The Angels’ Tree of Light
Memorial Service

November 28, 2019
7:30pm – 9:00pm
400 Taunton Rd E, Whitby
(Durham District School Board)

The holiday season can be a difficult time for families who have lost a loved one. Once again we will decorate a tree with clear lights and Angels in their memory.
Your loved one’s name will be written on an Angel and will be displayed on a plaque beside the tree.

To ensure the name of your Angel is listed in the Programme, your order must be received at our office by November 20th.
Please complete this form and drop off or email to our offices.
Angels may be taken with you after the service. Angels not taken will be available at the BFO-Durham Region office for pickup at a later time.

IMPORTANT Ride To Remember Brent Foster Memorial Ride 2020

Due to the corona virus outbreak, we are sorry to inform you that our July 28th, 2020 Ride To Remember has been canceled. While we are still as dedicated as ever to embracing the Ride To Remember 2020, this yearthe safety of our attendees comes first.

We feel that it is our responsibility to help flatten the corona virus curve and keep everyone safe. So in order to do this with all the limitations currently in place, we have no choice.

Having said that, unfortunately Bereaved Families services cannot cancel.  Consequently we still feel the need to provide our support in a different “new norm” this year. They still rely solely on support from fundraisers. So to continue our support this year we are doing things a little different.

This year in lieu of registering/purchasing an orange ride t-shirt of which 100% of the proceeds are donated, please consider showing support and donating. We will be accepting all donations to Bereaved Families in Memory of Brent Foster Ride To Remember.  Monetary donations of any amount will be accepted and if your donation is over $50 a tax receipt will be provided upon request. Visit our website ride-to-remember-brent.com  and click on DONATE.

Or you may wish to gamble!  We have created an “on line” (virtual) silent auction.  With the help from many gracious sponsors we have a range of items to showcase.  All you have to do is place your bid and hopefully win.  As always, 100 percent of proceeds are donated to Bereaved Families.

(Silent Auction will be available July 28th)

Last year’s ride on July 30th 2019, was marked with a challenge that Ride To Remember had never experienced.  Rain, rain, go away.  Guess you could say that we had been blessed all those years.  But our dedicated riders, coordinators made it work. With the start of the engines the sky cleared and our riders headed out.  A tranquil ride to Fenelon Falls and around the scenic Kawartha’s arriving back at Foxbridge Golf Course in Uxbridge. Riders were met by an array of fabulous orange balloons, family, friends, sponsors and the sound of Matt Gunn playing his music in the background.

**OUR BIGGEST NEWS THIS YEAR – THE LOWE’S CANADA HEROES CAMPAIGN   FOR SEPTEMBER 2019**

• Every Lowe’s, RONA, and Reno-Depot corporate store in the country will raise funds to support a local cause of their choosing.
• Through the Heroes campaign, we are thrilled to support organizations that make a real difference in the communities where we operate.  
• Through Ride To Remember, RONA Uxbridge supports Bereaved Families of Ontario Durham Region

A big thank you to Rona Uxbridge for selecting Bereaved Families of Ontario – Durham Region as their charity of choice last September! The Ride To Remember organizers were instrumental in Rona’s selection of this charity. Through the generous donations from the Rona Uxbridge staff, the Uxbridge community, Contractors and Rona Canada $7937 was raised. Thank you to all those wonderful employees at Rona Uxbridge for this huge donation.

As a tradition for Ride To Remember on September 12, Brent’s birthday, the proceeds are presented to BFO. Last year we were pleased to have raised $14,720 from our event and along with the generous Rona contribution our total 2019 Ride to Remember donation was $22,657!  We are extremely delighted to know that our support allows their work to continue helping those families in need.  Grand total to date from Ride To Remember is $127,657.

Please accept our sincerest apologies for any inconvenience this may cause. We are looking forward to Ride To Remember 2021.

Thank you for your understanding during these difficult times. If you have any questions, please contact us.

We look forward to continuing our mission in 2021!  In the meantime, please stay safe.

Sincerely,

Donna Sherrard/ Lorne Johannessen

Hello members,

BFO-Provincial is requesting some funding from the government and they have asked us to forward this letter to our membership.

At the bottom of this article you will find a sample of the correspondence.

Please save the 4 documents that are linked here: request for Provincial Government Funding document 1, document 2, document 3, document 4 and attach them with your correspondence to the relevant MPP.

Some of the local MPPs are listed below – should your area not be included in this list here is the link to the site with all their names and contact details…

https://www.ola.org/en/members/current?order=name&sort=asc

Dear Insert MPP name

As a resident of your riding, I am writing to ask for your support on behalf of Bereaved Families of Ontario – Durham Region https://bfodurham.aawsai.com/, a local, not-for-profit organization that provides peer support to individuals following the death of a loved one.

With our provincial affiliates, we have been advocating for support from Government for the past 3 years and have recently submitted a proposal (attached) for funding to be considered in the upcoming budget.

During these challenging times, the service we provide to Ontarians becomes more and more essential. We want to continue to support grieving people across the province, helping to keep them out of the health care system and maximize resources. To do that we need your support.

Please advocate for us during the budget deliberations.

Sincerely,

Your Name here 😊

Member, Bereaved Families of Ontario- Durham Region

Dear Members,

Wishing you all a healthy and safe 2021. The Walk to Remember committee met through Zoom this past Monday night and we have decided to move forward with a virtual Walk.

