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Donate a Book to Toy Mountain Today!
This Christmas Little Voice is extremely excited to support a local initiative that is working towards bringing a smile to every child’s face in Ottawa on Christmas morning!
Each year, Toy Mountain and the Salvation Army provide toys to over 20,000 children. This year, the goal is to leave no child in Ottawa without a gift to open on Christmas morning. By supporting the Toy Mountain Movement, you are helping children have a magical Christmas by not only donating a copy of Little Voice/La petite voix but also by contributing $5 from every book sale to the campaign!
The Little Voice Movement is a way for us to use our platform to give back to our community and country. With every book sale, Little Voice donates $5 towards any give cause or charity. With Toy Mountain, we’re asking you to use the coupon code below to purchase a book that will be donated to a child this Christmas.
Every book that is purchased using the coupon code “toymountain” will not only be donated to this incredible cause but Little Voice will also donate $5 from each book sale to support the Toy Mountain in reaching their goal of giving every child in Ottawa a gift this Christmas.
Happy 2nd Birthday Little Voice!
There is something about birthdays that forces us to look back on the year that has passed. It’s an opportunity for us to cherish the memories we gained, the friendships we created, and the work we have accomplished. For Little Voice, turning two is an opportunity to do just that.
It’s amazing to see how far Little Voice has come. This past year, Little Voice proved to our community that we are not only a children’s book but a movement that is determined to make a difference. Our official launch of our movement was an extraordinary moment for us; it was a chance to share with the world not only our story but the vision that makes Little Voice the social enterprise that it is. We made it clear that with our profits we wanted to do good in the world, whether that be through supporting a charitable cause, a community initiative or a child’s education. We wanted to inspire the next generation to be advocates for causes they believe in and to enable them to fundraise and give back wherever possible. We wanted to empower the little voice inside each and every one of you that will enable you to chase your dreams and make a difference in this world.
These past two years have been nothing short of amazing. We’ve been extremely blessed to have your support day in and day out in all that we do. We’ve made friends, we’ve made readers, and, more importantly, we made believers out of all of you. We made you believe in yourself once more, in your passions, in your talents, and in the dreams that perhaps you slowly forgot.
I’ll never forget the feeling I had after seeing Little Voice come to life for the first time. After hiding my writing for so long, and from so many, I was finally ready to share my writing with the world. While it was the most amazing feeling to see my dream come to life, it was also one of the most scariest moments of my life. For a lot of people, it can sometimes be quite frightening to share their true passion, what inspires them, or who they truly are. This was certainly true for me. I was scared of what people may think of my work, and was almost hesitant at first to take on this adventure. But Little Voice made me a believer in myself, it taught me to never give up and to chase my dream of becoming an author. In the same way that Little Voice awakened my dreams, I hope these past two years it has been able to awaken something inside you too.
– Amanda Bernardo, Author
I’ll never forget the feeling I had after seeing Little Voice come to life for the first time. After hiding my writing for so long, and from so many, I was finally ready to share my writing with the world. While it was the most amazing feeling to see my dream come to life, it was also one of the most scariest moments of my life. For a lot of people, it can sometimes be quite frightening to share their true passion, what inspires them, or who they truly are. This was certainly true for me. I was scared of what people may think of my work, and was almost hesitant at first to take on this adventure. But Little Voice made me a believer in myself, it taught me to never give up and to chase my dream of becoming an author. In the same way that Little Voice awakened my dreams, I hope these past two years it has been able to awaken something inside you too.Today, as we celebrate Little Voice’s second birthday, we also want to celebrate the little voice inside each and every one of you. Because of that voice, so many of you are doing so much good in this world and that is what we at Little Voice hope to continue to inspire you to do each and every year.
Happy Birthday Little Voice!
Please join us on Saturday, December 3rd at the Gloucester Chapters location in Ottawa as we celebrate Little Voice’s birthday!
Inside a Young Leader’s Journey to One Young World
On Wednesday, September 28, 2016, I will be one of 1300 young leaders at this year’s One Young World Summit in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. I still can’t believe it!
Ever since I was a little girl I’ve always been passionate about making a difference in my community. I’ve volunteered with countless charities, fundraised wherever possible, and lived with the mantra to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.
While I’ve worked really hard to make a difference right here in my community, I applied to One Young World thinking that perhaps I wasn’t good enough. It’s easy to share my excitement about One Young World with all of you, but I think it’s even more important to address some realities that I’m sure many of you can relate to.
They say we are our own worst critics and this couldn’t be more true of my journey to One Young World. I’ve always been known to be extremely involved in many, many organizations, projects, initiatives, etc… What can I say, I like to keep busy! I’m always thinking of the next movement I can be part of or the next goal I can accomplish in order to make a real impact with the work I am leading. Yet, despite always moving forward, a part of me has failed to soak it all in and really revel in my accomplishments.
I’ve always liked to work hard in silence and let the success I have been a part of make all the noise.
