The Kinsmen Club of Bible Hill recently donated around $2,300 to Scotia Pool for the purchase of 44 life jackets of various sizes. Thanks to Jeff Gill at Hub Now for the photo and coverage.
In the Press: Scotia Pool Donation
Category: Kinsmen Update
Kinsmen Report: April 2017
Greetings from the Bible Hill Kinsmen! We’re busy gearing up for the 2nd Annual Colchester Book Fair. The two-day sale will be held at May 12th and 13th at the Truro Mall, in a space near the lotto booth. Proceeds from this year’s event will go to the Colchester East Hants VON, as well as local groups and organizations supported by the Kinsmen. In addition, leftover books from the sale will once again go to Colchester Community Workshops.
Donations have come from a number of places. From estates, to businesses, to people bringing a few boxes at a time to the various drop-off locations around the area, it’s incredible to see how such a large, empty area with tables lined up turns into a packed space. It took a lot of effort in the weeks beforehand to sort the books and have them priced to sell.
In an effort to move as much as we could at the end of the sale last year, you were able to buy the remaining books at a flat rate per bag. This year, the Kinsmen are simplifying the process by selling everything by weight.
There are seven drop-off locations for this year’s sale: Masstown Market, Sobeys on Prince St and Robie St in Truro, the book fair location at the Truro Mall, Shur Gain Feeds ‘n Needs, Fundy Appliance in Bible Hill, and the Truro Farmer’s Market. Donations can include books, puzzles, games, DVDs, CDs, vinyl, and comic books. However, the book fair is unable to accept technical manuals, encyclopedias, textbooks, magazines, VHS tapes, or Reader’s Digest Condensed Editions.
For more information on the sale, or to ask a question, email bookfair@biblehillkinsmen.ca or call 902-895-4533. The Kinsmen look forward to seeing everyone on May 12th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and on May 13th from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Bible Hill Kinsmen hosted the Kin Association’s Annual Spring Zone Convention at the Best Western Glengarry in Truro from March 31st to April 1st. Over 15 clubs from across Nova Scotia and PEI attended the convention. They were able to take part in some of what our community has to offer, along with having an opportunity to meet with other Kinsmen and have discussions on how we serve our community’s greatest need.
This Convention takes place just over the midway point of our Kin Year, which runs from September to June, and helps our clubs continue their focus on any events, whether they be of a fundraising nature or volunteering hours. It gives the members a chance to meet with other clubs face to face to exchange ideas on fundraising and membership recruitment to name a few. Spring Zone Convention does move to different areas of Nova Scotia and PEI each year, though the Bible Hill Kinsmen look forward to hosting it again in the near future.
We’d love to see you at one of our meetings. The Bible Hill Kinsmen hold meetings on the first and third Thursday of the month, from September to June, at 7:30 p.m. at the Douglas Street Recreation Centre. If you’re interested in joining us for a meeting, or would like more information, email president@biblehillkinsmen.ca.
James Faulkner is a member of the Bible Hill Kinsmen.
Kinsmen Report: March 2017
Hello again from the Bible Hill Kinsmen! Spring is here, which hopefully means some warmer weather is on the way and less of that white stuff that keeps falling from the sky.
For the last four years, a considerable amount of time has gone into planning and preparing for our Great Trivia Challenge. We’re pleased to say that it was a huge success once again, and we have you to thank for your continued support of the event. Around 350 people made their way to the Best Western Glengarry earlier this month to match wits through ten rounds of trivia. When the dust settled, the Smartie Pints were the declared winners. The HR Hellraisers finished in 2nd. The Ice Hogs ended their evening in 3rd place, but it took a one question tie-breaker for that finish.
A special thank you also goes to the volunteers who joined our club members to make this the biggest trivia night yet. That also extends to the evening’s hosts, Greg Bishop from Cat Country 99.5 (his 2nd time hosting) and Mitch Johnson from Big Dog 100.9.
This year’s event was in support of the Colchester East Hants Health Centre Foundation’s We Care About Cancer Fund, and to a number of local groups and organizations supported by the Bible Hill Kinsmen. Last week, project chair Dave Gillis and Kinsmen Andrew St. Coeur proudly presented a cheque for $6,000 to Raj Makkar, Manager of Ambulatory Care, Chemo Clinic, and Darlene Holmes, Cancer Patient Navigator.
