Two Kitchener women turn good idea into international success

JANE AND NICOLE’S
SHAIDEE BUSINESS
MARCUS SHANTZ:
REBUILDING THE
FARMERS MARKET
GRANDPA’S HAT HITS THE
STAGE AT STRATFORD
HOME EDITION DISTRIBUTED TO HOMES IN WATERLOO REGION - Spring 2014
INSIDE:
• Shaidee characters
• “You never forget hunger”
• Habitat in Ethiopia
• Rising from the ashes
“A HUGE IMPACT”
LEAVING A
GIFT FOR
THE FUTURE
2014 Waterloo Wellington Charitable Giving Guide

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EXCHANGE MAGAZINE / WATERLOO REGION / HOME EDITION - VOLUME 1, NUMBER 2
CONTENTS
HOME EDITION - SPRING 2014
COVER STORY
A huge impact .......................12
HARRY ENDRULAT
Leaving a gift for the future
FEATURES
Shaidee characters ...............4
EXCHANGE MAGAZINE
Two Kitchener women who turned a
good idea into an international success
A powerful reminder ............14
KELLY-SUE LABUS
She suffered from hunger as a child; now
she’s passionate about caring for kids
BACK PAGE
Rising from the ashes .........30
PAUL KNOWLES
The vendors at St. Jacobs Farmers Market
are back in business
SHAIDEE CHARACTERS
PAGE 4
RISING FROM THE ASHES
PAGE 30
PHILANTHROPY
PARTNERSHIP
We’re proud to present the second volume of Ex-change
Magazine Home Edition. In these pages, we
offer an inspiring mix of articles, introducing you to
two women who have used their experience asmoms
to launch an international business; to the professor
whose love for jazz launched The Jazz Room; to a
young woman who is changing the way students in-teract
with their community; and to the man in
charge of rebuilding St. Jacobs Farmers Market.We
also offer a springtime mix of information about
house and home, and do it yourself projects.
We are also pleased to partner with Advocis, The
Canadian Association of Gift Planners, Leave a
Legacy, and TheWaterloo-Wellington Round Table, to
present our annual “Gift Giving Guide”, including in-spiring
stories about local volunteers, including a
woman whosememories of a hunger-plagued child-hood
have prompted her to make sure no child suf-fers
as she did; a local financial expert who picked
up a hammer to build homes in Ethiopia; and a cou-ple
who devote time and resources to Kidsability.We
also share valuable tips on the most effective ways
to make a difference as a donor and a volunteer in
our community.
PO Box 248,Waterloo ON N2J 4A4
Tel: 519-886-0298
Cover Photography by Kim Coffin
Publisher
Jon Rohr
jon.rohr@exchangemagazine.com
Editor
Paul Knowles
paul.knowles@exchangemagazine.com
Associate Liaison - Gift Giving Guide
Darren Sweeney
Feature Writers
Paul Knowles, jon Rohr, Dave Wright,
Janet Baine,Michael Snyders, Lisa Olsen,
Harry Endrulat,Peter Braid,
Kelly-Sue Labus
Production
Jon R. Group
Photography
Jon R. Group, Brian Banks, Kim Coffin, KidsAbility
Foundation Staff
To participate in the Fall 2014 Home Ediiton
advertise@exchangemagazine.com
READ, RECYCLE,
Give to a Friend
EXCHANGE magazine is a regional business publication published by Ex-change
Business Communication Inc., President Jon Rohr. Distributed by
Canada Post Exchange, PO Box 248,Waterloo ON N2J 4A4.
Phone: (519) 886-0298 x 301 Fax: (519) 886-6409. ISSN 0824-457X
Copyright, 2013. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without writ-ten
permission from the publisher.
DEPARTMENTS
House & Home .......................... 7
DAVE WRIGHT
A practical plan for creating your
back yard paradise
Do it Yourself ............................ 10
LISA OLSEN
Simple solution to a difficult problem
Gift Giving.................................. 11
May is “Leave a Legacy Month
Gift Giving ..................................16
What is personal philanthropy?
Tax Credit ....................................17
PETER BRAID MP
Motivated by a common, higher purpose
Monitor ........................................24
Stephen Preece and Waterloo’s Jazz Room;
Habitat for Humanity in Ethiopia; Google
moves into your home; Grand River makes
heritage history;the Kelly Effect.
H O M E E D I T I O N - S P R I N G 2 0 1 4 | 3

SHAIDEE
CHARACTERS
It’s not rare to meet someone who has a
great idea. Most of us have had those
eureka moments when a spectacular con-cept
strikes us.
Most of us then move on. It takes a
unique combination of character traits to
move from eureka to entrepreneur.
Nicole Barrett and Jane Klugman have
that special combination of vision,
patience, determination and chutzpah to
transform Nicole’s unique idea into one of
the most exciting start-up businesses in
Waterloo Region.
The idea? An innovation, now branded
as the Shaidee, that protects babies in car-riers
from the sun, and allows parents to
Two Kitchener women
who are turning
a good idea into
an international
success
story
Jane Klugman, left, and Nicole Barrett
FEATURE
4 | w w w . e x c h a n g e m a g a z i n e . c o m

FEATURE STORY
Jane and Nicole are pictured with Mike Furey from Adventure Guide, at The Boardwalk, a retail
location where Shaidee products are available in Waterloo Region.
combination of vision, patience, determination and chutzpah
to transform Nicole’s unique idea into one of the most
enjoy the outdoors without worrying about the damage expo-sure
to direct sun can do to babies.
A great idea – parents, retailers, hospitals, optometrists all
agree. But it has taken more than 10 years for Nicole and Jane
to make the concept a successful reality.
In fact, coming up with the idea was the easy part. But as
someone once said, nothing happens until somebody sells
something, and Jane agrees: “Where sales really happen is
when we hit the road, we pick up the phone, we get in front
of people. We do the hard work – that’s when sales happen.”
The basic concept is one of those creations that cause
everyone else to say, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Nicole
trained to be a nurse, but got involved in landscaping in col-lege,
and still has her own landscaping business. So as a lover
of the outdoors, when she had babies, she became aware
there was no effective way to enjoy the outdoors while pro-tecting
her children from the dangers of exposure to the sun.
She says, “When my youngest daughter was about five
weeks old, we were going to Florida. I was always outside
with the kids anyway, and I needed something to protect her
from the sun. I always carried her in the carrier, and I wanted
to walk on the beach with my five year old as well. I searched
high and low and couldn’t find anything, so I came up with
something myself. It was extremely primitive, made out of a
blue camping foam… it was a visor that wrapped around me
and it wasn’t pretty… and it worked beautifully.”
That was around 2003. Nicole believed she had created a
product with potential – but she knew she would need help to
roll out a successful business venture. “I knew this was some-thing
cool, but I didn’t know exactly what to do with it.” So
the first prototype went on a shelf in her closet.
In 2007, Jane Klugman moved into Nicole’s neighbourhood.
Jane has 25 years of experience in the corporate world, most
recently with Deloitte. Nicole sought Jane’s input, and she
agreed that Nicole had a good idea… and also knew she had
no time to get involved.
That was the situation until Deloitte restructured, and Jane
had to decide what her next career move would be. “I had
about 40 offers come in. I had to decide, do I do exactly the
same thing? Maybe I wanted to try something new.”
She decided to start her
own consulting company,
and realized that this was
the chance to turn Nicole’s
creation into a corporate
success. She “went up the
street and said to Nicole,
‘Would you be interested
in seeing if we could make a business of this?’”
They incorporated JNK Solutions Inc. in 2012; Jane is CEO,
Nicole is President and Chief Innovation Officer.
Jane’s expertise in the corporate world meant they
approached business development from a thoroughly profes-sional
perspective. Says Jane, “We started doing due dili-gence.”
They also realized that Nicole’s invention, although an
effective design, needed considerable development. In fact,
they say, their current “Shaidee Sun Cover” is the 147th proto-type
of the product; there is a patent pending on the design.
The $39.99 Shaidee Sun
Cover is described as a
“lightweight, sleek visor
that fits easily around any
person carry a baby in most
models of front baby carrier
or sling. It also works with
Nicole Barrett and Jane Klugman have that special
exciting start-up businesses inWaterloo Region.
car seats and most strollers.” Nicole adds, “We call it sun-smart
cool gear, but it’s more than that. It’s a protection prod-uct.
You can get out and enjoy life and still product your
baby.” The entrepreneurs have also created a second prod-uct,
the “Shaidee Sun and Bug Mesh”, made from UV fabric,

and offering protection from all insects. It is being launched
this spring. Jane and Nicole are keenly aware that, no mat-ter
how terrific a product is, marketing is essential. So they
have literally hit the road, setting up a booth at the largest
baby product show, in Las Vegas, doing sales sweeps of
retailers, boutiques, hospitals, surf shops, adventure stores
and the like up and down both coasts of Florida. They recog-nize
that while a product like the Shaidee Sun and Bug
Mesh have potential markets everywhere babies are born –
and that’s just about everywhere – the United States, espe-cially
the sun-drenched south, is key to their success. As
Nicole says, “Canada is a great market, and it’s a great
launch market for us, but it’s not a 12-months out of the
year, full time volume wise market that we need to be
in.” They are thinking big. As Jane says, “We’re about vol-ume.
With 500,000 babies being born in Canada, and four
million being born in the US every year, it’s a no-brainer.”
She also notes sun-belt Americans “just automatically go, ‘I
get it’.”
The challenge right now? “Building a brand,” say the busi-ness
partners. “Because it’s not a new type of soother or a
different type of car seat that people are already aware of,
this is something that’s brand new, that has never been on
the market. We need to educate people as well as to how to
use it. To let them know it exists.”
There have been lessons for Nicole and Jane, every step of
the way. Jane laughs when she says, “I have sat on the other
side of the table advising entrepreneurs for 25 years. But you
don’t actually realize it all until you are living it, staying up
at night, a note pad by your table constantly.”
They are still considering the most cost-efficient ways to
manufacture and deliver their products; cross-border busi-ness
can add significant expenses. Marketing is a prodigious
ongoing effort – and their marketing methods cover the
spectrum, from cold calling on the phone to in-person pitch-es
“We’re about volume.With 500,000 babies being
born in Canada, and four million being born in the
to trade shows to social media, to sending Shaidees to
celebrities like Drew Barrymore and HRH Prince George!
They have been featured on the Today Show in the U.S.,
covered in the Las Vegas Sun, and the buzz is undoubtedly
growing. The timing of marketing is also crucial – the suppli-er
sales cycle is much earlier than the retail cycle; Christmas
sales for the supplier, for example, take place in the sum-mer.
The business partners are heavily into networking. Jane
says that when they launched the business, she had an
extensive list of global contacts, but that has grown ten-fold
in less than two years.
The women say that their home community, Waterloo
Region, is ideal for a business launch. “We have been so for-tunate
to have relationships inside this community and out-side
this community with people who want to help us,” says
Jane. “When we went out there everyone was more than
happy to give us an hour, two hours, follow up, introduce us
to others.” Financial investment is one variety of help they
remain open to. They are seeing success in sales, both in
Canada and the U.S., but have remained wary of approach
large retail chains, knowing the capacity for production they
would need to meet such orders.
But that’s the goal, and they would welcome investors to
partner in such a growth strategy. They currently seem to
have three potential plans: Plan A, to continue on their cur-rent
road to success; Plan B, partnering with an angel
investor; Plan C, partnering on a larger scale with a venture
capitalist. Says Jane, “Ideally, to make this thing really sail,
there is a minimum amount we want. If we were looking for
angels, we’d be looking for $500,000. It would give us a lit-tle
more runway to do things. That would go directly to
another sales person, getting us out there talking to the right
people, inventory, marketing, we could talk to some of the
bigger retail chains.” To take it to the top, right now, she
adds, a full-scale venture capital investment would be in the
$2.5 million to $5 million range. The partners recognize the
need for extreme enthusiasm tempered with practical
patience. Whichever path opens up for them, they believe
they are on the road to success with their brand.
It’s all about the brand, they say. “Shandee, Shaidee,
Shaidee – that’s what we’re trying to get out there.”
FEATURE
X
US every year, it’s a no-brainer.”
The Shaidee Sun Cover – protection for
babies and freedom for parents.

HOUSE & HOME
PRACTICAL PLAN FOR CREATING YOUR
BACKYARD PARADISE
BY DAVEWRIGHT
Your backyard serves as a hub of summer activity. And as you
spend more time outside, you may be looking for opportunities to
improve your outdoor living spaces. Whether it's a new patio, a
fireplace or an outdoor kitchen, homeowners have an expanding
array of options from which to choose, and readily available
expertise from landscape professionals.
People are becoming more sophisticated in terms of how they
want their outdoor living spaces to look and feel. They want to
make their outdoor spaces an extension of their homes and create
a beautiful environment. The design options for outdoor living
spaces are endless. Here are some keys to designing your own
perfect backyard paradise:
Plan around your lifestyle
In planning how to maximize the potential of your outdoor living
space, consider how you live and relax in your home. Then consid-er
how that lifestyle can translate into an outdoor living space
design.
Start small, then expand
Not all outdoor living space projects require you to dig up the
entire backyard. As a good first step, spruce up the look of your
existing patio with a few well-chosen pieces of furniture. It's
important that you look for high-quality furniture that will hold up
outdoors in all types of weather. Some of the most durable pieces
are made of imitation wicker, a plastic product that looks and feels
real. Also, set up an attractive seating area or table that can act as
"The Spot" for people to congregate, whether to eat dinner, play a
game or converse.
Simple stonework and fire pits
If your budget doesn't allow for a professionally installed patio
or walkway at the outset, you can get resourceful and use more
cost-effective materials. A fire pit is another cost-effective addition
that can create a campfire atmosphere in the backyard. However,
some people do not like the smoky mess and the work it takes to
get firewood and clean up the pit once the fire's out. As well, some
municipalities do not allow wood-burning fire pits. Many people
are looking to fireplaces as an alternative. Most of the designs are
natural gas, and in most cases, people already use natural gas.
Move the kitchen outside
A popular trend right now is outdoor kitchens. The first step in
taking your cooking outside is adding a grill or upgrading to a nicer
model. You should have a good idea of what type of grill you want
and how to plan to use it.
The sky is the limit for outdoor living space accommodations,
including furniture, landscaping and kitchens. People have
installed elaborate outdoor kitchens, complete with sinks and
refrigerators. The design often depends on where the indoor
kitchen is located. For example, if the patio is just a few steps
away from the kitchen in a home, it might not be worth the invest-ment
for some homeowners to run a water line outside.
With a myriad of options available for outdoor living spaces, it's
easy for people to get caught up in what they see in a magazine or
what their friends have. Then the financial reality sets in! But there
are practical steps to move forward. A good suggestion is to take it
one year at a time, adding something to your outdoor living space
annually to achieve your desired end result. Work with a landscape
professional to create a master plan design, which includes realis-tic
cost estimates. If you do not have the funds to purchase and
install everything immediately, you can complete your backyard
design in stages. Year one, the deck, next year, the planting beds,
next year introduce a fireplace, and so on.
You won't be stretched financially, and each year, you will have
something new to enjoy in your backyard paradise.
Tel: 519-742-8433
www.wrightlandscape.ca

The Essence of Home
The essence of a home is created and experienced through
the surroundings within. It’s something that deeply embraces
your senses and gives your soul what it craves. Security.
Serenity. Sanctuary. Comfort. Inspiration.
These feelings greatly intensify when a home is designed with
purpose and meaning to nurture the lives of those within it. It’s
!"#$%&'()*+*,&"#$*'!-+(.&#/&.0!1(&%2!%&1#*%-!.%&1#3/#-%!"4(&
points of restraint with moments of grandeur that evoke
your admiration. The tranquility you experience when gently
!5!6(*+*,&+*&!&"('-##3&)44('&5+%2&.#/%&3#-*+*,&4+,2%7&8*9#:+*,&
the beauty of nature that’s perfectly framed through your living
room window and the peaceful connection it creates to the
lush gardens beyond.
A great architect will orchestrate all these elements into a
visual symphony that creates a more vivid and nourishing
environment to dwell in.
architectural design | interior design | sustainable design

Exquisite residential design that nourishes the soul.
519.745.4754 | www.rsarchitects.ca

THE SIMPLE SOLUTION TO A DIFFICULT PROBLEM
BY LISA OLSEN
Whether at home or the cot-tage,
the last thing you want to
do after a long winter is spend
excessive time and money
over the short summer months
fixing up your property. But the
mountains of melting snow
and the lines of crusty salt cov-ering
your car, driveway and
lawn could force you to do just
that. One of the lasting effects of a winter as
harsh as ours is wood rot, and it can affect
the wood siding on the cottage, the posts at
the front of your home, and even the deck,
door jams and window frames – anywhere
wood comes into contact with water.
When this happens - through snow, lake
water, marshy wetlands or even rain - the
wood swells. In the process of decomposi-tion,
algae and fungus form and grow, break-ing
down the wood. The flaky, dewy wood is
an ugly, hard-to-tackle problem, and replace-ment
Spring repair season has arrived!
SAVE TIME • SAVE MONEY
For Home Owners • Contractors
The cost effect method for permanent wood repair instead of replacement
is often an expensive, labour-intensive
undertaking.
That’s where Rhino Wood Repair comes
in: developed and produced in Breslau,
Ontario, the solvent-free, epoxy-based putty
is a wood-lover’s dream. It’s a tough, perma-nent
fix. Once set, it’s three times stronger
than Douglas Fir or Pine, and completely
useable.
It’s so strong that once set, you can even
nail and screw into it.
“I really wanted to make this as easy and
as affordable as possible for the
consumer,” said Robin Pixner,
developer of Rhino Wood
Repair. “It’s not just a repair -
it’s an easy, top-of-the-line, per-manent
fix.”
The professional-grade prod-uct
is simple enough to use,
making it the perfect product
for the do-it-yourself home
owner, as well as the skilled contractor. Sim-ply
spray the wood with Bio-Treat, an envi-ronmentally-
friendly fungus and algae treat-ment
solution, and fill in the cracks and cavi-ties
with the Rhino Wood Repair system. It
can then be sanded, texturized to match the
original wood grain, and stained or painted.
Rhino Wood Repair is available in all-in-one
kits for the home, or large pails for con-tractor
use. Look for it at Home Hardware
and Home Hardware Building Centres, or call
519-648-1219 to order.
Bio-Treat™ anti-fungal
spray (prevents wood rot)
Contractor large
format sizes
The Smart Wood
Repair Solution
Home owner do-it-yourself kit
Now Available at
Manufactured by
To order call
519-648-1219
www.rhinowoodrepair.com
DO IT YOURSELF
Before After

GIFT GIVING
MAY IS “LEAVE
A LEGACY
MONTH”
Almost everyone has a favourite
charity. The reasons why a chari-ty
is close to your heart are as varied
as the charities themselves. LEAVE A
LEGACY is a public awareness cam-paign
that promotes the benefits of
leaving a bequest in your Will to help
your favourite charitable organiza-tion.
The LEAVE A LEGACY program
provides information on how you can
support charities through estate plan-ning.
This program is a partnership
between registered charities, profes-sional
advisors, the media and the
public. Leave a Legacy has been
adopted as the national program of
the Canadian Association of Gift Plan-ners.
The aim of LEAVE A LEGACY is
two-fold:
Ensure every adult in Canada has
an up-to-date Will; and encourage
individuals to leave a gift for their
favourite registered charity in their
Will.
The vision of LEAVE A LEGACY is
to ensure everyone is aware of the
personal and financial benefits of
leaving a gift for their charities of
choice in their Will. Preparing an
estate plan that includes a charitable
gift provides tremendous personal
satisfaction and significant tax bene-fits
for donors.
Everyone benefits from LEAVE A
LEGACY – the individual, the family
and the community. Whatever your
reasons, your gift makes a difference!

FEATURE
A HUGE IMPACT ON LIVES
LEAVING A GIFT FOR THE FUTURE
For twenty-three years, Lynda Moseley-Williams has
been a steadfast volunteer at KidsAbility, an organiza-tion
that annually provides treatment services to over 5,000
children and youths with special needs. Together with her
husband, John, the family has made numerous donations
and purchased equipment for the various classrooms with-in
the Waterloo facility. When it came time to create their
will, the couple wanted to ensure a brighter future for local
children. That’s when they decided to leave a legacy gift to
KidsAbility.
As Lynda notes, “Having worked at KidsAbility for many
years, I was inspired by the dedication of everyone here
and the immeasurable impact they have on those who
come in for treatment. I knew there was a long waiting list
for the kids in our community and I wanted to make a dif-ference.
After discussing matters with John, we decided a
legacy gift was a great way to support the needs of the chil-dren
– for generations to come.”
This form of planned gift was the perfect option for the
couple. It allowed them to give to a charitable organization
that meant a great deal to both of them while still providing
for their close family members. “When we started thinking
about a legacy gift, we talked it over with our children,”
explains John. “KidsAbility was a recognized leader in the
community and the kids were in favour right from the start.
Two of them volunteered here in the past and they knew
how impactful a gift of this nature could be.”
The Moseley-Williams family also understood the impor-tance
of donations for families needing help. In fact, their
grandson received speech therapy through KidsAbility.
“When you witness the work KidsAbility does firsthand, it
really touches you,” says Lynda. “Some children come in
barely able to communicate. They don’t even make eye
contact. With help and encouragement, they’re suddenly
smiling and talking to you. They truly rise to their maxi-mum
potential – something that wouldn’t happen if they
weren’t offered the chance at KidsAbility.”
Both Lynda and John were also struck by the loyalty of
everyone involved with the agency. “You often see former
clients or members of their families as volunteers and sup-porters
later in life,” says Lynda. “That is such a strong
endorsement of KidsAbility,” adds John. “People just can’t
resist giving back to an institution that had such a huge
impact on their lives.”
With facilities in Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge,
Guelph, and Fergus, KidsAbility ensures that youths have
Lynda and John Moseley-Williams, inspired by the loyalty of everyone involved with KidsAbility
BY HARRY ENDRULAT
Photo by Kim Coffin

Lynda regularly volunteers at KidsAbility.
FEATURE
access to help throughout Waterloo Region and Wellington
County. However, the organization could not provide their
services to so many children without donations to supple-ment
their annual budget.
“The financial support we receive from legacy gifts and
other forms of donations is paramount to the success of
KidsAbility,” states Linda Kenny, Chief
Executive Officer of KidsAbility. “With-out
it, we wouldn’t be able to help as
many children with special needs as
we do.” But even with the donations
KidsAbility receives, the demand for
financial assistance is even greater.
Presently, there are over 1,000 children
on a waiting list.
To try and reduce wait times,
KidsAbility started a new initiative
called SPARK. The goal of this pro-gram
is to deliver rapid intervention to
“Individuals can make a gift
through their will, donate a new or
paid-up life insurance policy,
designate the organization as a
direct beneficiary of a RRSP or
RRIF fund, bestow charitable
remainder trusts or even assign
publicly traded securities.”
children with mild delays and supply
them (and their families) with services,
education, strategies and specific referrals. While this is an
exciting development, there are still too many other chil-dren
awaiting treatment.
Lynda and John are well aware of the financial con-straints
at KidsAbility and other charitable organizations.
As owners of five successful McDonald’s restaurants in the
area, they have always been actively involved in the com-munity,
helping out whenever possible. Through McHappy
Day, they’ve supported Ronald McDonald House, KidsAbili-ty,
and various other local organizations. But they wanted
to take it one step further.
“When it comes to estate planning, people really need to
understand the benefits of a legacy gift,” acknowledges
John. “If your family and retirement are taken care of, you
should look for ways to give back to
the community while making a differ-ence
in the lives of children.”
At KidsAbility, there are many ways
to give. Individuals can make a gift
through their will, donate a new or
paid-up life insurance policy, desig-nate
the organization as a direct ben-eficiary
of a RRSP or RRIF fund,
bestow charitable remainder trusts or
even assign publicly traded securities
to KidsAbility Foundation. “We always
suggest that donors talk to their finan-cial
planners,” adds Lisa Talbot, Exec-utive
Director of KidsAbility Founda-tion.
“There are numerous benefits to donating, including
certain tax advantages.”
Of course, the benefits of legacy giving aren’t just finan-cial.
Donors ensure that the charity lives on and that chil-dren
with special needs have a more promising future. For
Lynda and John Moseley-Williams, who have contributed to
KidsAbility in the past and have planned their own Legacy
Gift, that’s all that really matters.
X
Photo by KidsAbility

BY KELLY-SUE LABUS
Claudette Amyot is making sure that children do not go hungry.
A Powerful
Reminder
When we imagine our community in the next 20 to 30
years, we see a vibrant and successful society with
innovation and technology leading the way. Who is going to
be guiding this exciting time in our lives, building our cities,
creating change and managing the future? The leaders of
the future are the children and youth of today!
However, many of the children in our community won’t
have the opportunity to be part of this exciting time,
because their present situation is dire, and their develop-ment
is limited. Each day in our community, one in ten chil-dren
arrives at school without having eaten breakfast, and
without the necessary food to sustain them for an entire
school day.
The following is a true account of Claudette Amyot, who
as a young girl, like so many children in our community,
needed someone to care. You never forget hunger, especial-ly
as a child. Here is her story, about a young child growing
up hungry and then, as an adult, her commitment to ensur-ing
not one child should go hungry in Waterloo Region:
"Growing up in my community, my family experienced
financial hardship. Most of my childhood, I lived without the
necessities of life. I mean basic necessities like food and
clothing. I didn’t understand what made my family different
from the other kids’ families. I just knew I was always hun-gry,
and they weren’t.
"School, for me, provided an escape from the hardship,
but it was also a constant reminder of what I didn’t have.
When all of the kids were pulling out their bags of food at
lunch time, I would pretend to be busy at my desk. I didn’t
have breakfast most days. And I rarely had a lunch to take
to school. I would watch as the kids took out their sand-wiches
and fruit and I would ask myself, 'What’s wrong
with me? Why don’t I have something to eat?' I would wait
for the bell when I could run outside to play and forget the
smell of their lunches. Those smells made my tummy hurt.
They made me hurt.
"There was no food program, I, as a child, could rely on,
so my body didn’t have the opportunity to grow properly.
My bones, muscles and tissue didn’t develop the way they
should. I didn’t excel at school because my brain didn’t have
FEATURE
I helped Autism Dog Services bring Kendra and her
service dog together. I assist families and corporations
support worthy causes through prudent and efficient
estate and succession planning. I help families multiply
their contributions to make this world a better place.
Jesse MacDonald, BA M.Ed
Life and Health Insurance Advisor Kendra and Jasper
675 Queen St. South Suite 230
Kitchener, ON N2M 1A1
TEL: 519-732-8980
email: jesse.macdonald@dfsin.ca
www.jessemacdonaldinsurance.com

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have to be
complicated.
C004775
Leave a gift in your will to the University of
Waterloo, and you can be part of the equation.
Our gift planning experts can help you create a
legacy that will benefit future generations of students.
To find out more, please contact Sharon McKay-Todd
at 519-888-4567, ext. 35413 or smckayto@uwaterloo.ca
uwaterloo.ca/support/planned-giving
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the chance to develop and my confi-dence
was low. The only thing that I
knew was that I just wanted to be like
all of the other kids.”
Being hungry will colour
Claudette’s world for as long as she
lives. Hunger, early on in her life,
affected her emotionally, and caused
her many significant health issues. If
she had received the proper nutrition
Children who
eat breakfast increase their
academic achievement
by up to 15 %
when she was developing, at a cost of
a few dollars a day then, she would
not require thousands of dollars of
healthcare, monthly, today.
Claudette’s story is a powerful
reminder that an ounce of prevention
is worth a pound of cure. Feeding
children a nutritious meal every day
helps children be healthy, lowering
the costs of healthcare.
And there’s much more. Feeding a
child breakfast every day will increase
their ability to learn. Children who eat
breakfast increase their academic
achievement by up to 15%. They are
less likely to miss school. They are
less likely to contract type-2 diabetes
or to be obese. They socialize better
with other children and adults and
find it easier to concentrate.
Today, Claudette is a volunteer with
Nutrition for Learning. Making sure
that children don’t go hungry is her
passion. She couldn’t stand knowing
that there is even one children in her
community who had to endure what
she did. Nutrition for Learning pro-vides
breakfast for children aged 5
through 18 years, within Waterloo
Region, to over 13,000 children and
youth each day. Supporters of Nutri-tion
for Learning are providing the
very basic of human needs to the chil-dren-
in-need in our community –
nourishment.
FEATURE
X
Photo by Brian Banlks

GIFT GIVING
WHAT IS PERSONAL PHILANTHROPY?
Make a adecisiont
decision today to
be the cause of so
something omething great.
Be the cause of something ng g
great by including
C Conestoga t in i your will ill today. t
to
oday. d You Y can direct
di t
your gift to any school, any a
ny program, any award.
You can make education
more a"ordable for
students in need or, suppor
port research that
support improves people’s health
h and changes lives.
Your gift will help prepare
e our next generation of
leaders, thinkers and doe
rs and inspire answers
doers to tomorrow’’s challenges
s.
tomorrow’s challenges.
To learnmore, learn more, vi
visit
sit
www.conestogac.on.ca/giving
g
or contact:
Tim Tribe, Chief Developm
Development ment O!cer
519-748-5220 ext. 2409
ttribe@conestogac.on.ca
The objective of creating a personal charitable program
is to provide a thoughtful, well-planned, tax-preferred
gifts plan, that not only is financially smart but also
impacts on life needs you’re passionate about.
Make Lives Better:
Each day, people are helped and lives are enriched by
the work of registered charities and foundations, and other
not-for-profit organizations in our communities. Meals for
isolated seniors, summer jobs for disadvantaged high
school students, or funding for mental health are just some
of the ways not-for-profit organizations improve all of our
lives.
Help Where Needed:
Important charitable and not-for-profit organizations
rely on our help; financial assistance is essential to support
and sustain charitable work. Many people generously
share their money, time and energy with local not-for-prof-it
organizations. By leaving a gift in their will or estate plan
to the charitable groups of their choice, they can continue
to help people in need or promote a favourite cause.
Be Remembered for Your Passion:
Your gift is your opportunity to participate in the charita-ble
work that is most meaningful to you, in a way that
allows these important causes to be well supported both
now, and long after you have gone. Personal philanthropy
can be an impactful way to ensure that your memory lives
on.
Nuturing the Future:
Personal philanthropy can ensure the sustainability of a
not-for-profit organization or charity of your choice. In life,
many of us require some kind of assistance, whether it’s
physical, financial or spiritual. Perhaps a local organization
or charity has a special place in your heart. It may be that
you were given a scholarship that made the dream of col-lege
possible. It is during life’s many trials when we are
reminded that more could be done to continue personal
philanthropy which supports humane acts of kindness and
help uphold programs for personal enrichment.
X

