News

Hampers of Hope 2011

written on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 09:02
Last year we enjoyed the surprise of each family when we arrived with a hamper overflowing with food and gifts, but this year we went for something a little different...a shopping spree! We thought, why not take all of the women from each house shopping and let them pick out all the groceries they really needed for their families? It would be a fun day, and besides, what woman doesn't love a shopping spree?
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Ana and Mailine outside their new home built for them last July 2011
Yohany and family with their groceries. House built for them last July 2011
Sandra with Angel and Chicquito shopping.
Luisa and Jenny shopping. House built for them by the Heathwood Mikiey team OHBA
Loading up the truck wth all the groceries
Loading up the truck wth all the groceries
Driving back to Nuevo Renacer with all the groceries.
Angel out side of his house built for him by Simcoe County team on the OHBA trip
Luisa and family outside their new home with their groceries
Enelda outside her new home with her groceries. Built by Brantford team OHBA
Angelina shopping. Her new home was built by the Boston Pizza Foundation
Angela and daugther checking their list
Grocery List
Maria and Nettie. Maria's new house was built by the Boston Pizza Foundation

Paloma Michelle

written on Sun, 02/12/2012 - 13:59

Reality sinks as I sit in the land office going through applications of families who are all worthy of a Hero Holiday house and I begin to understand that not all families will be getting good news from us. We are only so many hands and we cannot build for all of them this year. As we sat in the office looking through applications a 17-year-old girl walks in with her 8-month-old boy. She starts filling out an application for a house and chatting with Santiago (our translator) and the landlady.

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The House that Changed Me

written on Fri, 01/27/2012 - 10:43

Coming to Mexico, I always knew that I would be building houses for Mexican families who can't afford them. I knew that they would be living in makeshift houses that leak when it rains and wearing tattered clothes over and over again, but for some reason I just wasn't expecting what I experienced these past few days.

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The Faces of Dominican Republic

written on Tue, 01/03/2012 - 08:58

Our life is full of faces. Faces that in our society pass us by. How often do we see the faces that pass us by? It seems as if we are so focused on where we are going and putting one foot in front of the other, that we often forget where our foot is in a specific moment.

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Faces

Rain, Waves, Sunshine and Song in the D.R.

written on Fri, 12/30/2011 - 21:50

It's hard to believe you can pack so much into 48 hours - but we have!
We have done it all: worked in the rain wearing garbage bags, sweat in the sun as we flung cement at the walls of the house we are smooth coating, sang as we worked and played baseball in a field dodging cow pies as we ran around the bases, and bobbed in the waves of the ocean. This is the life!
Our Hero Holiday D.R. team has been packing each day full of adventure. But more than that, we have been a part of something that is bringing hope and change to a family and community that is inspiring us to return home changed.

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Teary Goodbyes

written on Fri, 12/09/2011 - 10:55
Today was an intense day. So, this is our last week in Mexico, and although I am very happy to see my friends and family back home in Canada, I am also so sad. I woke up feeling pretty good about everything. We had class just like usual, then we headed off to teach English at the Pasao San Quintin school one last time. I was completely fine. We taught our lesson and then Rosa started talking to the class... she started telling the kids how much we loved coming to see teach them and getting to know them. My tears then started flowing. I didn't even mean to, I just started crying so much. Yolanda, a 12 year old who is extremely smart and a great kid, came up to me and gave me a huge hug. Whoa! That just made me cry even more!
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Christmas for Jennifer (and many more families)

written on Mon, 12/05/2011 - 16:21

Jennifer is one of our newest friends. She is a young mother, barely 22 years old. She is married to Juan and together they have two small children. Jennifer and Juan live in Aguas Negras, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. Before this past July, they didn't have much in this world to call their own - at least not in the way of shelter and protection. But that all changed this past summer.

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Halfway Home!

written on Wed, 11/23/2011 - 08:58

Today, it hit me. I am sitting in a fishing lodge near Blackville, New Brunswick, and tour is over halfway over. How did I get here? Yesterday I was loading my bags into our house in Hamilton, never having left home before. I learned how to set up a concert, public speak like a pro and deal with life on a tour bus. Today, the road is my home, and I have never felt so fulfilled.

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4 Reasons to book your Hero Holiday before Dec 31st

written on Sat, 11/19/2011 - 16:43

Here are 4 reasons to register online for a Hero Holiday before December 31

1. Reserve your spot - some trips are filling quickly! Register online and pay* your initial $300 to secure a spot on your selected trip. Good news: You are now able to both apply AND donate online for Hero Holiday trips!

2. Early-bird pricing*. With increasing travel costs, there is a possibility that prices* for trips could be slightly increased in 2012. As soon as you register and send your initial $300, current pricing* will be honoured. This pricing* offer is good until December 31, 2011.


We are Woman

written on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 11:04
It's two days into house build number two for us Live Different Academy Students and although it has only been a few days a lot has been done! This week we are building for Maria and Pedro and their four kids who are ages four to sixteen. This family has a special place in my heart and building for them has lit a fire in my heart. They have so little; I brought more to Mexico with me then this family has but yet they are still able to give. We found out the day we interviewed them about their application that Maria always gives what she can to others and her children now do the same....
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We are Woman
We are Woman
We are Woman

Butterflies in Formation!

written on Thu, 10/27/2011 - 14:59

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Ninja Kicks

written on Mon, 10/24/2011 - 09:35

This past week has been a great week on tour with Team Ninja! We had a great weekend in Hamilton visiting friends and hanging out at the Magill house. Some of the team drove to Canada's Wonderland and proceeded to get themselves sick from rides and bad food. I was not willing to pay for that kind of entertainment. Early Monday morning we left Hamilton for tour again and where we started with a few shows in the GTA. Christal and Ashley came to one of our shows to get some video footage and also to spend some time with the team. It was great to see them both again. We then traveled to Ottawa and have spent the last few days with the Lobban family.

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Shack Day Seven: Crazy, Amazing Week

written on Fri, 10/21/2011 - 20:15
Hola! Well we have pretty much finished shack week. Tomorrow at 5:30am we will be let back into the big house across the street. It is really crazy to think that it’s over. It has been a long, hard, crazy, fantastic, wonderful and amazing week. We have all learned a lot about what it is like to live in Mexico without a whole lot. We have learned what we can and can’t afford to eat, as well as how to start a fire with damp wood while using only one match!
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Amazing Week
Amazing Week

So Much to Be Proud Of

written on Wed, 10/19/2011 - 16:32
Today we worked in the tomato fields for the second time. It wasn’t as bad as the first time we did it. Even though we got tired, sore and hot, I realized that we always ended up smiling. I cannot think of a time in my life where I was working that hard and yet so happy at the same time. I had been told work in the fields was hard and I had seen people working in the fields as we drove by but now I know how difficult it really is.
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Working

Lots of Time to Think

written on Tue, 10/18/2011 - 01:18
It’s interesting how eventually things like sitting on cardboard around the fire-pit even though our pants are already dirty, eating the same thing nearly everyday and knowing the price of things at the grocery store become normal. You learn a lot when you live in a shack made of cardboard boxes tied together by mop strings and plastic tubing. We now know how to start a fire in the dark and how to cook rice over that open fire without it being complete mush.
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Cleaning

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