While we look forward to continuing a longstanding tradition of honouring our loved ones while walking in their memory and raising funds for BFO-Durham, things will look a little different this year due to the current environment:

• We welcome everyone to walk either on your own or with your household anytime between now and Sunday, March 7, 2021. After this, we ask that you email or mail your sponsor sheets to our office
• We encourage everyone to contact family and friends to sponsor BFO-Durham, in a year where our Walk will be adapting to our current restrictions. One option would be to set up a charitable fundraiser on your personal Facebook page, with donations going directly to BFO-Durham (please make sure to select “charitable”). Other forms of social media could also be used to spread awareness of the event, including Instagram
• Unlike previous years where the Walk has taken place in one location, this year’s setup will allow for family and friends to support and take part, regardless of where they are located. We encourage all participants to submit a video of what their Walk will look like this year – details to follow
• There will be a silent auction set up online, similar to the one we did in the fall. This will launch roughly one week before the March 7, 2021 deadline
• We will also have prizes for the top three members with the highest amount of money raised

Further details regarding our Walk to Remember 2021 will be found in our newsletter which will come out at the end of January.

Thank you and stay safe,

Jane Carter

BFO Durham ONLINE Silent Auction 2020

So much has changed recently with the Covid 19 pandemic challenging our daily routines and sense of normal.  This is nothing new for those familiar with BFO where a new normal is what the programs and facilitators are assisting those dealing with loss, try to achieve.

For the first time our annual Fundraising Dance (with raffles and silent auction) has had to be cancelled.  With social gatherings off the table for this year a few of our members felt there had to be some way to assist because the tragedy of loss does not stop just because there is a pandemic.

Thankfully, even with the economic challenges of the shutdown, our sponsors came through and provided items for our first ever online auction.  It does not match the exhilaration of spending an enjoyable evening with our BFO-Durham friends as we enjoy dancing, eating good food, and eagerly checking the silent auction lists to see how we stand, but we hope that this Online Silent Auction will allow us to raise some much needed funds to help BFO Durham be there for those in need.

We can’t emphasize enough our appreciation for the dedication of our sponsors as well as the individual donations under such difficult circumstances.  With businesses shut down and a lack of a clear path forward it speaks to the quality of people we are so lucky to have in our community.

Our auction is now live and will be available until 5pm on Sunday October 18^th 2020.

The link to our auction site is: www.32auctions.com/BFO-Online-Auction-2020 and bidding is enabled.

To actively bid in the auction you will need to register FOR FREE, as a participant via the auction site.. no payment details are taken.

We hope you are able to help support this fundraising event, every penny counts! If you simply wish to make a donation, there are multiple options available for you:

click the donate link on our website,

click on the “donate” auction item (this is set at $25) – no payment is taken during the auction – settlement(payment) is at the end of the auction by any of our accepted methods

send us an e-transfer (bfodurham@bellnet.ca)

phone the office with your credit card details

cash or debit donations are also accepted at the office

All monetary donations of $25 or more are eligible for a donation receipt

Thank you

Thank you to everyone for a fantastic Walk to Remember 2021

A Huge THANK YOU to Anthony Moreino for his audio talents. As promised, here is the Video

BFO Durham Online Silent Auction for the Walk to Remember 2021

So much has changed in the last year with the Covid 19 pandemic challenging our daily routines and sense of normal.  This is nothing new for those familiar with BFO where a new normal is what the programs and facilitators are assisting those dealing with loss, try to achieve.

With social gatherings off the table for this year a few of our members felt there had to be some way to assist because the tragedy of loss does not stop just because there is a pandemic.

Thankfully, even with the economic challenges of the shutdown, our sponsors have still come to our aid and provided items for our Walk to Remember Online Auction.

Virtual events cannot match the exhilaration of spending time with our BFO-Durham friends as we enjoy each other’s company, and most importantly for a lot of us…((Hugs)), but the virtual realm is at least giving us the opportunity to continue to raise much needed funds to help BFO Durham be there for those in need.

We can’t emphasize enough our appreciation for the dedication of our sponsors as well as the individual donations under such difficult circumstances.  With businesses shut down and a lack of a clear path forward it speaks to the quality of people we are so lucky to have in our community.

Our auction will go live at 12noon on Sunday February 28th and will be available until 6pm on Sunday March 7^th 2021.

The link to our auction site is: https://www.32auctions.com/Walk-to-Remember-2021 and the items for auction will be ready for viewing by mid-February.

Successful bidders will be able to pay for and collect their items as of Monday March 8^th from the office, but PLEASE phone the office to arrange a suitable time.

We hope you are able to help support this fundraising event, every penny counts! If you simply wish to make a donation, you can purchase a donation “Bid” for $25 per unit on the auction site once it goes live and then there are multiple payment options available for you:

click the donate link on our website, (for amounts less than $25) and put a note that it’s for WTR2021

send us an e-transfer (bfodurham@bellnet.ca)

phone the office with your credit card details

cash or debit donations are also accepted at the office

All monetary donations of $25 or more are eligible for a donation receipt

Please help Eric Davidson raise funds for BFO Durham by supporting him during his 1 million meter row.

1 Million Meter Row Challenge. I am performing a 1 million meter row challenge to raise money for BFO – Durham, to be completed by 24th December 2020 (Approx. 22 weeks) averaging 45,000 meters (42,195 is a marathon) per week to meet this challenge. I started 15 weeks ago and I am currently at 854,835 meters( updated as 01-Nov). BFO – Durham supports hundreds of families struggling to cope with the loss of a loved one, without any government support. If you could sponsor me for $1, $2, $10 or more per 100,000 meters it would be greatly appreciated and 100% of all money raised will be going to a great cause.
Week 15 – Rowed 854,835 145,165 to go.

You can sponsor/donate via his facebook link : https://www.facebook.com/donate/259188145342914/10158638034728077/

This is a short 2.5min video produced by the co-op student BFO had to help with the Walk to Remember 2020.