City Kidz + Zekar Photography = Love

Hey guys, just wanted to post a little shout out to our awesome clients, and an awesome charity. For the past two years, we've  hooked up with the City Kidz charity, based out of Hamilton, Ontario. They work with over 5,000 inner city kids, each week, by providing them with a safe, fun, inspiring place to hang out on Saturdays and be around people who care about them and are dedicated to helping them achieve their goals. These guys go around to designated neighbourhoods, in a big red school bus, pick the kids up and take them back to the 'clubhouse' where there are games, programs, snacks and general hullabaloo's to be found. 

I grabbed this off their site, it highlights what they do a little more: 

·         Inspire children to dream big, and to rise above their circumstances

·         Instill faith based values and teach children to do the right thing

·         Provide new experiences and environments that inspire kids to unlimited possibilities

·         Provide positive role models that build relationships with every child

·         Build hope by celebrating the special days in a child’s life such as Christmas and birthdays (honestly, this one killed me, they get a special VIP badge and a present, just for them. Sometimes, its the only acknowledgement of their birthdays that they get).

·         Remove barriers by providing door to door transportation to all activities

·         Empower youth to be role models and provide opportunities to lead

But words do not really express what they are doing in the hearts of the little ones they have such a big impact on. We had a bridesmaid who worked at a school in one of these neighbourhoods, and she said that whenever it was 'share and tell' time, without fail, at least a few of the kids had a fun City Kidz experiences to share each week. Pretty awesome, especially when there are a lot of dismal statistics in our fair city.

It's hard not to see this and look the other way, so Mike & I figured out a way to give back just a little, with each of our gold and platinum wedding packages, if a couple donates $30.00 or more to City Kidz, we take $100 off their package. And honestly, because our clients rock, this charity has been receiving more than the minimum amount of donations, more often than not. You wouldn't think that $30 would be a lot, but believe me, it goes a long way to helping these guys do what they do. And so many of the kids that were once 'city kidz', grow up to be junior leaders and leaders in the organization.

 Leaders! In their communities! So amazing. So inspiring :)

Here's a little note we got from City Kidz recently, we're only half way through the wedding season here, so it's looking like we'll close to double it before 2013 is through. So thanks to our awesome clients, you guys make a huge difference!! :)