2016-17 Power Play Program Donations

Colchester East Hants Hospice Society Executive Director Craig Johnson accepts his Power Play Program cheque from Truro Bearcats forward Zack Moody. (Submitted photo)

The Bible Hill Kinsmen marked the 15th year of the Power Play Program last night before the Truro Bearcats game against the Amherst Ramblers. Cheques were presented to seven groups and organizations, totaling $5,000 for the 2016-17 Maritime Hockey League season.

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.

In the 15 seasons of this partnership with the Truro Bearcats, the Bible Hill Kinsmen have now donated $70,800! It’s just one more way the Kinsmen continue to live up to the motto “Serving the Community’s Greatest Need”.

2017 National Day of KINdness

Join us for our 5th Annual National Day of KINdness on Sunday, February 26th from 4 to 8 p.m. at the outdoor ice surface at Truro’s Civic Square for some free hot chocolate and hot dogs!

The Kinsmen Club of Bible Hill will be covering the cost of the first 100 hot chocolate and hot dogs served by Great British Grub at the Market. This is in recognition of National Day of KINdness, which is Saturday, February 25th.

Kindness comes in all forms. Whether big or small, time-consuming or quick, costly or free, all acts of kindness make a difference in somebody’s life.

Recognizing the power of kindness and our purpose, many Kinsmen, Kinette and Kin Clubs across the country come together each year to participate in our National Day of KINdness. This National project celebrates and honours our founding on February 20th, 1920, and helps Clubs fulfill our motto of “Serving the community’s greatest need.”

For more information, visit Kin Canada’s website.

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.

2017 Great Trivia Challenge

The Bible Hill Kinsmen invite you to a fun-filled evening on Saturday March 4th, 2017 at 7:30pm at the Best Western Glengarry in Truro.

The Bible Hill Kinsmen along with a special guest will host the 4th Annual “The Great Trivia Challenge”. This is an event where teams of 8 people – co-workers, friends, or family – will come together to play rounds of trivia. We anticipate having 40 teams competing against each other and testing 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 Great Trivia Challenge” will be one of our largest fund-raisers of the year. For the second year in a row, proceeds of this event will go towards the Colchester East Hants Health Centre Foundation’s “We Care About Cancer Fund” and other community projects.

Being diagnosed with cancer means a lot of things; travel, medication, fatigue and fear just to name a few. For some who struggle to make ends meet, the diagnosis of cancer also means an added expense that they simply can’t afford. That’s why the “We Care About Cancer” Fund was created – to help those diagnosed with cancer worry less about the financial burden so they can focus on healing. “For those in our local community who are falling through the cracks – like the people who don’t qualify for supplements, are single parents, under 65 years old and have huge co-pays or are in between wait times for benefits to come into effect –this fund makes a world of difference. Their decision to undergo treatment is made easier because we can help them with gas to get there, the furnace oil to keep them warm or the groceries to keep them fed. They don’t have to choose one over the other,” says Darlene Holmes, Cancer Patient Navigator. It’s a long road to recovery when battling cancer, emotionally as well as financially.

The registration fee is $300.00. Click here to view a printable version of the registration form. Get your team registered early, support a great cause, and enjoy “The Great Trivia Challenge!” 

Thank you in advance,
David Gillis
Kinsmen Chairperson of “The Great Trivia Challenge”

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.

Kindness meter in Truro

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.

Kindness Meter

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)

Shopping for the Christmas Index Program

Members of the Bible Hill Kinsmen grabbed shopping carts and ran around Wal-Mart in Truro on Tuesday night. Each year, the club supports the Christmas Index Program. In recent years, our efforts have slowly expanded to help more and more families in need during the holiday season.

It’s one of the projects club members look forward to the most each and every year. Not only is it a perfect opportunity to give back to the community, but it’s also a great night of fellowship with smiles and laughs all around.

As the day gets closer that we deliver the gifts to the selected families, we also ensure they have groceries as well. It’s just another way, along with the recent Teddy Bear Toss, that the Bible Hill Kinsmen are able to help people in our community.