TAX CREDIT
MOTIVATED BY A COMMON, HIGHER PURPOSE:
TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF OTHERS
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Ihave seen first-hand the positive impact that
charitable organizations have on the individ-uals
and the communities that they serve. I
have also seen and have been inspired by the
generosity of donors, and the dedication of
staff and volunteers. They all share and are
motivated by a common higher purpose: to
make a difference in the lives of others. It is
vital that we celebrate and support this excel-lent
work.
As a Member of Parliament, I have been
actively advocating for charities, raising aware-ness
of the essential work they do, and serving
as their voice in Ottawa.
My efforts triggered a Parliamentary Finance
Committee study on the charitable tax system,
with a focus on examining ways to motivate
increased giving. The committee proposed sev-eral
recommendations to create positive
change in the sector, and this led to the intro-duction
of the First-Time Donor’s Super Credit
in 2013.
This innovative new measure increases the
value of the Charitable Donations Tax Credit by
25% on eligible cash donations of up to $1,000
in any one taxation year, if neither the taxpayer
nor their spouse has claimed the credit since
2007.
The FDSC will encourage many individuals,
including young people and new Canadians, to
make their first charitable donation. This will
rejuvenate and expand the donor base, and
instil a culture of giving among a new genera-tion
of donors. It will also contribute to making
charitable giving an important consideration in
financial planning and tax preparation deci-sions.
It’s another tool in the toolbox, and
brings a fresh approach to motivating charita-ble
giving.
Previous government measures to strength-en
the charitable sector include a capital gains
tax exemption for gifts of publicly listed securi-ties,
ecologically sensitive land and certified
cultural property; increasing accountability and
transparency; and reforming the disbursement
quota to reduce red tape.
Most recently, we proposed changes to
increase flexibility so that a trustee of an indi-vidual’s
estate can apply charitable donation
credits against the income tax liabilities of the
individual or the estate. And we’re amending
legislation to allow charities to conduct
fundraising lotteries online, reducing adminis-trative
costs and modernizing the process. We
continue to look for innovative ways to ensure
that the charitable sector can be effective and
sustainable.
Donors, volunteers, organizations and gov-ernment
– we’re all working together to build a
strong, compassionate, and inclusive society.
By Peter Braid MP,
Kitchener-Waterloo
X

IT ISALLABOUT
THE HATS
Lynne Taylor with her grandfather’s top hat, one of three hats she donated to the Stratford Festival. To her delight, she later saw it on stage.
My friendship with the Stratford Festival is, I have realized,
one of my oldest. As I write that line, I realize that I had
never thought of it that way before, but it is true.
Like so many in southern Ontario, my first introduction to
Stratford was through high
school. For an awkward kid
from a rural high school deep
in the heart of Bruce County,
the annual bus trip to Strat-ford
to see the Shakespearean
I am investing in Canada’s future and ensuring my
granddaughter will also have the privilege of enjoy-ing
world-class theatre, right on our doorstep.
play that we were studying in
English performed on stage by REAL actors was a dip into a
glorious, glamorous otherworld of drama, fantasy, lights and
dazzle.
I would like to say that it was the soaring rhetoric or the
deep emotions on stage that grabbed me, but I have to admit
what I remember was a funny little off-the-cuff aside by the
actor playing Hamlet that pulled me, and the rest of us, into
the story, laughing uproariously. Laughing with, not at,
Hamlet! In that moment, I was hooked for life.
Stratford opened up a world to me that I had not realized
existed. Only later did it dawn on me how tough an audience
teenagers are, confirmed skeptics that they can be. But once
they are sucked into the vortex of a powerful story, or
through the medium of laughter – either planned or, even
better, spontaneous – they are transformed into diehard
fans.
As I calculate it, I have been attending shows at Stratford
for almost 40 years. Although I’ve lost track of all that I’ve
seen, some have been seared
into my brain – scenes and
performances that will forever
haunt, entrance, enthral:
Elizabeth Rex with Brent Carv-er;
Colm Fore’s Cyrano; Seana
McKenna in Shakespeare’s
Will; The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead
starring Lucy Peacock; The Imaginary Invalid with William
Hutt, who had me weeping with laughter; and Hay Fever in
which Dame Maggie Smith brought the house down by arch-ing
her eyebrow – who knew you could even see that on a
stage?!?! – to name a few.
Big names are fun, and at Stratford there are plenty. But
it’s essentially the company that keeps drawing me back.
There are the familiar faces who are the backbone of the
company, and then there are the new faces, new voices,
stretching their talents in a way that I imagine can only
happen by working intensely on a variety of plays in one sea-son
beside such a talented set of veterans.
Watching this young and raw talent start out as guards or

The giant canvas tent that housed the Festival’s first four seasons, from 1953 to 1956.
maids, move into larger roles, and eventually to centre stage
is tremendously satisfying and fascinating. It is like watching
a kid brother or sister grow into their own skin and become
all that you could want them to be. How can you not
celebrate?
Stratford has been a bit of a family tradition as well –
which will lead to the hats.
Stratford has lurked in my family’s background for three
generations now. When the tent first went up, my grandpar-ents
travelled with my mother from Toronto to see a show,
which was then not nearly so easy or obvious a trip as today,
and later my mother would drive up from London to take in a
play with her friends. So, when I was sorting out my base-ment,
I stumbled across three hats: my grandfather’s top hat
and homburg, and my grandmother’s favourite, an elegant
black fan of a hat. It only made sense to see if the Festival
could use them. They politely accepted the donation.
Then we went to see Wanderlust – a play about Robert
Service. And there was the top
hat, in full glory! My grandpar-ents
would have been ecstat-ic,
and I was beside myself
with excitement – silly as that
may sound. It symbolized for
me a symbiotic relationship in
the purest sense, with the
hats one more part of the
sharing in both directions, of
my relationship with Stratford.
Maybe that is why I support
the Festival. For the price of a
relatively small donation annu-ally,
as well as a bequest from
A sketch of Lynne Taylor’s grandfather, who
first visited Stratford in the days of the tent.
my estate, I am investing in Canada’s future and ensuring my
granddaughter will also have the privilege of enjoying
world-class theatre, right on our doorstep. I’ve had the privi-lege
of spending considerable time in cities whose theatre
districts are the envy of the world. None is better than what
we have in our own backyard.
And who knows, perhaps my granddaughter will get to see
her great-grandfather’s top hat on stage! And so, in the story
of the hats, is a hint at the legacy that is Stratford.
KATHRYN MCKIE
PLANNED GIVING MANAGER
55 Queen Street, PO Box 520
Stratford, ON N5A 6V2
Tel: 519.271.4040 x 5640
kmckie@stratfordfestival.ca
www.stratfordfestival.calegacy
Lynne Taylor is an associate professor of history at the
University of Waterloo.

LIVE GENEROUSLY:
HOW FAITH INFLUENCES
CHARITABLE GIVING
One of the most important groups within the
charitable sector is people who give from a faith
perspective. Personal faith is a powerful motivator
for many philanthropists. Christians who give from a
faith perspective tend to believe that living gener-ously
is both consistent with Old and New Testa-ment
teaching and central to living a fulfilled life.
People of other faiths see similar consistencies
between belief and action, between faith and finding
ways to live with the welfare of others in mind. All
covet the joy and satisfaction that come from shar-ing
and giving.
According to a survey by Statistics Canada (Chari-table
Giving by Canadians, Martin Turcotte, April,
2012), people who attend church services regularly
contribute three times more to charity - both reli-gious
and non-religious charities - than those who
do not consistently attend. Many make charitable giv-ing
their highest priority and adopt a “share, save and
spend” model that allows them to achieve their own
desired level of generosity. Whether generosity is
rooted in the biblical story of compassion or as a
means to experience life more fully with a higher
power, Canadian charities benefit greatly from the
lessons of living generously as taught by many faith
groups.
Throughout our 40-year history, Mennonite Foun-dation
of Canada has always been a donor-advised
foundation, meaning the donor provides the guidance
for how, when and where the charitable gift is distrib-uted.
We have chosen to work with all people who
have embraced the idea “It is more blessed to give
than to receive” and who have discovered that con-necting
faith and finances can make sharing one’s
assets joyful and easy.
The variety of ways they choose to live their faith is
Sherri Grosz and a client
explore ways to give generously
through an estate plan.
inspiring. They come to us wanting to do something
good and generous. We have the honour of helping
them explore a variety of options which may move
them towards their faithful philanthropic goals.
With the stock markets hitting record highs, “Joe”
realized that he had significant capital gains in his
investment portfolio and decided to share these
gains with some of his favourite charities. He dis-cussed
his situation with a friend who recommended
the services of Mennonite Foundation of Canada.
After completing the donation of securities and hav-ing
MFC distribute the proceeds from the sale to the
designated charities, Joe was ecstatic. “Working with
MFC was so easy and they were so flexible and
accommodating that we will use them for all our
stock donations.”
An older couple sold their farm and downsized.
Both “Harold and Helen” were retired teachers who
wanted to “do something with [their] money now and
not wait until we pass away.” An MFC consultant

