You may have noticed the shined-up, tricked-out and classic cars hanging around A&W all summer. It’s always a treat whenever they gather but on one day in particular things really get rev’d up. This Thursday, August 23, A&W has again teamed up with the MS Society of Canada to host the Fourth Annual Cruisin’ For a Cause. It’s a special day where $1 from every teen burger sold gets donated toward MS research and to help families struggling with MS.

You may be surprised to learn that Canada has one of the highest rates of Multiple Sclerosis in the world, with three people diagnosed with the neurological disorder every day.

“This event brings people together, raises awareness for MS and allows us to continue to fund important MS research and services that are important to people living with MS,” (Yves Savoie, MS Society of Canada.)

Restaurants in Mount Pearl, CBS, Gander and Clarenville are all participating. So be sure to stop by – not only can you get your fill of vintage cars and tasty food, but you’ll be helping a great cause as well.

Being privileged to retire from teaching at the young age of fifty has given me the opportunity to go full time in another very rewarding “career” – volunteering. Even in my wildest dreams, though, I could never have imagined the joys this would bring to my life. Nor could I have envisioned that it would result in amazing cross-cultural experiences and eye opening international travel. In 2008, I was overjoyed to spend some time at a children’s orphanage in Africa, and now in April 2012 had the awesome challenge to interact with needy children in Costa Rica.

As the sole representative of Newfoundland and Labrador I was thrilled to be a part of a caring group of thirty volunteers of varying ages, and representing seven provinces of Canada. We travelled to that beautiful country on a distribution trip with the humanitarian agency Samaritan’s Purse. Over a thousand children were presented with Christmas Shoeboxes donated earlier in the season by generous Canadians. After flying into San Jose the group travelled five hours by bus to the province of Puntarenas and visited local villages near the towns of Jaco and Quepos. Crossing over water on a small boat to one village, and crossing a bridge on foot to reach another, was well worth it! The overwhelming joy on the children’s faces when they received their shoeboxes said it all. Every item – whether school supplies, hygiene products, or little toys – brought a happy smile to each little face: and a tear to the eye of each volunteer! As a team we were shocked to learn that the main social problems encountered by these children are alcohol and drug abuse, as well as child prostitution involving children as young as five to seven years old.

The distribution was very well organized by the Samaritan’s Purse national director in Costa Rica. Before our arrival she had contacted local ministers and school principals to inform them of the program. By the time we got to each destination, organizers knew exactly the number of children that would be there and could arrange them by gender and age so that the actual distribution ran very smoothly each time. This early preparation meant there was time for us to interact with the children through activities such as face painting, finger nail painting, balloon animal creation, and interactive games like soccer, ‘duck, duck, goose’, and skipping rope. Also, since most of the children came from very impoverished areas, a meal was generally provided by local people and our Canadian team was able to help serve the food to the children.

This was truly a memorable experience for all involved and we were more than happy to bring joy to so many little lives that otherwise would not have experienced it. Next season we will mark the 100millionth shoebox given to a child in some poor area of the world – but we will still only have reached five percent of the children who need this help! It is imperative that we all work together to enrich the lives of these precious children.

-Lawrence Sheppard

Click the picture for a Sound Clip!

The crew at Tricolour Software are at it again.  This time they’re aiming to improve your knowledge of Newfoundland with a new app, aptly named “Whaddaya Know.”  It’s a collection of Newfoundland facts that are laced with humorous commentary and narrated by the voice of the Whaddaya App.   It introduces users to all kinds of trivia, both useful and useless, about the island and its inhabitants.  This is premium Newfoundland edutainment – just push the button for a laugh and a fact.

The app launches on the iTunes App store on June 4^th.  It’ll be available for iPhones, iPods, and iPads right away, with Blackberry and Android versions soon to follow.  You can check them out on their website, http://www.whaddayaknow.ca/, or better yet, follow them on Facebook.  They’ll be offering promo codes for some free downloads through the Facebook page, but if you don’t grab one of those, the app’s still just a dollar.

