Happy New Year
Welcome to 2021!
If you’re reading this, you survived 2020. Congratulations! May this year be better in every way for everyone.
Globally, this past 365 was a nightmare.
Personally, this past 365 was pretty alright. Bought the cottage, got married, earned my full moto-license, started working at a new station (dream job). It wasn’t without its difficulties, though.
We had to learn how to work from home with two young kids who need constant stimulation; enter iPads, LeapFrog Academy, Nintendo, YouTube, Netflix, Minecraft, et al. Lesson learned: teach your offspring to not rely on you as their number one source of entertainment once they’ve grown out of the age where they need you to be.
Enter anxiety; personal health vs. pandemic + anti-masker/anti-vaxxer attitudes; gym closures & a complete shake-up from the daily routine. Car trouble. Daycare hiccups. Personal finances. Missing friends & regular social interactions.
As this pandemic carries into the new year and lockdowns keep us locked up, we have to try and remember that everyone is going through a lot right now.
Be kind.
UPDATE: the 2020 Christmas Mission
Help Santa deliver to children who may not have a fixed address by donating a NEW, UNWRAPPED gift to the Christmas Mission.
UPDATE on November 26th: Reps from the Mission, my coworkers and I have all been talking, trying to see if we can make Project: Christmas Mission work this year but it isn’t an option with new COVID-19 restrictions. The Ottawa Mission is even doing dinner service differently. Like Thanksgiving, the dining room will not be used.
“Because of our new food truck service, which will serve Christmas meals the week leading up to Christmas in addition to our Christmas meals for shelter guests and vulnerable community members, we anticipate that we will serve 3,500-4,000 Christmas meals from December 13 – 20.
Frozen turkey donations can be dropped off between 7 am – 5 pm at the garage entrance to The Ottawa Mission at the corner of Waller and Besserer. Please ring the bell and a staffperson will arrive to receive your donation.”
- Aileen Leo, Director of Communications at the Ottawa Mission
If you would like to donate online to the Mission, CLICK HERE.
Do you want to buy a toy for a little one in need?
I definitely have some options!
You can donate to the Salvation Army’s Toy Mountain 2020 fund by CLICKING HERE.
You can also give to CHEO’s Child Life Fund through my annual Birthday Wish campaign by CLICKING HERE. 100% of funds go towards buying games, toys, books, crafting kits, movies & other forms of entertainment (for patients aged 0-18) who may be spending the holidays in hospital.
If you have any questions about how to help this holiday season, please feel free to message me. Thank you for considering others! It just feels better to extend your hands to help lift others up, than it does to hold them down.
Same person (me) but a different radio station now (CHEZ 106) & a new way of approaching my Christmas Mission… I haven’t strategized anything just yet. Essentially, I ask for NEW toy donations for children of all ages to be given to the Ottawa Mission. Children experiencing homelessness can be sure to get something - even if Santa couldn’t find their address! There is a ‘gift room’ at the Mission where clients can ‘shop’ for their loved ones.
Gifts aren’t what Christmas is all about. Or birthdays. Or whatever. It’s not material things that mean the most to us… but over the holidays, it’s a simple gestures for some to provide a token of ‘brighter days’ to a child.
That’s what the Christmas Mission is all about. I’ve been doing this for a few years now and it’s been a success because of your generosity.
This year, I am not able to accept in person donations. Parcels cannot be directed to our radio station either as we do not have an open reception area. I’m not sure how to go about collecting toys but I hope to sort out the fine details over the next few weeks.
Please, stay tuned! And if you have a great idea, get in touch.
It's Turkey Drop Time!
Help make sure everyone has a hot meal to be thankful for this weekend by donating to the Ottawa Mission. I’ve made it super simple for anyone wishing to donate in a Pay What You Can kinda way. Text TURKEY to 762-555 or read more…
October 13th Update: We did it! As of this update (at 14:39), $3,282.00 has been donated to the Ottawa Mission to help ensure everyone gets a warm, nutritious meal. This ‘Turkey Drop’ will continue to give beyond Thanksgiving. I hope the feeling you got when you gave is as long-lasting.
Thank you for helping me surpass my goal in these uncertain times.
Here’s an old picture of me (five months pregnant) serving friendly faces at the Mission’s 2016 turkey dinner service. Things are being done differently this year; meals will be individually prepped and handed out in take-away boxes.
Since we can’t physically accept donations towards the dinner this year, our Turkey Drop at the station was forced to get a lil creative… I’ve been given the chance to raise $2,500 (approx. 60 bigass birds) & I need your help to make it happen.
Drop a Virtual Bird or PWYC to the Amy Volume Turkey Drop by texting TURKEY to 762-555.
You’ll be sent a link to my fundraising site which I will also conveniently post here: Amy Volume’s Virtual Turkey Drop.
Fast Times @ ‘Rona High
Thought I’d post something here to keep ya in the know about why I was working from home this week (in case you noticed; if you didn’t notice, then = yay!).
I have rheumatoid arthritis that affects my entire body. It’s not just joint tissue, it’s bones, organs, blood and even my voice. Have you ever noticed why I’m really raspy on the radio sometimes? Now you know why. My energy level has been zapped for a while. This is also very, very normal and has been under investigation since early 2018 by a number of specialists. No concrete conclusions but the obvious answer is: my disease.
Ok.
The drugs I take to protect my body against the auto-immune destruction of my joints, tissues, organs, etc. suppresses my immune system. It’s called Enbrel, you can Google it if you want to know more. It’s kinda sketchy, but hey, it works (for me).
The drugs come with side effects, too. Like Neutropenia.
“Neutropenia occurs when you have too few neutrophils, a type of white blood cells. While all white blood cells help your body fight infections, neutrophils are important for fighting certain infections, especially those caused by bacteria.”
I had routine bloodwork done on Monday and got some bummer results on Tuesday morning, which is why I decided to begin self isolating (round two). Results indicate I may have an “infection ?” (That’s literally what the report said). Pair that uncertainty with today’s pandemic and it was enough for me to book a COVID test.
I do not have any symptoms relating to COVID that I haven’t had (thoroughly documented by my care team) for years. My family is healthy. I am very much under the impression my disease is going after my blood and marrow (again) and the fatigue is also part of the nature of rheumatoid arthritis. My body gets tired fighting against itself while attempting to fight off outside infections which makes for a very exhausted Amy.
I am waiting for swab results which I anticipate to be negative. I’ll keep ya posted!
Check on your auto-immune friends. This pandemic has been a real jerk!
Wear a mask.
Wash your hands.
Be excellent to each other from 2m apart.
New Show in Winnipeg
Hey! My last update was in… July? June? It was fairly recent but there’s another radio related change in my life that i want to share.
Please allow me to don my bed Canadian Tuxedo as I announce…
I’M NOW HOSTING ROCK SHOWS IN MANITOBA & ONTARIO!
Sadly, my time at KROCK in Kingston has come to an end to allow me to focus on my new gig, weekdays 12-3PM Central at Winnipeg’s 92.1 CITI.