20-50 KENT AVENUE
KITCHENER
ONTARIO
Tel: (519) 745-7821
Fax: (519) 745-8940
Toll Free: 1-888-212-7759
email: contact@MennoFoundation.ca
MennoFoundation.ca
Executive Director Darren Pries-Klassen explains the benefits of a charitable gifting account.
helped them set up a plan to donate money to their
favourite educational institution every year for 12
years. This gave the couple maximum tax benefits
while providing the college with a regular income
flow for years to come. And the retired couple has
the satisfaction of seeing their donations at work.
Helen reflected, “I grew up with nothing. To me,
everything I have is a bonus and I’m thankful. The
purpose is to use the gifts we’ve been given and to
do that wisely. MFC helps us do that.”
Everyday MFC brings together technical skills with
theological teaching and training to provide a gift-planning
process that not only meets the needs of
donors but is in keeping with Christian faith values.
Our clients are generous because they believe that
is what it means to live a Christ-like life. In addition,
they want to work with people they can trust and
who understand their commitment to their faith.
Our consultants are trained, experienced profes-sionals
who see generosity as an expression of grati-tude.
We know that each individual has a unique sit-uation
requiring a unique solution. It’s a unique
approach and our professional staff, located across
Canada, offers confidential services to help you use
your money to speak to your faith.
For more information on Mennonite Foundation of
Canada and our distinctive faith-based approach to
gift planning, visit MennoFoundation.ca or contact
our office in Kitchener.
Mike Strathdee talks with students
about faith and finances.

WATERLOO WELLINGTON CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS ROUND TABLE 2014 DIRECTORY
CAMBRIDGE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL FOUNDATION
Jennifer White Executive Director 700 Coronation Boulevard,
Cambridge, Ontario, N1R 3G2, jwhite@cmh.org,
519-621-2333 ext 244
www.cmh.org
COMMUNITY OF CHRIST
Ken McGowan, Estate and Financial Planning Minister 390 Speedvale
Ave E, Guelph, ON, N1E 1N5, mcgowankj@rogers.com,
519-265-5349, www.cofchrist.org
CONESTOGA COLLEGE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Tim Tribe, Director of Development, 299 Doon Valley Drive,
Kitchener, ON, N2G 4M4
ttribe@conestogac.on.ca,
519-748-5220 x2409, www.conestogac.on.ca
FOUNDATION OF GUELPH GENERAL HOSPITAL
Jennifer Hall,115 Delhi St.,Guelph, ON, N1E 4J4
jhall@gghorg.ca, 519-837-6422
www.gghfoundation.ca
GRAND RIVER HOSPITAL FOUNDATION
Jane Jamieson,Associate Director, 835 King Street West,
Kitchener, ON, N2G 1G3,
jane.jamieson@grhosp.on.ca,
519-749-4205, www.grhf.org
INTERNATIONAL TEAMS
Janelle Weber,Donor Services Coordinator,
1 Union St, Elmira, ON, N3B 3J9
janelle.weber@iteams.ca, 519-669-8844
www.iteams.ca
provided programs and services to help people living with disabilities
achieve independence. ILCWR provides consumer directed services to
over 500 people in the Waterloo Region community every year. All of
our programs aim to remove barriers and make Waterloo Region an
accessible place for all. You can give the gift of independence by
including ILCWR in your will, and helping Waterloo Region to become a
leader in accessibility and independence for people with disabilities. For
more information contact:
Mallory Boyer, mallory@ilcwr.org
127 Victoria St. South, Suite 201, Kitchener, ON, N2G 2B4
519-571-6788 X 7425, www.ilcwr.org
KITCHENER-WATERLOO ART GALLERY
INDEPENDENT LIVING
CENTRE OF WATERLOO
REGION:
For over 30 years, the
Independent Living Centre
of Waterloo Region has
Caroline Oliver, Director, Development Marketing,
101 Queen Street N, Kitchener, ON, N2H 6P8,
coliver@kwag.on.ca,
519-579-5860 x218, www.kwag.ca
KIDSABILITY FOUNDATION:
Established in 1957, KidsAbility is
now the recognized leader in
Waterloo Region and Guelph-
Wellington for empowering children
and youth with a wide range of
complex special needs. Our
passionate and dedicated team provides life-changing therapy and
support services to 5,000 local children and youth. KidsAbility
Foundation is dedicated to raising both financial support and
affirmative public awareness in assisting KidsAbility Centre for Child
Development fulfill its mission.
Lisa Talbot, Executive Director, ltalbot@kidsability.ca x1201
Charmaine Brown, Development Officer, cbrown@kidsability.ca x1350
500 Hallmark Drive, Waterloo, ON, N2K 3P5
519-886-8886, www.kidsability.ca
KITCHENER-WATERLOO HUMANE SOCIETY
Marjorie Brown,Development Director
250 Riverbend Drive, Kitchener, ON, N2B 2E9,
marjorie.brown@kwhumane.com
519-745-5615 x229, www.kwhumane.com
CAMBRIDGE NORTH DUMFRIES
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION:
The Community Foundation is available
to anyone who would like to give
something back to the community, and
at the same time, create a legacy to
support the causes they care about.
Donations are pooled into an ever-growing,
permanent endowment and only the earnings generated
through its investments are distributed as grants according to the
donor's direction. Donors can be confident that a gift to the
Community Foundation is a gift that will give forever.
Lisa Short, Executive Director, lshort@cndcf.org
135 Thompson Drive, Unit 7, Cambridge, ON N1T 2E4 519.624.8972
www.cambridgefoundation.org
HOUSE OF FRIENDSHIP
of Kitchener:
Since 1939, House of
Friendship has been
serving people living on
low-income: with our
community, we are there when needed, speak up, and work together.
We envision a community where all can belong and thrive. Today, we
bring shelter and supportive housing to those who are homeless,
emergency food assistance to those who are hungry, opportunities to
families living in low income neighbourhoods, and healthier lives for
men and women who are experiencing addiction. With your legacy
gift we can continue to extend the hand of friendship to our
neighbours in need. To inquire about The Friendship Fund or to
discuss your legacy, please contact:
Christine Rier, christiner@houseoffriendship.org 519-742-8327 x122
51 Charles Street East, PO Box 1837, Station C,
Kitchener, ON, N2G 4R3
www.houseoffriendship.org
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
CONNECTIONS - MEALS ON
WHEELS AND MORE:
We believe everyone should be able
to live in their own home. We work
with hundreds of volunteers to serve
thousands of local seniors and
adults with disabilities by delivering meals, providing rides to medical
appointments and much more. CSC functions as a centralized source
for community home support services in Waterloo Region. We support
each and every one of our clients and volunteers, fostering a
community where everyone feels at home – valued, connected and
empowered.
Dale Howatt, Executive Director, 61 Woolwich Street North, Breslau
ON, N0B 1M0, 519-772-8787
www.communitysupportconnections.org

MENNONITE FOUNDATION OF CANADA
Sherri Grosz,Consultant,grosz@mennofoundation.ca
Milly Siderius,Director of Stewardship Services,
msiderius@mennofoundation.ca
Mike Strathdee,Stewardship
Consultant,mstrathdee@mennofoundation.ca
50 Kent Ave, Kitchener, ON, N2G 3R1
519-745-7821
www.mennofoundation.ca
MS SOCIETY WATERLOO DISTRICT CHAPTER
Craig Stevenson, 35 Belmont Ave W, Kitchener, ON
N2M 1L2, craig.stevenson@mssociety.ca,
519-569-8889
www.mssociety.ca/waterloo
ONTARIO FARMLAND TRUST
Bruce Mackenzie,Executive Director,c/o Alexander Hall, Room 301
University of Guelph, Guelph,ON, N1G 2W1
info@ontariofarmlandtrust.ca,
519-824-4120 x52686
www.ontariofarmlandtrust.ca
OWEN SOUND REGIONAL HOSPITAL FOUNDATION
Willard VanderPloeg, Development Officer, Box 1001, 1800 8th Street
E, Owen Sound, ON, N4K 6H6
wvanderploeg@oshfoundation.ca,
519-372-3925 www.oshfoundation.ca
PERIMETER INSTITUTE FOR THEORETICAL PHYSICS
Mercedes Geimer, 31 Caroline St. N, Waterloo, ON, N2L 2Y5
mgeimer@perimeterinstitute.ca,
519-569-7600 x5541
www.perimeterinstitute.ca
PROJECT PLOUGHSHARES
Matthew Pupic,Director, Finance and Development
57 Erb Street West, Waterloo, ON N2L 6C2
mpupic@ploughshares.ca,
519-888-6541 x705
www.ploughshares.ca
ROCKWAY MENNONITE COLLEGIATE
Bernie Burnett, Development Director
110 Doon Road, Kitchener, ON, N2G 3C5, bernieb@rockway.ca,
519-743-8209, www.rockway.ca
STRATFORD SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL
Kathryn McKie, Planned Giving Manager
55 Queen Street, P.O. Box 520, Stratford, ON N5A 6V2
kmckie@stratfordshakespearefestival.com, 519-271-0055 x5640
www.stratfordshakespearefestival.com/legacy
THE KITCHENER WATERLOO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
Rosemary Smith, Chief Executive Officer,
29 King Street East, Suite B, Waterloo, ON, N2L 1T2, rsmith@kwcf.ca,
519-725-1806 x 1, www.kwcf.ca
UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO
Sharon McKay-Todd, Associate Director, Planned Giving,
smckaytodd@uwaterloo.ca,
Bonnie Oberle, Associate Director, Annual Giving, boberle@uwaterloo.ca, x35422
Joanne Stewart,Development Officer, Planned Giving,
joanne.stewart@uwaterloo.ca, x37040
Meghan,Whitfield,Associate Director, Annual Giving,
mwhitfield@uwaterloo.ca, x33852
200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1
519-746-4567, www.uwaterloo.ca
WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY
Cecile Joyal, Development Officer, Individual Planned Giving,
75 University Ave. West, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3C5,
cjoyal@wlu.ca
519-884-0710 x3864, www.wlu.ca
YWCA KITCHENER-WATERLOO
Sheryl Loeffler, Director of Philanthropy
153 Frederick St., kitchener, ON, N2H 2M2,
sheryl.loeffler@ywcakw.on.ca,
519-576-8856 x106, www.ywcakw.on.ca
LUTHERWOOD CHILD AND
FAMILY FOUNDATION:
Lutherwood envisions a
community where all children,
youth, adults and families
experience mental wellness, financial stability and a safe place to live.
We infuse hope through the provision of a broad range of
individualized services to those in need in our community.
Donna Buchan, dbuchan@lutherwood.ca, 519-884-1470 ext 1144
Lutherwood Child and Family Foundation
285 Benjamin Road Waterloo, ON, N2J 3Z4
NUTRITION FOR LEARNING:
Hunger is a difficult thing to forget,
especially for a child. Nutrition for
Learning supports 143 programs
committed to meeting the needs of
13,000 hungry children, every day,
in our community. All children
deserve to be healthy, to learn and to believe in their future. Help us
meet the needs of hungry children in our community!
495 Waydom Drive Unit 2, Ayr, ON, N0B 1E0
519-624-5744
www.nutritionforlearning.ca
RENISON UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE:
Consider a planned gift to
Renison University College, a
liberal arts College at the University of Waterloo. Your legacy gift is a
gift for the future, made in the present, and acknowledges your
generosity in giving a gift that will sustain generations to come.
Planned gifts provide the resources to create extraordinary
opportunities and ensure that Renison will continue to offer quality
education in a small nurturing community. For more information, email
caroline.tanswell@uwaterloo.ca
Caroline Tanswell, caroline.tanswell@uwaterloo.ca
240 Westmount Road North, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G4
www.uwaterloo.ca/renison
ST. MARY’S GENERAL HOSPITAL
FOUNDATION:
Founded in 1924, St. Mary’s General
Hospital remains an island of
healing and hope to the people of
Waterloo Region and surrounding
areas. Known for our commitment
to excellent, innovative, and patient-centred care, we are one of the
country’s finest hospitals and we take seriously the trust our
community puts in us. In return, we are honoured to have the financial
support of the people we serve so that we can continue our work.
911 Queen’s Blvd., Kitchener, ON, N2M 1B2, 519-749-6797
St. Mary’s General Hospital Foundation
www.supportstmarys.ca

