TRANSFORMING FOR SICK KIDS Initiative... transformed :)

Hey everyone, I haven't posted on this original blog in ages, so I figure I'd move the updates and the pertinent links to my original blog post about the transformation of the Initiative itself.

In terms of updates from that original blog post of the new vision, I am proud to announce that Joe Ng, a professional comic book artist with Udon Entertainment (producers of the Street Fighter comic), has donated his unparalleled artistic skills (especially when it comes to Transformers) to the Initiative!

Although it isn't as on the scale as last year's, it took me a while to articulate the new vision of the Initiative with absolute clarity and purpose.

This year, I'm just going to have fun and not put as much pressure on myself to eclipse last year's inaugural amount raised through raffle ticket sales.

Getting sponsorship through friends and family is one thing, but to set yourself apart from equally important causes that are aligned with marathons is TOUGH.

So this year is about learning from what I would like to call our "sister run" - A Run for Liane, which is another SickKids run, but they focus on the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon in September, whereas TRANSFORMING for SickKids will be focusing on the Toronto Marathon in October in order to get ready for the launch of the Transformers 2 movie coming out in 2009 as well as the Toronto Marathon for next year!

See you at the finish line! ;)

- Will

Idea > Action > Outcome

They say a picture says a thousand words, and with these last few pictures, they tell of an entire journey from start to finish.

Thank you to all the warm and kind people I've met over the last month or so, although we didn't hit the $5000 mark I had initially set, $4230 is still pretty darn close!

It all started with an idea, and ended with a cheque given to SickKids. But what had occurred in between was unforgettable and inspiring.

Thank you,

Will Lam

WINNERS OF THE RAFFLE PRIZES!

Hey guys,

You've been waiting and here we have it... !! The winners of the TRANSFORMING FOR SICK KIDS Initiative's Raffle Prizes are:

ULTIMATE TRANSFORMERS GEEK - Christos D!

TASTE OF LESLIEVILLE/RIVERSIDE - Mark T!

CITY LIFESTYLE - Stephanie M!

Silver Snail Prize package - Janice C!

One Million Comix Prize - Patricia W!

The Second in the City prize package - Ryan P!

The Sushi Marche gift certificate - Vielka O!

DOT Patio & Home gift certificate - Frank W!

Baila Boogaloo Salsa lessons gift certificate - Chi Lam T

3MOVIES IN THE CITY prizes:

• Steven Ma
• Maurice C
• May Lam

2 Coffee, Tea or Movie prizes:

• Gus G
• Jennifer T

Winners will be contacted and will have their prizes sent in the mail or delivered or picked up in person!

MEGA UPDATE and picture blog!

Well, we've finally wound up the initiative's drive! We raised a little over $4200! A bit shy of the $5000 mark, but it was FUN nonetheless!

Thanks to ALL of our sponsors:

Our premier sponsors - Cineplex Odeon, Silver Snail, Soma Restaurant & Lounge

Our runner-up prizes - The Second City, Far Coast Coffee Company, One Million Comix, The Hairy Tarantula, Leigh & James, Katherine Lau, Katerina Laskaris, and John Huynh!

The Taste of Leslieville/Riverside sponsors (from West to East) - Dark Horse Espresso Cafe, Pop Bistro, The Burger Shoppe, Soma Restaurant & Lounge, The Comrade, Babycakes Cupcakes by Kubo Radio, Barrio, Cajun Corner, Leslieville Cheese Market, Baldini, Toast Restaurant, Sushi Marche and Leslie Jones!

I'll be announcing and posting pictures of the raffle prize winners shortly, but check out the pictures below to track our journey over the last two weeks!

the owner of Leslie Jones, George Wensley!
getting the gift certificates from one of our sponsors.. Dan Ellery of The Citizen!
Exterior of one of our neighbourhood sponsors.. Leslie Jones

The last of our sponsors! Me and Mustafa of The Burger Shoppe!
me chomping down on mini-burgers from The Burger shoppe!
Day 7: me saying goodbye alongside the Simpsons! Thanks the Cineplex Odeon people for hosting us!
The Cineplex Odeon operations managers! Michael Lee and the middle, and the one closest to me is Lyndon, as for the other one, I forgot his name :(

the now empty shelf where my collection used to be

The Citizen!
Day 7 and FINAL day display!

Mike and Paulina hanging out with the Simpsons

Day 7 Display... notice Arcee and what's playing on my notebook.. I probalby watched Transformers the cartoon movie from 1986, 5 times that day.. lol. "One will stand, and one shall fall"

Pattycakes!
Fobby pic by a brown dude :D
Day 6 Display with me in shorts... I needed to look active and "blend in" :)

Day 6: other side of our display. Notice the "Megatron through the ages", Optimus and Silver Snail posters!
me and Gokul goofing off with the camera

Day 6 Help! Thanks to Gokul my (ex) Ryerson University Accounting Society comrade for coming in!

Day 5 clutch help! Thanks to one of my oldest friends Chi Lam!

me yapping my mouth off about the initiative

BAhh!


One of our sponsors! Deanna and Ed from Dark Horse Cafe!
Our day 5 display! July 6th. Cineplex Odeon really helped us out by approving of the initiative in such a short time frame! Thank you so much!
Team TFSK on Day 3! From left to right, Vicarious Slime, Dangsta, Galvanize Prime, Chowdown and Fence Jumper
keepin' it real
mini-Prime
Our day 4 display! Paltry display but to the point!

Kim-chi-Tron and FramzbiCHRON yukking it up

OKAY so I haven't updated the blog in a while, and for that I apologize. A lot has happened since my last blog post, here's a blow by blow account for what had happened:

• We were fortunate enough to come across an Operations Manager at Scotiabank Theatre who was an even BIGGER Transformers nerd than myself. He was kind enough to let us stay in the theatre for the last (then official) day of the initiative's efforts on July 3rd, which was the opening day for Transformers.
• We were able to get approval from head offices at Cineplex Odeon to stay for July 6,7, and 8 - still considered to be the opening weekend of the movie.
• sold a boat lot of raffle tickets and getting closer to the original $5000 target, as a result of being stationed in a high traffic area
• I've had so many friends and colleagues drop by and say hi and lend their support!
• Everythign pretty much worked out PERFECTLY!

I will post pics of our adventures of our stay in Scotiabank theatre, but for now, I'm hungry and I'm tired!!!

- Galvanize Prime out

Day two and our new PREMIER SPONSOR: SILVER SNAIL!

George of Silver Snail hooking us up BIG TIME: in the back is a STATUE OF OPTIMUS PRIME, Transformers movie action figure and a KUP Generation 1 Takara Reissue! They truly are the "11th hour angel investors!"



Team TFSK!


So day 2 wasn't all what it was cracked up to be. I didn't really expect us to sell a slew of tickets. The point was to get some exposure and get a real feel for what it's like. It's definitely not easy. The lesson of the day was to have fun and not really expect any sort of outcome other than just have FUN. Which I did, and I'm glad.

Thank you to Jennifer Chow, Mike Shou, Paulina Dang and Loretta Ho for helping me out!

HAPPY CANADA DAY & DAY 1 UPDATES!

Me before trying to get some airtime on the Edge.. didn't get any... = (


My co-worker Rick, yukking it up with my Optimus Prime Helmet
Alex Giancoulas of One Million Comix giving us a Unicron Statue as a prize. This thing is HUGE!


Happy Canada Day everyone!

Just working from my room right now, trying to make a mad dash to update everything and be out there ASAP.

It's been really fun going out there on my own, trying to promote this cause and at the very least making people smile. The goal is to raise money in support of the SickKids Foundation, but at the same time I needed to have fun myself, so I just went about meeting random people while lugging around the huge Unicron Statue and just start random conversations and vibe from there. No negative reactions, just boat loads of fun and getting to know people on a more personal level compared to conventional "canvassers."

Anyhoo, that was just me rambling before I head off. I'll have a more coherent post coming up soon.

Here's a video of me before going out on Day 1: