Invitation and Vision

Invitation

Please join us for the - PARADE of BANNERS

On May 5^th, 2013

In Peace River AB, Riverfront Park

The Vision:    

Canadians working together to set a Guinness World Record for the Longest Banner in the World, 2013, by joining together 1 metre Banner Sections made by individuals and groups across the country to promote Organ and Tissue Donation.

1.    Teams from schools or groups and individuals are invited to wear colors and carry flags representing their community, region and/or province.

2. The Banner Sections made for this event will start being added to those made by the community of Peace River etc. by volunteer sewers.

3.    The procession begins and teams and individuals will walk, carrying the length of the  Banner, on the 2.5 Gift of Life Path,  to the Gift of Life Arboretum

4. As the Banner Parade progresses, we will then continue to add and sew banners together for the parade until all the banners have been attached.

5.    At Gift of Life Arboretum the Banner Sections will be counted and stacked accordion style. This is for proper documentation and to show proof needed by the Guinness organization.

6.    After the event, teams will take their Banner Sections back home to promote Organ and Tissue donation in their community and province.

Went to mail out 50 pieces today - but couldn’t

Well me dear friends

Yesterday, I spent the better part of the day - pre-cutting material to send out to the 25th Anniversary Gala for the CTA in Ontario - but this is the message that I had to send in its place.....

Things have been very chaotic for me over the past couple of weeks but yesterday I managed to get the material cut (50 pieces) etc. and I went to mail it out for you.

But, after I arrived at the mail with my package in hand, they informed me that it would cost me $45.00 to send it, this being said, I made the decision to keep the material.

I would like other to know that, I'm using the sale of the banners to raise money for the Gift of Life Arboretum; I'm also paying for this project out of our personal account. But because mailing material is so costly have to let others know that this is beyond my means.

This is an unfortunate message for me to relay but, therefore, due to financial constraints I am unable to mail out material for those that wish to participate in this effort.

Hopefully, no one will take offence when this is mentioned. And hopefully they will still want to participate and with them many others will want to join us in this quest.

The message is that I'm trying to convey is that, I do want people to participate -

1. It would be great if another community in Canada would like to meet or beat our challenge of doing the 1 kilometre that we are doing in our community.
2. This project is to help Canada set a Guinness World Record for Longest Banner in the World. This banner is to be made with the largest collection of banners that have been joined together by Canadians for the cause of organ & Tissue donation.

 Hopefully the information that I'm sending to you, about the WLB attempt, will help those that wish to participate in this project.

Please find five attachments included in this message.

Again I apologize for any and all inconvenience this may have caused.

 

Well my friends I must say that I hope this doesn't discourage others from participating and I hope they understand where I'm coming from.

God bless, take care and have a great day.

Maria

Banner material - pictures - Getting Ready for 2 Galas

Hello my friends,

It's been a busy few days, my grandson Max turned three on Wednesday and I have been working with my volunteer editor from BC (this lady has asked me to her name keep confidential).

We now have completed a few things for the web page etc and the presentation that I will be doing for my town council on the 22. (I will share this with you as it is completed.)

Today I need to pre-cut and catalog 50 pieces of banner material for the Gala that is to be held in Ontario.

At this point, I'm still doing this and working on my own, the for cutting the material has been a bit labor intensive, but I now have it down pat. 

Here are the steps that I'm using to get a Kilometer of material done in my community.

I just took these pictures for you this morning. (I hope this information will help those that want to meet or beat my challenge to do 1 Kilometer )

The first step I took was to design a pattern and then I ordered a kilometer of pre-cut material (Then geeeezzz -as you can see the material was cut in different widths - because of this I now have to make changes to the pattern size and instructions)

At this point I'm beginning to wonder "What else can go wrong?" and I'm beginning to feel more then a little foolish because the instructions have all ready been posted in the National News Letter for the CTA!

Then I think - "Oh well, we just have to keep trucking!" After this I speak with my head volunteer and good friend Claudette and she suggests that we take e excess material and make quilts for the needy....(O.K. this makes me feel better and now we move on.)





This isn't the order that I posted this

but this darn program has a mind of it's own..

But, I'm not going to fight with it anymore -

I know that you will get the gist of things...-



# 2
I cut holes in a box to make rolling out of fabric easier.

 


# 3

So that I could have an accurate measurement

I went to one of our local glass shops and

had a temp plate made from Plexiglas

 






#7
a rotary blade helps to speed things along.

  





# 8

After temp plate is on I take my rotary blade and

cut my material to the proper measurement.

