Yes We Can

Well, it's been a long time posting. We have been so busy chasing our tail trying to figure out how to work in this new space we forgot to blog. As the team leader of the Get Involved initiative it's been a 24 month gestation. It all started innocently enough.

My business partner and husband and I run a production company doing what we can to keep busy, creative and ensure the salary of a few exceptionally talented and loyal team members. And it's been a long, meandering journey over the past 10 years. Along the way we acquired the "means of production" and could offer our edit suites to a fundraiser for cancer, or a location for friends' short feature film. Then we got more edit bays and cameras, sound, lighting and lots of production toys. And so when not-for-profits came knocking it seems easy to say "yes we can." Since then we have done work for cost, for reduced rates, for free, given advice, directed live shows, consulted with a variety of NFP's. We've produced everything from Wellspring PSA's to exercise videos for MS suffers with Toronto Rehab; from website tours for Settlement.org to commercials and videos for SickKids and Princess Margaret Hospital.

How did it happen? It was highly unplanned, but not unwanted. It was a friend of a friend who would ask for our time, or a business contact or a stranger on the end of the line. With all the production riches at our disposal how could we refuse? It was always "yes we can."

Along the way we met amazing people who inspired us to ask ourselves how can we do more?
That was 2 years ago and since then it's been a whole lot of doubt, confusion, worry, concern over can we pull this off? The television series we were confident we could pull off since that was our specialty-- but we wanted it to be exceptional.

The website started with an idea... let's do a game for change... and then it took so many twists and turns after looking at other sites, talking to people, doing focus groups I don't actually know the route that got us here. But HERE is really we are at the start of something. An idea that all of us can say "yes we can" to. Yes we can do more. Yes we want to do more.

How do we get there? We're hoping that the next year with all of you will help us build something that is accessible and fun, thoughtful and meaningful, inspirational and interactive. It's just an idea. An idea that a website can connect us to thinking about how to Get Involved. How we take our skills and expertise and marry it to the things we care about a make change together?

Small actions count. Dollars count. Time counts. Advice counts. Giving away stuff to those that need it counts. Join us in exploring this new movement of engaged everyday people struggling to figure out how to Get Involved.