MONITOR
Stephen Preece is a talented amateur jazz pianist who admits,“I love to play”.
But he’s never played at the Jazz Room, Waterloo Region’s jazz hub at the
Huether Hotel.Which might seem odd, since he is the visionary who conceived
of the idea of the Jazz Room in the first place, and then brought his not incon-siderable
skillset to make the project a success.
He laughs at the idea of performing there.That’s not why he did this, he insists,
and he has decided that he will never take advantage of his insider position to
create the opportunity to play the grand piano that dominates the stage.
Besides, it was not his artistic skill that was important in bringing the Jazz
Room project to fruition – it was his passionate love for jazz, combined with his
unique perspective as a long-time professor at the Laurier School of Business
and Economics, at Wilfrid Laurier University.
Preece – more formally, Dr. Stephen Preece,Associate Professor, holder of four
academic degrees including a PhD from Ohio State University – has taught
Strategic Management and International Strategy at Laurier since 1993. One
keen area of interest has always been cultural industries, in particular the man-agement
of performing arts organizations.
In 2011, he decided to put his efforts where his rhetoric is. He took advantage
of a sabbatical year to spearhead the formation of the Grand River Jazz Soci-ety,
the group that a few months later opened The Jazz Room. A lot of thought
went into the project, but Preece admits, “I would never have guessed that it
would be this successful,” he says. The Jazz Room has become the centre of at-tention
for music lovers inWaterloo Region and beyond, and has sparked a lot
of interest much farther afield, from groups recognizing the Preece and company
have found an answer to many of the life-threatening issues facing arts entities.
Typically, a venue is a for-profit venture, where the owner of a bar or another
performance place is responsible for the entire operation: facility management,
food and beverage, booking the acts, and so on. In contrast, the Grand River Jazz
Society is an incorporated not for profit, dependent on unpaid volunteers, in-cluding
Preece.
They have found the ideal partner in the Huether Hotel. The hotel does not
charge the society for use of the facility, but the hotel handles all the food and
beverage business, and keeps the profit from that business.
All of this means that the Jazz Society can operate a year-round jazz club on
a relatively miniscule budget – the annual figure is $140,000.Almost all of that
goes to pay musicians and technical support.
The Jazz Room supplies employment opportunities for a lot of jazz musicians.
The Jazz Room operates 10 months a year (not in the summer), open every Fri-day
and Saturday evening, with very rare exceptions. Fridays, the players are
likely to be local jazz musicians; on Saturdays, there are often national and in-ternational
stars on the stage. Young local jazz musicians have an opportunity
to perform as opening acts for established stars.
Preece points out that he teaches social entrepreneurship at Laurier. One cur-rent
trend, he says, is that “entrepreneurs are re-examining the traditional mod-els….
And that’s what we’ve done here.”
Key to making it work, he says, is the not-for-profit model. Volunteers provide
the foundation and framework in which the venue owner – the Huether – can
profit, and musicians and support people can get paid. And where jazz lovers
have a place to slake their artistic thirst.
This would not work, of course, without committed volunteers, and a venue
like the Huether willing to dedicate the space as a venue used exclusively for
jthe Jazz Society. “The Huether,” says Preece, “is a great partner.”
He also praises the board members of the Society. He’s President, but he
points out that this is a genuine “working board”, with everyone contributing
sweat equity to the project.“Everybody’s a volunteer,” says Preece.The Board in-cludes
John Lord, Ruth Harris, Tom Nagy, Colin Read, Ashok Thirumurthi, Geral-dine
Bradshaw and Steven Montgomery. Another key member of the team is
musician Ted Warren, who has been named artistic director for the Saturday
shows.
The Jazz Room is now well into its third year, and is clearly a success. But the
Grand River Jazz Society is not resting on it laurels. Says Preece,“we have moved
into educational things, workshops, talks, jazz appreciation kinds of things.”
Preece and his colleagues are continually striving for improvement.Attendance
is good, but they want better than good, and “we’re continually trying to get the
word out.”
It’s all about trust, he says. That is one key to longevity of a venue like the Jazz
Room – while the audience may be attracted by some well-known names, they
will also come back for a lesser known talent, simply because they have come
to trust the organizers of the show.
The Society’s literature talks about its “dual mandate – to support exceptional
musicians from our own community, and to invite performers from across
Canada and aboard, for local audiences to experience.”
Well, that’s true. But the same blurb mentions that “The Jazz Room is a sizzling
nightclub dedicated to the best in jazz.”
That really captures the end product of Stephen Preece’s entrepreneurial ex-pertise
and love for music. He’s the impetus behind all that wonderful, sizzling,
jazz. - By Paul Knowles
WATERLOO’S JAZZ ROOM - A UNIQUE
SUCCESS STORY
Stephen Preece, creator of The Jazz Room

BUILDING UP HOMES – HABITAT FOR HUMANITY CANADA’S GLOBAL VILLAGE
MONITOR
Normally my articles are focused on Leadership, but this article is focused on
a different application of leadership – Being a leader within our local and world
community. I want to share a recent experience where I traveled to Debre Berhan,
Ethiopia.
What an amazing and surreal experience to travel to Ethiopia along with a team
of 11 other volunteers through Habitat Canada Global Village. I have experi-enced
many build days here in Canada with the many Habitat Affiliates Future
Focus Inc supports professionally and as volunteers, but these experiences did
not prepare me for the adventure in Ethiopia. It is very difficult to tell this story
in a short and concise way because this adventure was so rich in amazing and
unique experiences. Anyone who wants to know more, please connect and I
would be happy to share more details of how amazing it is to participate inWorld
Community Service in this way. So here’s my story:
Our Mission:
Within the borders of Debre Berhan, there is a 650-home community that is
being built by Habitat for Humanity. There are 50 Chika Houses remaining to be
built for low-income families to complete this community. These homes are so
small and basic that we wouldn’t see them as anything more than a detached
garage here in Canada, but what a vast improvement to many of the homes in
urban communities in Ethiopia.
Whereas in Canada, Habitat homes are built by a myriad of community sup-porters
from donors through to wonderful community volunteers, in Ethiopia the
money comes from international sponsorship (with Canada being in the top five
contributors). Volunteer hours to build the homes come from two sources; the
first source is actually the family members that will be the recipients of the
homes.The second source of volunteers would be the members within my Habi-tat
Global Village team, and other GV teams that have preceded and followed.
This is important to the story because the most spectacular part of this experi-ence
was the time I spent side-by-side with the people that were being positively
impacted by our efforts!
The People:
As I mentioned, definitely the most amazing part of my experience was the
people that I had the opportunity to interact with including: the Habitat Ethiopia
staff/volunteers, the family members we worked with, and all the kids from the
community that I played with during my lunch periods and on the weekend!
The best way to describe the Ethiopian people that I became very close to is,
extremely hard working, happy and excited for the opportunity of owning their
own home, fun and energetic when working side-by-side with us, curious and fas-cinated
with our electronics that we carried (phones, cameras, etc.), and espe-cially
thankful to us because we chose to share in building their dream for their
families.
We worked side-by-side together without understanding each other’s language,
but we managed to communicate, sharing knowledge, stories, laughter, and of
course our work chants. When we weren’t busy on the build project of the day,
I was out playing with the kids in the community. You have to be careful when
getting into a game of football (soccer in Canada) as they have amazing ball-handling
skills!
The Home Building Experience:
I know for a fact that I found muscles in my body that I didn’t know existed prior
to the work we did here! Everything is done manually, and nothing at all is
wasted. The only manufactured tools that we used were shovels and pick-axes
to dig foundations and 10-foot-deep latrine pits (no plumbing). Everything else
was done by hard work or homemade tools using available materials (e.g. Eu-calyptus
branches to make ladders).
We had the opportunity to work on each stage of the Chika home-building from
digging trenches for the foundation, to applying the paint (homemade using
gypsum and other natural materials).These homes seem relatively simple com-pared
to our standards, but they are very efficient with maximum use of mate-rials.
As an example, the soil that we extract when digging the foundation is used
as an ingredient to make the Chika.Whereas, the rock bed that is carved out to
dig the latrine’s pit (10 feet deep) is used to fill in the floor of the home because
it is harder and will save on the amount of cement required.
You can learn about all the steps for building a Chika house by watching:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZQneYyHRFU. This video was not done by our
group, but it is in the same Habitat Community in Debre Birhan, and I recognize
some of the same characters!
Getting Involved:
Habitat for Humanity in Canada is a wonderful collection of Affiliates that sup-port
impoverished families in our local communities to break the cycle of poverty
through affordable home ownership. It is a web of many efforts coming together
towards this mission: volunteers, corporate and private donors, municipal sup-port,
staff, and board/committee members from the community. In Ethiopia, they
simply do not have the same resources, so it is up to us and other countries to
lend a hand. Being involved in a build experience like this, transformed all of us.
While it may not be possible for everyone to commit the time to travel around
the world, there is still a way to make a difference. Making a donation to Habi-tat
Canada Global Village or your local Habitat Affiliate is an excellent way to
show your support. This was truly a life changing experience for me, and I hope
that my stories and my pictures can in some way influence others to get involved
and experience it for themselves. - By Michael Snyders
Michael Snyders is shown, back, third from right.
Photo by Habitat for Humanity