 




#6

A top view of my production line - a line of one :-)

As you can see I have a hillbilly set up

But it works for me

 



#5

I then set my cutting mat down and

place the material on the edges that I have taped on the mat 





#4

I set up my table and then

stick a broom handle inside the role of fabric





# 1 -
Kilometer of material ordered



#9
I set my temp plate down on the material and
I am now ready to cut my material to the right length





#10 - a
I cut the left side

 


#10 - b
I then cut the right side
Since I am taking the pictures myself I had to take the picture in this manner -
 what I do normally is start from the bottom and work my way up.



# 11 - b




#12

I place the pattern on top of my pre-cut material and

mark the stitching lines



#11 -a

I made a pattern to be able to mark accurate stitching lines

This pattern is made out of construction paper.

.

 


.

#13

I place the pattern down to mark the stitching edges.



# 17
Some of my materials - paints brushes-temp plate etc.



Now for step #2

The material has been cut and the stitchings edges are marked.

(I did this with a felt marker and as usual I find out

 that if I don't move quickly that the paint bleeds and darn it -

I did it again!!)



.

#14

After marking the stitching edges

I start documentation of the banner material 

This is the World's Longest Banner - piece # 455

I write this number in the book 

After this it is ready for distribution. 



# 15

These are some of the paints that I use for the edges of the banner to prevent fraying of the fabric.

I sometimes use gold fabric paint or

I will use an acrylic paint that has been premixed with a medium

this transforms the acrylic paint into a fabric paint.



# 16
I now paint the edges with gold paint

 



# 13
This are cutting instructions
This picture is for those of you that are working on smaller pieces of material

   

Well my friends - I have been at this since 6:30 a.m. when I kissed my husband goodbye this morning as he set of for work.

So now that I have completed this task - I will start cutting material for the up and coming 25th anniversary Gala's in Calgary and Ontario.

Ontario would like to have 50 pieces of pre-cut material sent out asap

Therefore I better get my butt off this computer and get it in gear for cutting material.

I'll  need to have the material ready to mail out today, so that it will be ready on time for thier Gala.

Hopefully - Since mailing out material can get pretty costly for me - things will take a turn for the better soon and we'll have some brave souls that will take on this challenge and order their own material.

God bless - Take care and have a great day.

Maria

Instructions for WLB section - Part 1

How to Construct a Section of the

World’s Longest Banner for Organ and Tissue Donation, 2012

The color of the banners is green for the cause. Material for the banner a medium green broadcloth is ideal, or a subtle green-on-green print cotton or poly-cotton.

Each Banner Section MUST be 100 cm (1 metre) banner, with 2 cm. seam allowances on each end. It is important that each section, once sewn, be exactly 1 m as the sections will be counted toward the record rather than measured.

1.  CUT FABRIC

Cut the Banner to exact size. The required size for each individual Banner Section is:

• 104 by 33 centimetres  , or
• 41 by 13  inches  

Basically the banner sections are 100 cm (1 metre) with 2 cm sewing edges added to the two ends. This can also be measured as 39.4 inches, with ½ inch sewing edges. (See illustrations on page 3.)

2.  MARK SEAM LINES

A very critical step is to clearly mark the sewing lines at exactly 1 m. You may do this with pencil or a thin-tip permanent Marker (e.g. Sharpie).

3.  PREVENT FRAYING

GOLD fabric paint is to be used, in order to give all the completed banners a uniform look.  The top and bottom edges of the Banner Section must be painted to prevent fraying of the fabric.

If you decide to frame the entire Banner Section with gold paint, please be careful to paint inside the sewing lines on the ends where  it will be attached to other banner sections. Paint on the lines will make sewing difficult. If you are working with children or groups, please protect the sewing lines with a strip of green painters tape.

Fabric Paint often comes in small, squeezable bottles with an applicator tip. You may squeeze the paint along the edge, then use a brush to smooth it out to the edge. This is available in craft and fabric shops as well as the craft section of Walmart, etc. and is quite inexpensive. (A 2 oz/59 ml bottle cost me $3-5. A 1 oz bottle is more than enough to do several banners.) You may also use a regular acrylic paint, mixed with “textile medium” to make an inexpensive fabric paint (see photos at end of instructions.)

There is no specific width for the paint, it simply needs to go along the cut edge of the fabric – it can be narrow, wide, plain or fancy – up to you!

4.  DECORATE and PERSONALIZE

You may add paint, magic marker, fused fabric cut into shapes, dye, embroidery, appliqué, etc. to personalize your Banner Section as long as these are flat to the fabric.

Please do not use three-dimensional embellishments (for example a teddy bear or other larger memory items), as the banner sections must lie flat when piled up.

Be creative:

• Use a quote about organ and tissue donation,
• Dedicate the Banner Section to a donor or recipient,
• Draw, paint, express your feelings about the importance of organ donation ,
• Have your group autograph the banner,
• Paint images that make you happy; Print images onto fabric and add,
• Finger paint, stamp, make handprints, footprints...use your imagination!

 5. SEW

If you are making multiple Banner Sections (e.g. a school or group project), please sew your banners together along the sewing lines before sending/bringing them in. This will ease the burden on volunteer sewers in the mad rush leading to the Guinness Challenge.

Information for those unable to attend the Parade of Banners:

Please try to join and support a team from your province and bring if possible bring them to the NOTDAW Walk in your province.

For those that are mailing in their banners to Peace River:

6. SEND / DONATE to:

World’s Longest Banner 2012

Town of Peace River, Community Services

PO Box 6600

Peace River, Alberta, Canada   T8S 1S4

Mailed contributions must be received by: April 1^st 2013

For those that are mailing in their banners to Peace River –

Once the Guinness Book of World Records Challenge has been met, the banner will be divided into sections and your banner/banners will be given to a team or individual from your province. These banners will then be shared amongst Canadian organ and tissue donation education and support groups for future use in awareness efforts.

7. FIND MORE INFO about the Banner Project at:  

            Facebook:  World’s Longest Banner for Organ & Tissue Donation

Blog:           worldslongestbanner@blogspot.ca

Twitter:       longestbanner20

Web Page:  worldslongestbanner.org (under construction)

World’s Longest Banner for Organ and tissue Donation, 2012

I met with my MLA - to talk country :-)

Well my dear friends

I'm always happy to say that I have a great MLA...

I met with him again yesterday to give him an update on this project and to let him know what is going on with donation in rural communities i.e. Grieving families being denied the opportunity to fulfill the last wishes of a loved one to donate organs and tissues!

It's been a busy couple of weeks with everything that's been going on with my grandson Max, whooping cough in the day-home and now with him getting a flu bug this week. But I must say that, I've still managed to get some more things done.

Here is a little something that I put together...it's still in the DRAFT process but it's a begining..

I put some of this in a package for my MLA and I will have a package ready for the town meeting on the 22...

1.      A Call to Action, a national report for the federal government and for Canadians

2.      Cover Page –

a.      The P.R.E.D.O.T. Report –Peace River Educating on the Subject of Donations of Organs & Tissues -  A 20 year volunteer initiative in the community of Peace River AB

3.      Answering a Call to Action – 2013 - 2 community projects

a.      Account held in Trust

                                                              i.      Peace River and District Health Foundation

1.      Community Spirit Account

2.      Gift of Life Path & Arboretum - $959.35 (October 3, 2012 This is the money that I've made from the sale of banner material to date.... this money will go towards the Gift of Life Arboretum.

b.      Cost of Commemorative Benches for Gift of Life Path (Picture of Bench) - I still need to get this information from the town.

These next items are a work in progress....

c.       Cost of Gift of Life Arboretum           

                                                              i.      Personal Financial Statement

                                                            ii.      Personal Cost

                                                          iii.      Number of Banner material Sold & donated to date

                                                           iv.      Amount $ put towards Gift of Life Arboretum

4.      An invitation to Parade of Banners  May 5, 2013

5.      Banner instructions

6.      A pledge made by me to my community

7.      Partners and Sponsors

8.      Report on Organ & Tissue Donation in Rural communities.

Well my friends ...God bless take care and have a great day.

Maria

Metis and First Nation & an Update

Good morning 

Well dear friends, I've been at this for over a year now and I  an finally beginning to feel like things are coming together.

This past weekend, on Saturday Sept.29^th, I attended the 25th Anniversary for the Zone 6 Metis Counsel in Peace River. While I was at this celebration, I had an opportunity to promote the banner project with some of those that were in attendance from around Alberta. 

I was grateful to have this opportunity to discuss issues for the Metis and First Nations people surrounding the subject of organ and tissue donation with them. With this being done, I am hoping the end result will be that, during this next year, fellow Metis and First Nation people will openly help to address fears and conflicts surrounding the subject of donation. With these discussions, the anticipation is that, more lives can and will be saved

Now, here is an update on how things are going.

Information for the banner campaign is in its final draft process and I now have-

1. The report, from the Canadian Blood services that has been given to our federal government (A Call to Action) – My participation in this project is mentioned on page 42 of the report.
2. PR answering a Call to Action
3. An invitation to the Parade of Banners on May 5th 2013
4. A pledge made by me – (to members of my community)
5. