan has so many more amazing treasures waiting for you to discover! If you’re looking for beautiful and unique pieces for your home, be sure to check out Tribute Decor’s blog and Facebook page. You’ll not only be furnishing your home with awesome one-of-a-kind items, but you’ll be supporting a small Ontario business too :-) Susan delivers to Ottawa and Toronto and places in between. And she’ll keep an eye out for you if there’s something specific that you’re looking for.

THANK YOU SUSAN!

Meeting time

After all the excitement of last week, it’s time to get down to business! We’ve got a lot done so far, but there’s still a lot of work to do before we can start the actual basement construction, and then it’s the fun part – decorating!

Sarah had a coffee accident last week and ended up having to buy a new laptop. EEK! Luckily, she didn’t lose The WillPower Project stuff. WHEW!

Don’t do this!

On today’s agenda – designing the schooling/crafting area and putting together a shopping list, plus a few other details to sort out :-) Here’s a sneak peek at a little something that’s already been bought and is waiting patiently to move into its new home…

And the numbers for the Easter basket fundraiser are in. Thanks to Jennifer’s initiative and hard work and everyone who placed an order, the baskets raised $435.00! WOW! AMAZEBALLS!

Roundup of recent events

The WillPower Girls were on Daytime Ottawa on Rogers this past Monday, April 14th talking about The WillPower Project and being our usual goofy selves :-) Thank you Sarah for remembering all the big medical words when Derick asked us about William’s condition! If you missed the episode and you’re a Rogers subscriber, you can watch the episode online here (we’re on at about the 22 minute mark). We’re still trying to figure out a way to share the video on our Facebook page so everyone can see it.

All mic’d up and ready to go!

Our magic garbage bag of goodies ;-)

Kelly also spoke with Patrick Langston at the Ottawa Citizen on Monday – be on the lookout for his article coming soon!

We’re still absolutely floored by the amazing generosity of so many people who have donated money and products to our project. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! We’d like to send out an extra-special thank you to Anna. She’s been running auctions on Facebook since the fall to raise money for various local animal rescue groups and other charitable organizations. Anna very kindly included The WillPower Project as one of the lucky recipients of auction funds – the latest auction raised an amazing total of $969 for TWP! And there’s more to come… we may actually reach the $6,000 mark!

The Easter basket fundraiser has also been a great success. Jennifer has been a busy little bunny putting together custom baskets over the last month. She still has a few that need to be picked up before the weekend. Please contact Jennifer at jbone1414@gmail.com to arrange pick-up of your basket. We’ll announce the grand total of money that the Easter baskets raised once all the baskets are picked up and paid for. Thanks Jennifer!

Congratulations to Aseel Rousseau, Erin O’Shaughnessy, and Debora Trapani, our three lucky Easter basket draw winners :-) Thank you The Gallery Custom Tattoos and Barb Graff Photography for donating the great prizes!

And of course, the basement design is always on the go. We’re discussing and planning and thinking and approaching companies who we would love to have onboard with us. Recent additions to our ever-growing list of sponsors are Tonic Living in Toronto who are donating all the fabrics, and Rodrigues Upholstery in Ottawa who are helping us with a secret project :-)

The WillPower Project in the news!

Thank you to Brandon Gillet for his article about William and The WillPower Project in the Nepean-Barrhaven News EMC!

It’s official…

We’ve not only reached our fundraising goal of $5,000, we’ve blown it out of the water! A month ago, we weren’t sure if we could raise even $1,000, let alone $5,000 – and now look!

A HUGE thank you to everyone who has donated, shared our YouCaring page, and supported us in all sorts of ways. This achievement is because of all of YOU!

We’re going to be able to make the Greer’s basement extra-super-spectacular thanks to everyone’s amazing generosity :-)

Coming tomorrow…

A special gift

We don’t want to give too much away, but here’s a little peek at a special gift that grandma Beverly won in an auction for William:

This is a beautiful blanket called a Rupert Wrap. It was handmade with love by a wonderful lady ‘Viv” – who’s lovingly known as Fiona’s Mummy. Rupert Wraps are only available through auctions and events that raise funds for animal rescue groups. Here’s the story of how these special blankets came to be…

Viv was first introduced to the world of dog rescue in the fall of 2011 when she fostered a Shar Pei that came from the largest puppy mill seizure in Canada. It was love at first sight. She adopted Fiona almost instantly.

A few months and two fosters later, another pei with a luxated patella came along and both Viv and Fiona found themselves completely smitten. Within a couple of weeks, Rupert was adopted too. Viv remembers the first time she met Rupert – he had such a vulnerable and uncertain look in his eyes. Rescue dogs are often confused. They don’t understand what is happening to them. They wonder what you will do to them. Others are too defeated and have nothing left in their eyes.

Viv later thought, if only she could have given Rupert a little something at that very moment to start his journey, to let him know he was safe. Something like a blankie…

Rupert's time with Viv and Fiona would be much shorter than they could have ever imagined: he passed to the bridge 3.5 months later having succumbed to kidney issues. Heartbroken, Viv set out to find a way to make a little difference in the lives of rescues. She always went back to that day when she picked up Rupert and his vulnerable and uncertain look. Having never sewn a stitch in her life, Viv bought a sewing machine, watched the instructional DVD, and started making dog blankets, known as Rupert Wraps. She then donated the Rupert Wraps to a local rescue she fostered for.

Lo and behold, the rescue loved them! Suddenly, pictures appeared on Facebook of dogs that had just been pulled from shelters, some in bad shape, safely wrapped in their very own “Rupies” that they would then take with them from their foster homes to their forever homes.

Kelly’s dog Gizmo all warm & snuggly in his Rupie

Viv now spends her weekends sewing in the company of Fiona, another foster failure Fergie, and her sister's peis Archie and Millie. She gives several Rupert Wraps (there are never enough) to local rescues for their new arrivals. She will not sell her Rupert Wraps for personal profit, claiming the stitching is not nice enough. However, she will gladly donate some to rescues who want to use them for fundraising. She will also sell them to individuals who ask her for one, with all proceeds going to the Friends of Rescue Network. She will also on occasion give one to a special soul who needs some chicken soup. Rupert Wraps have good karma and sometimes, we just need to be wrapped in something warm. Viv has now branched out into car seat Rupies for the muddy four legged friends and human Rupies for small children.

RIP Rupert. You were so loved. xxx

Thank you Viv for everything you do to help dogs and kids who need some good Rupie karma :-) And thank you so much for donating two more Rupies to The WillPower Project so William’s brother Aidan and sister Gwen will be able to stay warm and safe in their very own Rupies too :-)

If your dog or child would like some Rupie warmth, please visit the Rupert’s Wrap Facebook page. Viv posts about auctions and events where her Rupert Wraps will be available for bid or purchase.

Once again, we’re so amazed and touched by another act of amazing generosity!

The WillPower Project in the Ottawa Citizen!

The Ottawa Citizen featured The WillPower Project in Saturday’s The Up Beat section!

If you don’t get The Citizen, you can read the article online here.

Thank you Jo at Karma Creative Solutions for your help and support :-)