Last year was a great one, the best year as it relates to Canadas Purolator Tackle Hunger program. Bobby Wanzer Jersey . That is because last year WE raised 1,149,029 lbs of food for nine local food banks across Canada. And yes, I want to be a part of it again but need your help. To understand the importance and significance of the program you have to take a moment and imagine what it would be like to go a whole day with nothing to eat. To wake up one morning and wonder how you are going to survive the day. It must be an anxiety wrenching feeling where your goal for the day is not to accomplish or progress, you goal for the day is to survive. And what I would again only have the ability to imagine is if you have kids or dependents who themselves wonder how they are going to survive. Having the sensitivity or even merely the awareness to feel another human beings pain is a remarkable quality of maturity and elegance. In many ways it is a human strength that provides those who have it with a motivation of compassion that creates individual accomplishment. It is very, very true that many times we will do more for others than ourselves and in the case of the Purolator Tackle Hunger program, more for others who we may not even know. The success of the program says a lot about the citizens of Canada and their character as people. But as in the last 12 years, this year we must again strive to improve and hopefully maintain the effectiveness of the program. Almost half of the food donations that food banks have are for kids, which may be extremely surprising for some. I know it was for me. Twelve years ago when I visited my first food bank in my life as an observer I expected to observe adults only. Older perhaps or physically limited perhaps or just people "down on their luck". I never originally thought I would see so many different types of people from all walks of life and backgrounds. People that were simply laid off due to employment restructure, where when the "restructure" was completed were not asked back. People that were "downsized" due to age or inefficiency who were left with money but not enough to live rationally and reasonably. And even people that I wondered that if the food bank was not here as a resource what they would be forced to do to eat and survive. If you take hope away from a human being the human being will change and not for the better. You take hope away from a human being and something changes internally. Something inside where you do what you have to do to survive, even if it is at the expense of others. A food bank give people hope. It gives them what they need to get through the day, week, month and gives them hope that in the future there will be better days, weeks, months. I am convinced that food banks keep communities and neighbourhoods safe because they manage desperation. Still, the most emotionally attaching visual you will see in a food bank are the kids, and I dont mean teenagers or young adults, I mean kids. Infants, five-year-olds who should be in kindergarten. Ten-year-olds who should be out and about doing whatever a 10-year-old does with the mothers and fathers that are there beside them in the food bank. Kids are smart, they are bright because they are very intuitive. They know that going to a food bank is not normal, and they probably know that because their other friends dont go to food banks and hear about it. They understand that this is a place there parents dont want to be because of pride and a place they have to be because they have no choice. If in life you ever need a moment to realize how fortunate you just may be, go to a food bank and watch people. What you may notice is an absence of happiness, and absence of emotion. Just a desire to satisfy a basic need, to eat. And when you notice that in a five-year-old, or a 10-year-old then making an extra effort to donate is no effort at all. To all those who have donated in the past and to all those who I know will donate in the future I give you the most sincere thanks possible. Your assistance elevates me to do more for others as I know I have so many others working with me. And in the end, it is about acting on a need, an issue of society. Not losing that empowering and respected human quality of being able to feel anothers pain and desperation. For 12 years it has been there, and I ask you once more this year to again respond to the challenge of simply helping others who simply need a little help. Here are the dates to put on your refrigerator or cupboard. 1. Vancouver: Montreal at BC. Saturday, July 19. 2. Regina: Toronto at Saskatchewan. Saturday, July 26. 3. Calgary: BC at Calgary, Friday, August 1. 4. Ottawa: Edmonton at Ottawa, Friday, August 15. 5. Winnipeg: Montreal at Winnipeg. Friday, August 22. 6. Hamilton: Toronto at Hamilton, Monday, September 1. 7. Edmonton: Saskatchewan at Edmonton, Friday, September 26. 8. Toronto: Hamilton at Toronto. Friday, October 10. 9. Montreal: Toronto at Montreal. Sunday, November 2. Bring your non-perishable food items to the Purolator Tackle Hunger truck located at a visible main gate at each and every CFL stadium on the specific date indicated. Cash donations are also appreciated as every dollar is equal to 2 lbs of food. Together, lets make 2014 as wonderful as 2013. A little help goes a long, long way. Ron Behagen Jersey . - Jerome Verrier scored the winner 8:24 into overtime and Louis-Phillip Guindon stopped 46 shots as the Drummondville Voltigeurs edged the host Val-dOr Foreurs 4-3 on Friday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoff action. Harrison Barnes Jersey .com) - The Toronto Raptors set their sights on a second straight victory with the Oklahoma City Thunder visiting the Air Canada Centre tonight riding a two game streak of their own. https://www.cheapkingsbasketball.com/1162b-tyus-edney-jersey-kings.html . - After a back-and-forth battle throughout the season, Alex Guenette has earned the 2013 rookie of the year award for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 by just one point over Ryley Seibert. NEW YORK -- It was an average performance from Jabari Parker, and it drew praise worthy of another stellar effort by the Duke freshman. "Hes a natural," Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski said after Parker had 23 points and 10 rebounds in an 80-63 victory over UCLA on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. "In different sports there are people who are naturals. Jabari is a natural. He can become even better. He embraces the moment." Bruins coach Steve Alford was impressed with the 6-foot-8 Chicago native. "Hes gifted. Hes got a lot of smoothness to him. He can be a big guard or post you," the first-year UCLA coach said. "You dont see a lot who are this polished 10, 11 games into the year." UCLA sophomore guard Kyle Anderson jumped in on the praise. "Its tough to say who is the best player on the floor, especially with that team and our group of guys, but he played really well," said Anderson, who had another all-around game for the Bruins. "We wanted to shut him down but hes tough." Parker was 7 of 13 from the field, including a 4-for-8 performance from 3-point range. He also was 5 of 5 at the free throw line and had five assists while scoring at least 20 points for the ninth time in his 11 college games. He hit a big 3 and had an impressive dunk during Dukes 16-4 run that broke open a tie game in the second half. "Im just going to do whatever it takes to win," Parker said. "I dont have to take 20 shots for us to win, I can as long as theyre good shots. Im just learning to play the proper role right now." The Blue Devils (9-2) poked and prodded UCLAs 2-3 zone from the perimeter, making 11 3-pointers in a season-high 32 attempts from beyond the arc. Rodney Hood and Quinn Cook both had 14 points for the Blue Devils. Cook had five assists and all eight of DDukes steals. Tom Van Arsdale Jersey. "We did a good job hitting Amile (Jefferson) in the middle of the zone and he became the toss-back guy," Krzyzewski said. "He got the ball right back to guys and they got rhythm shots." David Wear led the Bruins (9-2) with 16 points and Anderson, who has taken over at point guard, had 15 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. He entered the game averaging 13.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists. "Quinn Cook did a good job of pressuring the ball. That 94 feet of pressure is tough," said Anderson, who had six turnovers. "They didnt let us execute our offence. Dukes signature is the pressure defence, Thats what they want to do and we fell into it." UCLAs zone kept the Bruins in the game. Wear, who went 4 for 4 from beyond the arc, made a 3 to tie it at 43 with 17:58 to play. Duke suddenly began to connect from outside with consistency and Hood hit two 3s and Parker added another in a 16-4 run that put the Blue Devils up 61-49 with 11:33 to go. The Bruins twice got within eight points, but they got no closer in front of the crowd of 15,410. UCLA, which entered the game averaging 85.1 points, was 8 of 22 from 3-point range. Justin Adams, the Bruins leading scorer coming in with a 21.2 average, was held to 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting. "I thought they did a really good job on him," Alford said. "This was the first time this season hes been held like that, containing him and keeping him off the free throw line." The win was Dukes 23rd straight in the month of December and lifted Krzyzewski to an 8-1 record against UCLA. The Blue Devils are 2-1 at Madison Square Garden this season having beaten Alabama and lost to Arizona in the NIT Season Tip-Off in November. Dukes other loss this season was to Kansas. UCLAs other loss was at Missouri. ' ' '