However, one thing I realized in anticipation for One Young World is how important it is to really look around once and awhile at all you’ve accomplished. For me personally, it really put my life into perspective. It helped me focus on what I am really passionate about, my vision for the future, and the next steps I’d like to take in order to not only be a young leader but one day, a world leader.
I think many young leaders can relate to this feeling. We’re always so busy working away that we sometimes fail to acknowledge what work really means the most to us and how it has the potential to change our lives completely. Our work may seem small in comparison to others, but it is still important.
If a community of young leaders each led one “small” project in their communities that strived to make a social impact, together, they will have changed the world. This, to me, is what One Young World is all about. It’s not about what we do alone, but what we can accomplish when we work together.
Collaboration has proven time and time again that we cannot accomplish all that we need to do without working together. Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, but working together is success.
I started off my journey thinking I needed to do a lot more with my life in order to be considered a young leader. What I never expected was the outpouring of support I received that not only encouraged me to attend One Young World but that reminded me that I already was a young leader in my community.
We all have the potential to make a difference in our communities. It’s easy to think that our efforts may be too small to change the world but, let me be the first to say, they are not.
To take action at any scale, is still action.
We are the generation that has been called to act, to make a difference, to speak up, to raise awareness, to not give up, to support each other and remind one another that we are all good enough. I am grateful to One Young World for putting my future into perspective, for helping me to believe in myself when I may have doubted my potential, and to all those I will soon meet that will help shape the rest of my life forever.
You may not be attending One Young World with me, but I promise to share every step of the way with you so that in turn you too can be inspired to change the world!
Côté Martial Arts Stands Behind One Young World
“Don’t let money fears stop you from chasing your dream!”
With One Young World less than two months away, Amanda’s fundraising campaign is now more important than ever! In order to attend One Young World, delegates must fundraise £2,655 (GBP) – roughly $4600 Canadian.
I am truly thankful for the community support I’ve received thus far, without your donations, my dream of attending One Young World would be far from a reality!”
Little Voice is very excited to announce Côté Martial Arts as one of Amanda’s official OYW sponsors! (more…)
Little Voice Author Aims to Join One Young World
Today, Little Voice’s author received the good news that her application to be considered as a delegate representing Canada at the 2016 One Young World Summit was …
ACCEPTED!
One Young World is a charity that stages an annual Summit, which gathers together the brightest young people from around the world, empowering them to make lasting connections to create positive change. The 2015 Summit in Bangkok welcomed 1,300 delegates aged between 18 and 30 from 196 countries. Unlike any other event, the Summit gives young people the kind of media platform and forum ordinarily afforded only to the leaders of nations and corporations.
Amanda has been selected as an outstanding candidate to attend the upcoming Summit on the basis of her capacity for leadership, concern about global issues, ability to generate and articulate impactful ideas, teamwork and evidenced commitment to volunteering or other extracurricular activities.
See highlights from last year’s Summit in Bangkok here:
Delegates debate, formulate and share innovative solutions for the pressing issues the world faces. Following each Summit the attending delegates become One Young World Ambassadors and are charged to work on their own initiatives or lend the power of the One Young World network to those already in existence. Ambassadors have gone on to have an impact on issues ranging from education, global business, health, human rights, sustainable development and transparency.
Now, the real challenge begins…
In order to attend, Amanda will now need to put her fundraising efforts to the test and raise $4,600 dollars to support her One Young World journey!
Stay tuned for how you can get involved!
Interested in sponsoring Amanda? Read Amanda’s official OYW Sponsorship Letter here!!
INTRODUCING THE LITTLE VOICE MOVEMENT
After almost one year in the making … here we are. Today, Little Voice is extremely excited to introduce to the world for the very first time …
The Little Voice Movement
In December 2014, the Little Voice team set out to create a children’s book we hoped would inspire all those who would read it. We wanted to not only develop a book that would encourage children to listen to their inner voice and chase their dreams, but also a platform that would enable us to give back in our community.
After launching the Little Voice book, we succesfully created the Little Voice Forget Me Not Project, a project that allowed us to use our platform to donate a portion of every book sale to the Alzheimer Society of Canada. To date, Little Voice has raised close to $7,000 dollars in honour of Amanda’s grandmother Teresina Bernardo, and has been recognized by eTALK Canada and Starbucks Canada for our fundraising movement.
In addition to the Little Voice Forget Me Not Project, Little Voice has worked closely with a number of community initiatives, supporting local schools, charities and not-for-profits … but we wanted to do more.
If we could create a movement and fundraise close to $7,000 dollars, what was stopping us from supporting others within our community to do the same.
Today, Little Voice is pleased to launch our official movement: The Little Voice Ambassador Program that will enable Canadians across Canada, children and adults alike, to start their own movement under one of three platforms: 1) For your school; 2) For your Community; or 3) For your Future.
