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“A! chllifNRUNIth '\Vt‘l1|ltԤd‘\ letituan ll JIIU‘i - J o a ’ 0 O a o o 0 0 Little gtrl 3 story msptresfimdrarsmg drwe for local homeless housmg prolect BYBOBVRBANM ~ ' V5 - 0, Q ' "That's when we figured that this was '_ ,.,‘,1"L"‘L"Q‘“l- 7 .. ., _. . ~ ~ t \f. P ‘ - I . J s: - gomg to beadifferent campaign â€" that there 9 _ . ’ / ‘ Q ‘ - ‘ was going to be a groundswell and a commur tere are those who “I“ argue that n ‘ .. ti .\ / at nity effort." I homelessness isn't an issue on the : H. C“ (lroft said she just did a presentation at streets oi Waterloo. but don't tell that to A _ , a a ‘ Mount Zion (ihurch last week and by her SlX')‘eaI-0ld [flue Malleck. - ' ' g ', , third presentation the congregations was all lhe little (trade 1 student was travelling in ‘.~- |\\" Q ‘ ' clapping. the back seat other mom lane's car when she '_ . \' " .. ' “They're getting it," said Croft, "I think sawa man standing at the side ofthe road. ‘ , ’ there's still some big money out there but I “We saw a man holding up a sign and it \_ ‘ fi- ' , think it will take this groundswell to maybe said ‘Please Help because he was homeless," ‘ " - " open up the doors to some ofthose funds" said Elyse. “l told my mom I wanted to do '~ .' ‘ ‘f Tricia Siemens, who is the chair of the something " ' _ ‘ board of directors of SHOW, said that ifa six~ Her mom couldn’t believe the impact it .' ' ~ year-old girl like Elyse can understand the had on her daughter “She said, ‘Mummy if ' . need. people in the community should too. that's what I'm going to do for my hinhday."‘ g? " I “Some people. 1 think. are not noticing the said lane. at, _,, * - problem.” said Siemens. “l tell them to spend So when her birthday rolled around at the if" ' if"; - some time at an Out ofthe Gold program (an end of November she thought she already ‘, 95w1 emergency shelter program run by local had all the things a little girl could want. and £3“ 4 .- ’ "A “ ' churches), spend some time in uptown instead asked her guests to make a donation , f? ‘ Waterloo." to the new Supportive Housing of Waterloo 3? E She also sees it on a daily basis with initiative. The project plans to build an apart- 4.5? ‘ _ homeless people huddling for shelter in the merit-style complex for at least 30 homeless ' _ l ,; back alley behind her King Street business â€"â€"~ people living in the (Iity ofWaterloo. if“ f . A " ~ Words Worth Books. That‘s why it's time for “l was writing out invitations when I _...‘ if f ' .. ..__‘ “fi__ ~ Waterloo to do its pan, with major housing decided to ask for donations." said Elyse. , . . ‘r ‘ programs already existing in Kitchener and "But some of them still gave presents and 7 . Cambridge. money." __‘ ‘ “It’s time for Waterloo to step up.” said ln the end, Elyse raised more than $155. is 3 Siemens “Every time l see those guys shiver- She wrote a little note in crayon on red con- . ‘ 1 ' “ , , “n” . ing behind the bookstore l'm impatient for it struction paper and sent her donation off to ' ; - 4? too." fundraisers for SHOW. / m ~ The program will get the homeless the Organizers were so impressed with little ..'~' 7 ' i ' ' ‘ Q, supports that they need while helping to Elyse's story they made her the honoraryjun- \ - ' ‘ _/ . . reintegrate them back into society. More ior chair of SHOW yesterday as they ..- . ' r .«.- importantly, it will provide them the shelter launched the formal public fundraising per 1 they're missing. tion of the drive that will build the $4.3-mil- . 4 ' That's why Croft is hoping that there are lion housing project on Erb Street in Water- I, _ l -. more people like Elyse willing to help. loo. , at “Every night she would say to her mom. Campaign organizers had a soft launch of '- ' - ~ ‘We have so much that we don't need.’ " said their campaign in the fall to raise more than ,_ - e} Croft about the newest member of her 51 million for Waterloo's newest social hous- . fl???" ‘ fundraising team. “We all hope to raise kids ing project “git like that." So far they've raised almost $800,000 of ‘ ' ‘ - And Elyse promises not to stop until the that total for the 30<apartment project that ss ‘ project is a success. She's even getting her will provide services like counselling and ‘ ‘” friends involved. education in addition to providing shelter for ' “One of my friends thinks that she might the local homeless population. said Nancy .. , do it for her birthday," said Elyse. “She (iroth. the fundraising chair for SHOW The " ‘ mi]. w, t . thought it was such a great idea. Region of Waterloo has made a $2.6~million A? W.» if}, “l took a picture of the building in to show commitment to support the project and help . pf?’ 3‘s" - " her at school today (lastThursday)" get people off the street. fl}: 1“ The modest mouse of a girl said she was SHOW's goal is to raise as much moneyas El Malleck 6 was so taken aback by the local homeless problem that she decided to do just happy to ”help in her own little way. “I illtzajitttlmhtlzirllitgtg‘ehcri 2:10 dnszTéfgfecgzig; soyrrsizthing about it. So she asked for donations instead of birthday presents and was named mitigates whzhfhfiliow they can have a into the supports for the people who will be Supportive Housing Of Waterloo 5 honorary “my chair for her efforts. "x mm home of their own,‘ said her proud mom. usingthe service “The soft launch started in September. the project in Waterloo. Croft said they decid- lane. "Every night in bed she would say that It didn‘t come without some controversy. and at the same time we had a tailspin in the ed to visit local churches and community- she didn't need more gifts. especially when There was some initial public outcry to the financial markets." said Croft. "We probably minded groups and were surprised to see somebody needs help." , plan by people living and working close by to didn't have as much response during that how many people responded to their plea for “I have lots of toys â€" I don't need more," the project. time. there were a lot of people reeling from help. said Elyse. ‘At Christmas I asked for more And the economic downtum, that staned it." “When we were talking to people on the money for the poor. but I didn‘t get it." with the collapse ofihe world's financial mar- That's when they changed their tact a little streets they got it immediately,” said Croft, That's where the fundraising campaign kets in the fall, also had an impact on the way and went from seeking the big donors to “The public gets it and people all across the comes in. For more information on SHOW, or the group did its fundraising. building a grassroots movement to support community responded. to donate. call 519-571-9408. 1 AV” ' scream??? , ' ' -, a» afifi ' Lttt e amt ‘71, s - _ . , Ca Go 0 g W y_ , g = ~ Get rid of the Winter blues and add some tolour to your life! Now is the perfect time to , i A? __ perk up your living space With afresh coat ofpaint, Drop by and ask one ofour Decorating ~ . -“ Consultants about the latest painting tips and _ f» “Chm f h Itf'iijuittiti “with“ v f: ques or any room in your ome, is}. cw, heersdewr mnq.c0m 7 g -_ “$2