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The 7th Annual Shader Kids Weekend is right around the corner…

Posted by Shader Kids Team on March 27, 2012
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Let’s get together to remember our friend Tim ”Shader” Ross and support the Shader Kids Foundation! Here are the details:

May 11th, 12th & 13th at Kilcoo Camp

  • Join us for the whole weekend or plan to arrive on Saturday, whatever works for you!
  • Bring wives, husbands, girlfriends, boyfriends, partners, NHLers, kids, babies, celebrities, dogs… All are welcome!
  • Reconnect with friends and enjoy some time out of the city

Itinerary

  • We start with a casual gathering and a snack in the lodge on Friday evening
  • The weekend includes hearty breakfasts, succulent BBQ and a gala dinner feast
  • Most camp activities will be open – Go for a bike ride, try archery, brave the Aerial Course, and so on.
  • The hockey tournament will take place on Saturday Afternoon – remember any skill level is welcome!
  • Silent Auction & Live Auction
  • Old School Lodge Party
  • Reflections on Sunday morning

The cost is $125 for the weekend or $100 from Saturday lunch onwards. Due by cash or cheque upon arrival. B.Y.O.B. (There will be wine provided at dinner on Saturday).

Email tingles@kilcoo.com to reserve your spot or if you have any questions. Any awesome, cool, useful or outrageous auction items would certainly be appreciated.

Take care and we hope to see you on the shores of Gull Lake in May!

Happy Holidays From The Shader Kids Team!

Posted by Shader Kids Team on December 21, 2011
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Dear Friends of Shader Kids,

Season’s greetings! As yet another year draws to a close we wanted to share with you some of the triumphs and accomplishments that 2011 has brought your favorite charity.

2011 was yet another wonderful year for Shader Kids. Our Sixth Annual Tim Ross Memorial Ball Hockey Tournament and fundraising auction were once again huge successes and will allow us to continue the good works started in Tim’s honour. We all know he is smiling down at us with that lopsided grin thinking of all the campers and scholarships supported in his name!

Once again this year, the rivalry between East and West was hard fought on the ball hockey court! As always, allegiances changed over bocce ball and other games throughout the day and were completely forgotten about by evening as we hit the dance floor to the melodic sounds of Dojo Workhorse and Cowpuncher.

The silent, live and e-auctions created another form of good-natured rivalry as many donated items were wrestled over; but in the end all proceeds went to support our shared goal of supporting outdoor experiences for young people.

Every year we add many new members to our Shader Kids community, many of whom are of the “small” variety (please insert short jokes here). It is such a blessing to see all of the children being brought into the world by Tim’s friends and family! As our demographics evolve and grow to encompass a greater number of young people, we will continue to plan more inclusive and ambitious agendas for our annual weekends!

Save the date! Don’t forget the 7th Annual Shader Kids Weekend will take place at Kilcoo Camp next year on May 11- 13th, 2012. Check the website occasionally for updates.

Help us grow! One way to support Shader Kids during the holiday season is to consider making a charitable contribution to us in your name or as a gift for someone else. You can make donations here on our website, or by mailing your donation directly to:

Shader Kids
931 4A St NW
Calgary AB
T2N 1P8

As always, we wish you much love and happiness in 2012 and look forward to seeing all of you in the coming year!

Bill Robinson
Shader Kids, Director of Communications, on behalf of the Shader Kids Team and the Ross family

The 6th Annual Shader Kids Event a Success!

Posted by Shader Kids Team on June 25, 2011
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Many, many thanks to all those who joined us at the 6th Annual Shader Kids event on May 28th and 29th! Amazingly, the weather held and it was another memorable weekend full of laughs, catching up with friends, and yet another win by the East in the Tim Ross Memorial Ball Hockey Tournament. Though many were bleary-eyed on Sunday morning, one of the highlights of the weekend was another meaningful gathering at Tim’s Tree to reflect on his legacy.

Thanks to all of your generous support, we raised approximately $15,000. These funds will continue to support our current sponsorships of deserving campers and camp staff, and will help make it possible to expand our efforts in the coming years.

Many thanks to both Cowpuncher and Dojo Workhorse for providing the live music on Saturday night (although they were unable to drown out the incredibly loud music from the rave at the adjacent public campground!) And, of course, we are very grateful to YMCA Camp Chief Hector for providing such a wonderful facility and helping to make the weekend so successful.

However, it is really all of you who participated that help to keep Tim’s spirit alive. We appreciate your ongoing support and can’t wait to see you at Kilcoo next year for the 7th Annual Shader Kids Event on May 11- 13th, 2012.

Check out some photos of the weekend! If you have any photos of your own you’d like to share, please feel free to send them to shaderkids@gmail.com.

Again, our sincere thanks. Have a wonderful summer!

Holiday Greetings!

Posted by Shader Kids Team on December 06, 2010
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Dear Friends of Shader Kids,

Many wishes for a very festive holiday season from Shader Kids!

Another year has passed and we are once more starting the preparations for our annual event, the 2011 Shader Kids Ball Hockey Tournament and Auction. In May 2011, we will gather at Camp Chief Hector YMCA, near Exshaw Alberta, to once again try and settle that niggling question as to whether the East or the West fields the better team. Stay tuned for further info on this event. The 2010 event held at Kilcoo Camp in Ontario was very successful with all participants enjoying the tournament, meals, live and silent auctions and the fantastic live music not to mention the camaraderie and embellished tales of Tim Ross!

