Golf A Little, Get A Lot

It’s 7:15am on a beautiful Thursday morning in June. On any given Thursday, I would normally be getting ready to start recruiting Toronto’s top talent; however, today isn’t just any Thursday – it is the day I will play my first round of golf! Not to mention, I will be playing it with the extremely athletic (and golf saavy) Stafflink team! Luckily, I have a new golf outfit, so at least I look the part.

Although the Stafflink team is a rather adventurous group, today’s golf adventure means much more than trying out a new sport or showing off some superb skills. Today we are participating in Bereaved Families of York Region’s 17^th Annual Forget-Me-Not Golf Tournament.

www.bfoyr.com is an organization that is very close to my heart. I became involved in the organization back in 2007 when they hired me as a summer student, while I was completing my degree. The organization’s mission is to provide volunteer bereavement support services to families and individuals grieving the death of a loved one. Their services are offered free of charge and they receive no federal or municipal funding. The majority of their funding comes from individual contributions and fundraising events, such as their golf tournament. They are an organization who runs on the generous hearts and hard-work of a very strong and compassionate community.

After telling the Stafflink team about my involvement with BFOYR and the upcoming tournament - it took absolutely no convincing, our amazing founder, Tim Collins, had already signed us up.

So how did my first round go? I may not be Michelle Wei but I hit a few good drives and I learned how to “chip”. I also discovered that Tim is a phenomenal golfer, Ryan can hit a ball farther than anyone I’ve ever seen, and Neil is a mini-putt champion. Most importantly, our day was filled with a tremendous amount of laughs, wonderful company and an opportunity for our staff to support a great cause while participating in a phenomenal team building exercise. Thanks BFOYR!

Other Posts by Michelle De Rubeis

Where are the Women? Connecting Women and Technology
iPad versus Playbook Debate Revisited
Steve, Mark and Jim: Who Made 2010's Nice List?
How to Sparkle in a Room Full of Diamonds

About the Author

Michelle De Rubeis ,Technical Recruiter, StaffLink Solutions
Website: http://www.stafflink.ca/
Email: michelle@stafflink.ca
Twitter: Twitter.com/stafflink1
LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/mmderubeis

Stafflink Attends Regent Park School of Music Spring Fundraiser

Ryan, Tim and Neil at RPMG Fundraiser

We had the enormous honour of attending Cresendo, the annual Spring fundraiser for the Regent Park School of Music at the Steam Whistle Brewery on Wednesday.

Our relationship with RPSM began a couple years ago when I worked with the Board of Directors to recruit and hire Richard Marsella, their current Director. This isn't our normal line of business but I was thrilled to help out.

It was beautiful to see people giving back to this event in support of the children. The choir and the individual performers were extremely talented and entertaining. Jim Creegan of The Barenaked Ladies not only performed with the students but spent weeks prior to the event practicing and no doubt inspiring the kids.

RPSM Performs with Roger Waters

The choir was fresh off of a performance at the ACC with Roger Waters of Pink Floyd where they sang the chorus of the "Another Brick in The Wall". These kids were inspiring. You could see a true love of music shining through them.

The Regent Park School of Music started as a safe haven for youth after school. For the first two years they worked out of the basement of a church. Now they are operating out of a brownstone townhouse. RPMG is about to move into a new building as part of the revitalization of the area. The school has set a goal of having 3000 students enrolled within the next five years.

I am confident that they will meet that target. I've met the board members and the current Director Richard Marsella is an amazing individual who has accomplished great things with the Regent Park School of Music already. The future is very loud and vocal for this little school that is rapidly evolving into a renowned school of music.

Donate to the Regent Park School of Music

Written by:

Tim Collins, President and Owner, Stafflink Solutions

Stafflink.ca

timc@stafflink.ca

www.twitter.com/stafflinks

www.linkedin.com/in/timrcollins

CPA Ski Day: A Great Team Building Event

What happens when you throw your staff into a dangerous winter sport for the benefit of the greater community? Team building, bonding, cooperation, enthusiasm, and laughter.

Every February we invite our staff and their significant others to join us at the CPA Ski Day (Canadian Paraplegic Association). It's a surprisingly popular event considering that only the owners are regular skiers.

Months before the big event we retell stories from last year's CPA Ski Day. Like the time that Ryan's wife fell on top of the boss's son while getting off a chairlift. Or when Joanne froze at the top of a blue run and got yelled at by a stranger. Or that horrible cross country trek we endured while trying to find a green run called the Northwest Passage, and Lorraine towed Ryan with her ski pole.

In spite of these past traumas, our staff was totally stoked about participating in this year's CPA 2011 Ski and Snowboard Day. Joanne and Michelle enrolled in ski lessons and gave us regular reports on their progress. We planned our outfits. We planned our après ski dinner.

Bottom line: Participating in the CPA ski day is more than a one day event. It's an event that brings us together for the entire winter. Why is it so compelling for all of us?

1. It feels great to support CPA Ontario with their Track 3 Ski program. It is so beautiful to see the Track 3 volunteers give people with disabilities the chance to ski. Check out these amazing pictures of the 2011 CPA Ski Day.
2. Skiing is dangerous, but not too dangerous. And it's super fun. That makes for lots of entertaining stories. It also gives us lots of opportunities to bond and help each other out.
3. Skiing is social. Even if you're not a skier, it's really fun to sit in the ski lodge, share a beer and onion rings and have some laughs.
4. It’s really fun to learn a new skill. Participants in the CPA Ski Day get free rentals, a lesson, lunch and delicious après ski snacks. They also get to ski at Craigleith, one of the best private ski clubs in Ontario.

I want to thank Donna Ha who encouraged us to go to our first CPA Ski Day about 5 years ago. Donna uses a wheelchair and worked for CPA Ontario before joining our staff. The first CPA Ski Day we participated in occurred during one of the worst snow storms of the season. I drove Donna up to Craigleith in whiteout conditions. When we finally arrived we were greeted by a warm buffet lunch and caring colleagues. Donna even got to ski that afternoon.

I also want to thank CPA Ontario and their key sponsor The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company for hosting this amazing event and for supporting the Track 3 Ski program.

And of course I want to thank our amazing staff for embracing this event and making it so much fun. Now we are all brainstorming ideas for a community outreach activity where our staff could volunteer weekly for a few hours.

Do you have any suggestions for a volunteer program our staff could participate in? Do you have any teambuilding events that you recommend?

Laura Upcott
Stafflink Solutions Ltd.

http://stafflink.ca/
http://www.lauraupcott.com/
laurau@stafflink.ca
http://www.twitter.com/lauraupcott
http://ca.linkedin.com/in/lauraupcott