If you’ve got a good idea for a Newfoundland fact that should be included in future updates, why not post it below?  We’ll collect your ideas and send them along to the app’s developers.  You never know what could be included in Whaddaya Know!

Famous Newfoundland singer/songwriter Alan Doyle  recently sat down for a yarn with CBC’s George Stroumboulopoulous. Alan was there to discuss his new solo album, ‘Boy on Bridge’, but also got to talking about our economy, why Russell Crowe loves Newfoundland, and people’s changing perceptions of our island home.

I think he sort of saw the old world kind of rough-and-ready people who were used to dealing with hard times, hard work, hard play, kind of people, and I think he saw an affinity with it. You know, he saw a place that was not unlike the parts of Australia that he grew up in.

This past Friday marked the launch of the fourth annual marine show in Lewisporte, Newfoundland. The two-day event was held in Lewisporte Stadium and hosted some of Newfoundland’s biggest marine vendors, supporters and educators. Recreational boaters and outdoors types were salivating over the selection of watercraft on display and people young and old were checking out the latest gear. Those thinking of careers in the marine field could visit the Marine Institute and CNA’s booths, the latter letting people sample marine cuisine from their culinary program.

Boating industry growing in Newfoundland:

It would seem that people who make a living on the sea are getting back to their roots and spending more leisure time on the water. Scott Kenny of Thruway Recreation described the recreational boating industry in Newfoundland as a “young industry”, but one that is seeing tremendous growth – especially in the past decade. He attributes this growth to to Newfoundland’s close ties to the sea along with the present strength of our dollar.

The Lewisporte marine show is a enjoyable way to spend a May weekend and get some summer recreation ideas. Throw in a 16 foot boat for a door prize, (maybe some stadium fries?) and you’ve got a great show!

A curious thing happens when spring comes.  People get outside, work in their gardens, and clean up around their houses.  They pile up all the old junk they don’t want anymore, and when the time is right, they move it all out to the curb for community cleanup week.

Now, these cleanup weeks are a great idea.  Garbage limits are totally ignored for the week, which means there’s no limit to the amount of stuff you can chuck out.  Appliances, tires, tree limbs, broken toys, automobile parts – you’ll find it all, piled high by the curb, ready and waiting for the town’s dedicated staff to come take it away.

A pool of potential deals? Swimming in Savings? Big blue bargain?

That’s not the curious thing, though.  The peculiar part is watching the curbside shopping that starts as soon as the first dilapidated fridge takes up residence on the edge of a lawn.  You’ll see people carefully cruising through the neighbourhood, slowing down in front of houses where the piles are especially large, and sometimes, if you’re really lucky, you’ll see the curbside shopping network in action.  The car stops, someone hops out, grabs an item from the pile, and places it in their own car.  Sometimes they’ll make multiple trips, returning with a bigger vehicle for something really interesting.  These shoppers bring new meaning to the phrase “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” going home with everything from scrap wood to old barbeques!

Did you catch yourself eyeing the tread on those tires?

Take, for example, this true story about community cleanup.  A man was working away in his garden, going back and forth to the curb to make garbage deposits.  There was a stranger parked in a van across the street, watching with great interest.  Each time the homeowner added something to the pile and headed back to his garden, the stranger would get out of his van, check through the items, select a few pieces, put them in his van, and then get back in to watch the next round.  He took almost half of the items the homeowner left at the curb!  What was in this magnificent pile, you might ask?  Nothing special, just broken household items.  But this curbside shopper was dedicated to finding a deal, so he stuck around and made sure to take a look at each piece of garbage.

Is there something valuable in the items on your curb?  Maybe, maybe not.  But don’t be surprised if you see someone checking it over before the town comes for it.  Let’s face it; community cleanup time might just mean that you can shop ‘til you drop (or at least until your neighbour drops something good on their curb!).

-Valerie Abbott