By creating a movement under our first platform, teachers and parents can fundraise on behalf of their school. By creating a movement for your community, people can fundraise on behalf of a local charity, cause, individual or group in need. By creating a movement under our last platform, a parent or child can fundraise using the Little Voice Ambassador Program to support a child’s future education with a donation to their Registered Educations Savings Plan (RESP).
There is no age limit, no time limit and no cost to join, simply a desire to make a difference in your community, school, or future!
There is no age limit, no time limit and no cost to join, simply a desire to make a difference in your community, school, or future!With every movement, Little Voice will donate $5 from every book sale to the Ambassador’s cause. Registered Ambassadors will receive a coupon code that will track sales through our website and enable us to donate back to their movement. In turn, Little Voice continues to donate a portion of every book sale to the Alzheimer Society while supporting many more movements across Canada.
As we launch our movement today, we are very excited to have a number of movements already underway! Visit our Registered Movements page to learn about our first movements with CHEO, Proud to Be Me, the Alzheimer Society of Ottawa and Renfrew County, #RosalinaStrong, the Half Moon Bay Public School and more!
Be sure to catch Little Voice on CTV Ottawa Morning Live this morning at 9:20am, at noon with UpFront Ottawa and this evening from 7:00 to 8:00pm on Twitter, using the hashtag #wethelittle, and Facebook, on our event page, for a live chat where we will answer all your questions about our movement, our book and our journey.
A BIG thank you to everyone who has continued to support our message and vision.
By working together, we hope the Little Voice Movement will grow to not only impact our local community here in Ottawa, but also communities across Canada.
What it means to Dream BIG
Where to begin…
It seems like just yesterday, I came across a Kickstarter campaign for a film that shared a message much like my own. This message encourages children, and adults alike, to believe in themselves and their dreams! After watching the trailer for the Dream, Girl film, I saw myself and the journey I had taken with Little Voice in the stories of the women featured in this film. I saw my struggles, my fears, my determination and that same little voice that once inspired me to write a children’s book, inspire others to do extraordinary things too!
On the morning of June 5th, the Dream Big Dream, Girl Luncheon, I asked myself how I got here. How did watching a trailer to a documentary, produced by two women I didn’t really know, turn into me putting on an event for over 140 women. The short answer: inspiration. The longer answer: when an idea gets in my head, I run with it, and that’s exactly what led me to put on this inspirational luncheon.
I didn’t really know what to expect going into this. Would people be interested? Would people attend? Would they be as inspired as I hoped they would?
Dream Big on June 5th with the Honourable Catherine McKenna
It is with great pleasure that Little Voice introduces the Honourable Catherine McKenna as one of our Dream Big Dream, Girl guest speakers!
Canada is blessed with many great female leaders. They remind the next generation of women and young girls that any person, male or female, can lead. They serve as an example of opportunity, change, and equality. More importantly, they teach us that anything is possible and that anyone, anywhere, is capable of dreaming big!
As a woman, our careers and our families are often times put at odds with one another. We have fought for decades for equal opportunity, equal pay and rights that allow us to be committed to our careers and families.
As a female leader, Catherine McKenna made it clear that she’s very committed to her career and her family. They’re not competing, they’re working in harmony. She’s making work-life balance part of the conversation. We are very excited to have Catherine join us to share, with a room filled of women entrepreneurs, philanthropists and dreamers, how important work-life balance is when considering your dreams.
Get ready to dream big on June 5th with Little Voice and Dream, Girl!
Who is Catherine McKenna?
Catherine McKenna has practiced law at leading firms in both Canada and Indonesia, focusing on international trade, competition, investment and constitutional issues. She was senior counsel on the Right Honourable Antonio Lamer’s review of Canada’s military justice system. She was also senior negotiator with the UN mission in East Timor which culminated in the Timor Sea Treaty providing for the joint exploitation of petroleum resources in a part of the Timor Sea claimed by East Timor and Australia.
Catherine co-founded and was Executive Director of Canadian Lawyers Abroad, a charitable organization that engages in the developing world and Canada in the areas of good governance, rule of law, environmental issues and human rights. In Canada, Canadian Lawyers Abroad has partnered with environmental NGOs and organizations representing Aboriginal peoples. Catherine also served as the Executive Director of the Banff Forum that engages emerging Canadian leaders in critical public policy discussions. Prior to that, she taught at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and was a board member at the Trudeau Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies.
2016 #WalkForAlzheimers
For the second year in a row, Little Voice was extremely excited to participate in the #WalkForAlzheimers in support of the Alzheimer Society of Ottawa and Renfrew County!
This year, not only did we fundraise for this important cause, but we also worked closely with the Alzheimer Society of Ottawa as part of the organizing committee behind this event! We were blessed to work with such amazing people, hear from so many who are affected by this disease, and ultimately contribute to a successful walk!
The #WalkForAlzheimer’s raised $370,329.00 dollars, had 130 teams and over 1000 walkers!