What’s the next big project coming up, you ask? The 2nd Annual Colchester Book Fair! We’ll have more details for you in the coming weeks, but the event is scheduled for May 12th and 13th. Last year’s event was bigger than we could have imagined, and our members are excited to continue this long-standing tradition in our area. Keep an eye on biblehillkinsmen.ca for all the latest news from the club.
We’d love to see you at one of our meetings. The Bible Hill Kinsmen hold meetings on the first and third Thursday of the month, from September to June, at 7:30 p.m. at the Douglas Street Recreation Centre. If you’re interested in joining us for a meeting, or would like more information, email president@biblehillkinsmen.ca.
James Faulkner is a member of the Bible Hill Kinsmen.
Great Trivia Challenge Donation
Due to the money raised through the Great Trivia Challenge earlier this month, the Bible Hill Kinsmen have donated $6,000 to the Colchester East Hants Health Centre Foundation’s We Care About Cancer Fund!Pictured are project chair Dave Gillis (far left), Darlene Holmes, Cancer Patient Navigator, Raj Makkar, Manager of Ambulatory Care, Chemo Clinic, and Kinsmen member Andrew St. Coeur.
Thank you once again for all of your support in making our event a smashing success for a fourth straight year!
Kinsmen Report: February 2017
Greetings from the Bible Hill Kinsmen!
We’re just days away from the 4th Annual Great Trivia Challenge. Last minute preparations are underway and we can’t wait to see everyone as the massive room at the Best Western Glengarry fills up Saturday night. It was humbling to see how quickly you, the community, responded to this event and how many names were be added to a wait list. Thank you for your part in making this a fun evening. We will, as usual, have a balloon pop and silent auction to along with food, music, and a cash bar. Proceeds of this event will once again go towards the Colchester East Hants Health Centre Foundation’s “We Care About Cancer” Fund and other community projects.
Our members were at a Truro Junior A Bearcats game earlier this month to distribute a total of $5,000 between several groups and organizations through the Power Play Program. The Kinsmen donate $100 at every home game, or $200 if the Bearcats score a powerplay goal that night. A charity is chosen for each home game and they rotate throughout the season. The charities this season were the CEC Scholarship Fund, the Children’s Wish Foundation, the Colchester Food Bank, the Colchester-East Hants Hospice Society, the Truro Boys and Girls Club, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Our club has now donated $70,800 through the 15 years of the program. We’d also like to say thank you to a number of Bearcats players who helped with the presentations.
The National Day of KINdness was last weekend, and we invited you to join us at the outdoor ice surface at Truro’s Civic Square. We worked with the Great British Grub at the Farmer’s Market to cover the cost of the first 100 hot chocolate and hot dogs served by Great British Grub at the Market.
Capping off a busy and exciting month was a night of fun and fellowship as a number of our members and their partners celebrated the beginning of the Kin Association 97 years ago and the start of Kin in Truro and Bible Hill.
We’d love to see you at one of our meetings. The Bible Hill Kinsmen hold meetings on the first and third Thursday of the month, from September to June, at 7:30 p.m. at the Douglas Street Recreation Centre. If you’re interested in joining us for a meeting, or would like more information, email president@biblehillkinsmen.ca.
James Faulkner is a member of the Bible Hill Kinsmen.
The Great Trivia Challenge is Sold Out!
We are really pleased to announce that tables are now sold out for our Great Trivia Challenge. We are blown away at the support this event has received! We will take names for a waiting list if anyone is interested. Just email trivia@biblehillkinsmen.ca. For those that have registered, you are in for a fanatic time!
Kinsmen Report: January 2017
Hello once again from the Bible Hill Kinsmen!
The club is busy getting everything ready for the 4th Annual Great Trivia Challenge. The event, one of our major fundraisers of the year, takes place Saturday, March 4th at 7:30 p.m. at the Best Western Glengarry. Proceeds of this event will once again go towards the Colchester East Hants Health Centre Foundation’s “We Care About Cancer” Fund and other community projects.
We anticipate another packed venue, with a number of teams from last year’s event re-entering. However, there’s still room for more! Hundreds of people, in teams of eight, will compete to test their knowledge in sports, music, entertainment, history, and more! There will be lots of food, music, a cash bar, and a silent auction that will take place throughout the night.
The deadline to register is February 17th, at a cost of $300 per team. If you have any questions, feel free to send an email to trivia@biblehillkinsmen.ca.
We’re gearing up for a number of events later in the year, and will be sharing those details soon. One thing we have been able to focus on, and something that’s crucial for any group, is fellowship. Between a curling event in Moncton with fellow Kinsmen from around the Maritimes, to an afternoon spent bowling here in Bible Hill, it’s always fun to get together as a group.
The Bible Hill Kinsmen hold meetings on the first and third Thursday of the month, from September to June, at 7:30 p.m. at the Douglas Street Recreation Centre. We’d love to see you there. If you’re interested in joining us for a meeting, or would like more information, email president@biblehillkinsmen.ca.
James Faulkner is a member of the Bible Hill Kinsmen.
Kinsmen Report: December
Season’s Greetings from the Bible Hill Kinsmen. Happy Holidays! We hope that all of you had a very Merry Christmas and were able to enjoy the company of friends and family alike.
What happened to December? It seems like everyone has been extremely busy, almost as much as Santa himself, and we’re no exception to that.
Club members had a lot of fun holding casino nights for a handful of groups’ Christmas parties over the past month. It’s a great way to engage a lot of people we may never have met otherwise and just try to provide them with an entertaining evening as they celebrate with their friends and co-workers.
Like many others in the community, our club was saddened to hear of the break in at the Boys and Girls Club of Truro and Colchester last week. Kinsmen members decided very quickly that we wanted to help, especially with the incident happening right before Christmas, and helped replace some of the stolen items.
The focus right now is on New Year’s Eve. Do you have any plans? Well, there’s still time to join us at Bible Hill Junior High School. The dance will run from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m., with Big Dog 100.9’s Tyler Granter as the DJ. Tickets are $20 per person, and are available from any of our members as well as MacQuarries Pharmasave on The Esplanade. Feel free to email newyearsdance@biblehillkinsmen.ca with any questions. It’s shaping up to be a great evening!
We hold meetings on the first and third Thursday of the month, from September to June, at 7:30 p.m. at the Douglas Street Recreation Centre. We’d love to see you there. If you’re interested in joining us for a meeting, or would like more information, email president@biblehillkinsmen.ca.
James Faulkner is a member of the Bible Hill Kinsmen.
In the Press: KINdness Meters
It’s been a year since the kindness meters were first installed, and they’ve raised about $2,000 for local charities. (Jeff Gill/Hub Now)
Feeding the meter has become a much more enjoyable task in one Nova Scotia town now that three special parking meters are collecting spare change for charity.
The so-called kindness meters in downtown Truro have collected more than $2,000 for local charitable organizations since they were installed a year ago by members of the Bible Hill Kinsmen.
The Bible Hill Kinsmen split the donations between three local charities and they change the recipients every six months or so. (Quinn McCarthy)
Giving old meters new life
There is no paid parking in downtown Truro, so the bright red meters — which are located in prominent walking areas — stand out.
The Kinsmen were able to get the used meters from town officials and repurpose them.
“They actually had some old parking meters still kicking around,” said organizer Quinn McCarthy.
Different approach in N.B.
McCarthy said he first heard about kindness meters in Fredericton, where they were put in place by the local business association to discourage panhandling in the downtown area.
In this case, McCarthy said, the Kinsmen decided to split the money between three local charities — changing those charities every six months or so.
Quinn McCarthy first heard about kindness meters in Fredericton, where they were installed to discourage panhandling. (CBC)
Success story
Truro’s kindness meters are currently collecting donations for the Colchester Christmas Index Program, The Salvation Army’s Community Café, and the local chapter of ElderDog Canada.
The first year of fundraising has gone well, McCarthy said. The last group of three charities to benefit from the project received a little more than $200 each.
With files from the CBC’s Information Morning
(Full story also available on CBC’s website)
In the Press: Community rallies following theft at Boys and Girls Club of Truro and Colchester
Peter Taylor, President of the Bible Hill Kinsmen, Amanda McNea, Boys and Girls Club of Truro and Colchester, and Keith Gillis, owner of G&G Computers (James Faulkner)
The community has been quick to rally around the Boys and Girls Club of Truro and Colchester.
A thief hit the group’s building on Victoria Street in downtown Truro.
Staff arrived Tuesday to find the door unlatched and a number of items missing from the computer room.
The stolen items include a television, gaming systems, and games.
On Wednesday, the Bible Hill Kinsmen and Keith Gillis, owner of G&G Computers, arrived to help replace the missing items.
Anyone with information about the theft is asked to contact Truro Police.
(Full story also available from Big Dog 100.9/Cat Country 99.5)