We are proud to say that Shader Kids has returned the same camper to Kilcoo Camp in Ontario and awarded another scholarship to a deserving leader at Camp Chief Hector YMCA in the Bow Valley during 2010. While we did not fully fund our returning camper in 2010, we feel with the generous partnership of Kilcoo Camp that we can fully do our part in 2011. In addition, we will create a second leadership scholarship at Camp Chief Hector YMCA for another deserving candidate whom the camp is in the process of identifying for 2011.

While there are a core of volunteers who manage the annual ball hockey event as well as the ongoing endowment and its beneficiaries, it is you who keep the memory alive. You do this through your generosity to Shader Kids and of course by participating in the annual ball hockey tournament and auction. In 2010 we experimented with an on line auction so that many of you who could not travel to the event could participate. It was a success and we will do it again in 2011. These legacies in Tim’s name to the participating camps are only possible through your previous generosity and are funded through the returns on the endowment investment funds. A weeks stay at a cottage on the west coast was generously donated by friends to the auction last year and this year a stay at a cottage on PEI has been added by another friend of Shader Kids!

In your annual gifting you may wish to consider Shader Kids as one of your charitable contributions. This can be accomplished in one of two ways, either through our web site or directly by mail. Mail may be directed to Shader Kids, 931 4A St NW, Calgary AB, T2N 1P8.

Electronic donations may be through www.shaderkids.com which connects to Canada Helps.org. Please ensure you mention in the remarks column it is for Shader Kids. You may recall our endowment is managed through a partnership with Taylor Statten Camping Bursary Fund thus you will want to ensure Shader Kids is credited with your generosity.  Be assured that every dollar you donate goes directly to Shader Kids for which you will receive a charitable tax receipt.

Much Love and Happiness over the Holiday Season,

Bill Robinson,
Shader Kids, Director of Communications,
on behalf of The Ross family and the Shader Kids Team

Shader Kids 2010 Auction – Starts Soon!

Posted by Shader Kids Team on May 12, 2010
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The auction is currently scheduled to start at May 12, 2010 12:00 PM MDT and end at May 15, 2010 12:00 PM MDT.

Here is the information you need to join the auction:

Auction Link: http://www.32auctions.com/view_auction?id=shaderkids2010&pwd=timross
Auction ID: shaderkids2010
Auction Password: timross

Best of luck!

5th Annual Shader Kids Weekend

Posted by Shader Kids Team on April 15, 2010
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Where: Kilcoo Camp, on the shores of Gull Lake

When: May 14th, 15th & 16th 2010

Join us again at Kilcoo Camp to support the ShaderKids Foundation and enjoy a weekend in the beautiful highlands of Haliburton. Last year was another great success at Camp Chief Hector in Alberta, and it’s Kilcoo’s turn to host once again. Re-connect with friends, enjoy some time on Gull Lake, relax and maybe take part in the Ball Hockey Tourney in the Shaderdome! The weekend starts on Friday night with a snack during an informal gathering in the Lodge. Saturday will include breakfast; time to hang out around camp, and a BBQ lunch followed by ball hockey at the Shaderdome. The Saturday Night Main Event will feature a Silent Auction, a Live Auction and a wicked rock show in the Lodge. The Buffalo Builders are back and they are excited for another legendary show. On Sunday morning we’ll have a “Reflection” on Chapel Point, followed by a final brunch and farewells.

The cost of the weekend is $100 per person (or $75 for Sat/Sun) and cash or cheque is due upon arrival. It’s also BYOB! Please email tingles@kilcoo.com to reserve your spot ASAP, gather more information, or to donate a prize for the auction. Everyone is welcome, big or small, old and new! Hope to see you next month to gather as friends and to support the ShaderKids Foundation…

2009 Holiday Letter

Posted by Shader Kids Team on December 25, 2009
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Dear Friends of Shader Kids,

It has been an adventurous and milestone year for Shader Kids. It was 5 years ago that some of Tim’s friends and family decided to find a way to create a legacy that would honour Tim’s passion in life, namely developing leadership skills in an outdoor environment.

The Shader Kids fund, which is administered under the umbrella of the Taylor Statten Camping Bursary Fund, has reached the critical mass and milestone of earning enough return on its investment to be able to create two ongoing annual sponsorships.

One,in partnership with Kilcoo Camp, allowed Shader Kids to send a child to
camp. This will become an annual event as we shall support that individual each year that he goes to camp until he is 18.

Two, Shader Kids created an annual scholarship in partnership with the Rocky Mountain YMCA. It will allow the camp to retain an outstanding summer staff member who requires financial support to pursue outdoor orientated leadership education.

The early days of Shader Kids were spent determining the vehicle that would meet the desires of the original group to honour Tim and then make it into a reality. Getting set up and finding ways to create a self sustaining fund were some of the challenges the team faced.

The initial ball hockey tournament has become a much anticipated annual event rotating from one year in the west and the next year in the east. We offer up huge thanks to the 2 camps that have made this possible, YMCA Camp Chief Hector , in Seebee, Alberta, and Kilcoo Camp plus the Latimer family in Minden Ontario. This in addition to other fund raising efforts as well as many donations have made the initial dream a reality and our thanks go out all of you who have, and continue, to support this worthy venture.

Of course the many volunteers that help annually, plus the dedicated team who run the foundation as well as plan the activities, deserve much of the credit for making it all possible.

We are all looking forward to the 5th Annual Shader Kids Ball Hockey tournament to be held over the weekend of May 14-16, 2010 at Kilcoo Camp. Please mark it in your calendar and we invite all to come out to enjoy the surrounding on Gull Lake and either play, support the players, participate in the other activities and enjoy the dinner, silent and live auction and the evening’s entertainment.

We wish you a very happy holiday and an amazing new year. Much Love,

The Ross’s and the Shader Kids Team