On January 13, 2014, the Internet company said it was acquiring Nest, a maker
of smart smoke alarms and thermostats, in a move that gives Google a strong
foothold in a hot new market known as the “connected home.”
The idea behind the connected home is to connect heating systems, lighting
systems and appliances such as refrigerators to the Internet so that they can be
made more efficient and controlled from afar. In the process, companies can col-lect
more data about people’s habits, something Google loves.
Nest’s price tag shows Google means business: $3.2 billion cash. If the deal
goes through—which Google expects in the next few months—it will be one of its
largest acquisitions since the Internet giant bought YouTube in 2006 for $1.6 bil-lion.
Google has been interested in Nest since at least 2011,when it led a round
of funding in the company, followed by another in 2012.
Nest makes a thermostat and a smoke-and-carbon-monoxide monitor that
can be controlled viaWi-Fi from a smartphone, and that can re-program them-selves
based on people’s behaviour. The privately held company was founded
in 2010 and has more than 300 employees spread across three countries. A
good number of its workers, including CEOTony Fadell, are former Apple employ-ees.
So why is Google willing to cough up so much for such a young company? For
starters, it likely saw a pool of talented engineers who can help it tap into a hot
new market. It may also be seeking a launching pad to play a bigger role in con-necting
all those home devices, be they thermostats or perhaps one day your
toaster oven.
”This is a new area for Google, representing a desire to take advantage of all
devices,” said Ben Bajarin, director of consumer technology at Creative Strate-gies,
a market intelligence and research firm.“Google wants its own platform for
this world of connected things.”
Google certainly wants a bigger presence in the home – it’s shown that already
through other products. Earlier this year it unveiled the Chromecast, a $35 de-vice
for streaming television, movies and other content to your TV – its answer
to Apple TV. It also operates the PlayStore, providing all sorts of entertainment
GRAND RIVER BROKE THEMOLD FOR HERITAGE RIVER SYSTEM
options.
On its own website,Google maintains a ”tips” page devoted to Google services
in the home, like how to use Google+ to “get the family together.”
Linking home appliances is an emerging market where Google won’t want to
get left behind. The timing of the announcement – coming on the first business
day after the massive International CES closed its doors – is interesting.At that
show, the connected home was one of the biggest topics.
By acquiring Nest, Google will get its hands on one of the most-talked-about
connected-device startups of the past year,which was thanks largely to its Apple
pedigree.
Google is already working to connect other types of devices. It recently an-nounced
its Open Automotive Alliance, which would bring Google’s Android sys-tem
to cars this year, making them smarter. - by Zach Miners, reprinted from
PCWorld
GOOGLE MOVES INTO YOUR HOME
Canadian Heritage River designation of the Grand River 20 years ago was a
major coup in many ways. The Grand River was the first non-wilderness river to
be designated. It was also the first to have its tributaries integrated within its des-ignation,
taking a more integrated approach to heritage designation.
“The real coup was to convince the ‘powers that be’ to designate the Grand
River, because it was a departure from all the other designated rivers to that
point,” explains Bryan Howard, who worked for the Ministry of Natural Resources
and co-chaired the Grand Strategy in 1994. “There was a broadening of the
scope that paved the way for other non-wilderness rivers in southern Ontario,
such as the Thames, Humber and the Detroit rivers to be designated.”
Nomination was a lengthy process that began in 1987. The Grand was nomi-nated
Feb. 20, 1990.There was a great deal of input from committees and hun-dreds
of members of the public all along the way. The Grand was designated on
Jan. 18, 1994, the 15th river to be designated by the Canadian Heritage Rivers
Board, which has representatives appointed for each province and territory.
The process had begun when the board met at the historic Langdon Hall in Cam-bridge,
where they were presented with a management plan called The Grand
Strategy, which provided a plan for the future and a look forward 25 years, to
2019. It was developed through a collaborative process involving more than
200 representatives of community groups, businesses, educational institutions,
municipalities, federal and provincial agencies, First Nations and the GRCA.
“It was regarded as a pivotal change for the Canadian Heritage River System to
embrace the Grand River into the system, because it was a working river,”Howard
says.
The GRCA’s lead in this process was Grand Strategy co-chair Barbara Veale,who
dedicated many years to bringing about the river designation. During the two
decades since, she has helped to keep the river designation on the front burner
locally, nationally and internationally. She now works for Conservation Halton, but
she continues her interest in heritage designation of the Grand.
The stumbling block for designation of the Grand River was that it did not meet
the criteria to be considered for its natural features, because it is not a free-flowing
river. As a result, it didn’t conform with the CHRS guidelines for natural
heritage. For this reason Veale, Howard and a legion of other people worked
extra hard to bring about the nomination and designation based on the two
other areas of nomination: cultural features and recreational opportunities.
The Grand nomination document included the major tributaries in the designa-tion
— the Nith, Conestogo, Speed and Eramosa rivers. Howard believes that in-cluding
these rivers strengthened the case to designate the Grand River. It also
brought the concept of integrated watershed management into the Heritage
River nomination process. By 1999, Heritage River plaques had been unveiled
on all the rivers to denote their designation.
The only river in the CHRS that has more kilometres of designated waterways
than the Grand is the Fraser River, as the entire 1,375-km river has been des-ignated.
In contrast, many Canadian Heritage Rivers have sections that have
been designated, such as 48 km of the Yukon River known as “The Thirty Mile,”
part of the Klondike Gold Rush. The Yukon itself is nearly 3,200 km long.
“One of the biggest values of the Heritage River designation was to raise the
profile of the river in the communities up and down the rivers,” says Veale.“Many
neat things have come out of it, including books about the river, poetry and art
festivals, to name a few.All of those increase awareness of the rivers again. It has
really helped to have people notice the river, because before the designation,
we turned our back on the river.”
The Grand Strategy was created to direct change within the Grand River water-shed;
the GRCA will be preparing a 20-year monitoring report to outline the
changes that have taken place since designation. - Janet Baine
MONITOR
Canoeing: an ideal way to explore our Heritage River.
Photo provided by GRCA

Kelly Lovell is a CEO, and a motivational coach. She heads her own corpora-tion,
with four distinct “portfolios”. She oversees a team of more than 100 peo-ple.
She’s received a multitude of prestigious awards – the youngest person ever
named as one of Canada’s Most PowerfulWomen; a Hesselbein Fellow in 2013
(one of the Top 50 Young Leaders of the world); an American Express 2013
“Emerging Leader”; Roger’s Woman of the Year; Ashoka’s 2013 Emerging Inno-vator
of Canada; and many more.
Kelly Lovell is 21 years old. She’s the CEO of The Kelly Effect, a corporation that
is spinning off several subsidiary enterprises.
She’s aWaterloo native, the great-granddaughter of John Forsyth of Forsyth and
Arrow Shirt fame. She attended Resurrection Catholic Secondary School in Kitch-ener,
and that’s where she started to make her very large mark.
Lovell told Exchange, “It started off small, as one idea I had about bridging the
gap between our local volunteer centre and my peers at my high school. No one
knew of the Volunteer Action Centre,where they had all these amazing resources
for young leaders to connect with local NGOs and develop their experience.”
Lovell decided to build a connection between her classmates, and the volun-teer
centre. “I created this inter-school competition that challenged my peers to
work as a team in their school to get the most students to log onto the Volun-teer
Centre’s platform and participate in some of their tools and resources to
earn points. They were competing against other schools for a prize.”
She built the project on what might seem to be contradictory principles: the
value of volunteerism, and her awareness that young people “always want to
know, ‘what’s in it for me?’.” She launched the competition, with the chance to
win bragging rights and prizes, in the higher cause of volunteerism – and the re-sults
were astonishing.
“In two weeks, we generated over 2100 volunteer hours and 750 students
logged on, and it grew to almost every school in our region.”
Virtually overnight success in creating a successful, community-wide program
motivated her to press on to bigger and better things. She says, “That was one
of my ‘Ah-ha!’moments when I realized I had a knack for it, and more importantly,
that these gaps existed... Many organizations had the same problem, of trying
to access and engage youth, and youth constantly have the problems of not
knowing the resources that many organizations have.”
She cites personal experience: “I was one of those keen, young, ambitious lead-ers
who had these great goals and ambitions of how we could change the world,
ideas I wanted to see put into action... I wanted to try my ideas, to see if I could
pull some of these things off.”
There’s no doubt she has, in fact, pulled some of those things off. She runs the
program called “The Kelly Effect”, her motivational speaking and corporate con-sultation
arm. She initiated “The You Effect”, a social media program intended
to link young leaders, world-wide; in April, she launched, “My Clean City”, a na-tion-
wide youth leadership program focused on environmental volunteerism.And
still under wraps is a new social venture to address youth unemployment.
She adds that some of her earliest critics have changed their tune. “Passion is
contagious. Some of my greatest supporters used to be the ones who closed an
initial door in my face and said, ‘No it’s not possible, Kelly. Give up.’ But through
passion and persistence I have earned their respect and support.... If you can
sell your passion, you have an infinite number of open doors ahead of you.”
Her newest venture,“My Clean City’, looks “to turn volunteer work into volunteer
play.” The program, offered in cities across Canada, including Waterloo Region,
links young volunteers with environmental projects in their communities. It’s not,
says Lovell, “about knocking off hours or something to do with authority push-ing
it on them. It’s something they can take freely in their own hands,mold it the
way they want it, do it their way. It also gives them the opportunity to prove their
own capabilities to themselves and their community.”
She adds, “A lot of time young people underestimate themselves as leaders...
So my programs cater to creating opportunities for youth to take on responsibil-ity
beyond their expectations and to realize the leaders they can become.
“Young people doubt their abilities, they’re taught by their community that they
need to achieve certain things before they can become leaders in their own right,
but in my experience, it is our youth that is our greatest asset, because when you
are young, we can see this world without those lenses.We’re not jaded yet.We
can point out the obvious questions, kind of ask why are we doing it the way we
are?”
Clearly, she has enormous faith in the potential of the young, once barriers –
both internal and system – are surmounted.
She talks of “youthful curiosity and bold tenacity that I believe have the solu-tions
to the world’s greatest problems... A lot of my work focuses on creating
opportunities to foster those leaders, or creating opportunities for the profes-sional
world to acknowledge and tap into that leadership.”
“We are a change generation. We’re not this ‘me’ generation. I feel this tidal
wave of change. You can either resist the tidal wave, or you can build it or surf
it.”
Lovell’s path to entrepreneurial achievement has been unusual. She says,“A lot
of my work has been built on volunteering. This is unheard of. In the business
world, the first question would be, where’s the finances, where’s the money be-hind
it, or how can I fund an idea. I believe if you really want a long term vi-sion....
your first driver shouldn’t be about money.”
That doesn’t mean financial success is not part of the goal. The corporation
she has built will continue to promote volunteerism, but is also her personal
platform as a speaker, and a consultant.
“A lot of my projects, I perceived despite funding, and that’s coming into play
as a later piece,” she says.
Lovell says, “I built a lot of it through strategic collaboration, which I believe is
really the hidden aspect for young entrepreneurs...Why try and build a new net-work
to market your product or idea or to try and fundraise when you can lever-age
off the networks and organizations that already have access to your customer
demographic.Why not align with them and work together?”
Kelly Lovell believes in herself, and her enterprises. She knows she has found
a unique niche, filling a gap – something she’s clearly good at. She told Ex-change
that corporations often “believe there are tons of opportunity for youth
to get involved”, but the problem is, they don’t work. So she has created programs
that demonstrably do work.
With many more to come. Guaranteed.
It’s all just part of the Kelly Effect.
THE KELLY EFFECT
MONITOR
Kelly Lovell: “We are a change generation”.

BACK PAGE
Getting everyone back into busi-ness
was job one, from the morn-ing
of the fire. Shantz says,
“Everybody around us helped us.
The community helped us to move
very quickly to an alternative. And
we’re going to bring back the
building, better than before.”
The new, permanent building
should be completed this
year. The new home for the
indoor vendors is in the works, but
in the meantime, the “Harvest
Barn” was built on the same 20-
by-80 metre foundation as the
building that was destroyed, a
temporary accommodation that
would allow everyone to re-open.
Shantz says the township
helped enormously; at the time,
Mayor Todd Cowan was quoted as
saying, “We’re going to help fast-track
the building site plans and the build-ing
permits and whatever we can do
to help.” According to Shantz, the
township kept that commitment.
Shantz says things are on track to
complete the new indoor market.
“We’re hoping to have it opened this
year, although it will be very late in
the year,” he says. A grand opening
celebration is likely not to take place
until spring, 2015.
In the end, the iconic Farmers Mar-ket
will actually be improved, as it
rises from the ashes. The indoor ven-dors
will have new, modern accom-modations
by the end of this year,
while the Harvest Barn will be made
available as a facility for vendors in
the outdoor market.
“Our long-term plan,” says Shantz,
“is to keep that building and use it for
the outdoor market,” as a shelter for
outside vendors. It will extend their
season, and offer protection from
the elements.
Today, even in their temporary
quarters, things are getting back to
normal for the vendors at the mar-ket.
Shantz says that almost every-one
returned when the Harvest Barn
was opened.
“Everyone who wanted a space
got a space,” he says. A very few
vendors decided that the fire had
brought them to a point of decision,
and opted to close their businesses,
but that was a tiny minority.
The recovery plan is still unfold-ing,
but there is no doubt that the St.
Jacobs Farmers Market is back in
full operation. Saturday crowds,
says Shantz, are numbering 20,000;
up to 35,000 people each week are
visiting the Farmers Market.
Although, vendor Angie Scheid of
Clover Leaf Farms says that many of
those who show up to stroll the mar-ket
are more sightseers than shop-pers.
The market that has risen from
the ashes has become a different kind
of destination, for some – and the ven-dors
are hoping that visitors cut back
on the sight-seeing and return to their
former, money-spending ways.
con’t from page 30
Shantz: “Even my Dad wouldn’t have imagined how popular the Market is.”
ORGANIC NEWS AGGREGATION
Professional, Meaningful and Current
Business and Professional News
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And there have been other challenges. The Harvest Barn,
with its fabric roof, has been very expensive – and some-times,
apparently, impossible – to heat adequately. Shantz
says, with some irony, “we built a tent in the hardest winter
we’ve had!”
He points out that although problems arising from the
fire were solved with astonishing effi-ciency,
nonetheless, “It’s been tremen-dously
difficult; our vendors have been
The biggest challenge is
changing the perception that
the Farmers Market is closed.
“We still get calls from people
who heard the whole town
very, very patient throughout.”
But the biggest challenge, he says, is
“changing the perception that we’re
closed.” The truth is, the St. Jacobs
Farmers Market was never closed. The
outdoor vendors were in operation by
Saturday, the very next day of regularly
schedule market business. Some indoor
vendors were assigned temporary quarters soon after that;
all that asked for space were back in business by early
December.
But the story of the disastrous fire had better legs than
the story of the Phoenix-like recovery; the market may
have arisen new from the ashes, but a lot of people don’t
know it.
Shantz says the tale has also grown in the telling: “We
still get calls from people who heard the whole town
burned to the ground.” He suggests that “the popularity of
the market was a two-edged sword” – everyone was inter-ested
in the story, but not nearly everyone got the facts
right. “The challenge is to get the word out that we’re fully
open, and that there’s lots to do.”
Today, several months after the fire of September 2, the
news is still all about the rapid recovery
from disaster. But there may be a bigger
story.
The new building is going to take the
Market to another level. It’s going to be
bigger than the building it replaces,
with more amenities. And the Harvest
Barn will also continue to be in use.
All of which will probably mean that
St. Jacobs Farmers Market will be even
more popular than in the past – and
burned to the ground.”
that is going some.
The entire St. Jacobs enterprise was launched by leg-endary
local entrepreneur, Milo Shantz. Milo, who passed
away in 2009, was Marcus’s father.
The younger Shantz now says, “even my Dad, who was
very enthusiastic, wouldn’t have imagined how popular the
Market is” – a popularity underscored by the amazing out-pouring
of public interest in the wake of an early-morning
fire.
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*Trade-mark of the Council of Better Business Bureaus used under license.

BACK PAGE
RISING FROM
THE ASHES
What I felt was disbelief, even when I got there.” That’s
BY PAUL KNOWLES Marcus Shantz
Marcus Shantz, President of the Mercedes Corpora-tion,
talking about the shock he felt on the morning of Sep-tember
2, 2013, when he realized the main building at the
St. Jacobs Farmers Market – which is owned by Mercedes –
was a smouldering ruin.
The fire call had come in at 1:48 a.m. “And very quickly,”
he adds, “came the realization that this wasn’t just our
business – there are an awful lot of
stakeholders.”
Yes, there are. The building that was
lost housed 65 booths, operated by 60
vendors. As well, the St. Jacobs market is
home to over 300 outdoor vendors, and a
flea market section, with about 50 small-business
owners.
The news of the fire spread across the
country like – well, like wild fire. The 24,000 square foot
wooden building had no chance. The good news was, no
one was hurt in the blaze. The bad news – the indoor ven-dors
had lost everything they had in the building.
Shantz sums it up: “Nobody died, but it was a disas-ter.”
In some cases, vendors lost their equipment equip-ment;
in others, their entire inventory. Some were insured,
some not. Shantz says, “the craft people were hit particu-larly
hard,” because of total loss of inventory.
Politicians showed up en masse to express support. The
local municipality – Woolwich township – did everything it
could to help the Farmers Market, according to Shantz. A
fund was set up through the Kitchener-Waterloo Communi-ty
Foundation to provide some help to the vendors in their
losses.
By late March, 2014, $182,000 had been raised (the chari-table
arm of the Mercedes Corporation
has matched donations), and an initial
donation of $1,000 went to each ven-dor,
with more possible depending on
individual need. Clearly, some help – but
not a lot.
Perhaps the more remarkable assis-tance
to the vendors came in very prac-tical
terms. Shantz says that as soon as
they had comprehended the loss, “our job as a team was to
get this thing back.” The outdoor market didn’t miss one
day of operation; the building destroyed in the blaze was
replaced with a temporary “barn” within three months.
The market owners sought to find ways to keep their
vendors in business; those who had no other outlets were
accommodated first, and almost every vendor was back in
operation before Christmas.
This wasn’t just our business –
there are an awful lot of
stakeholders ... getting
everyone back into business
was job one.
con’t on page 28

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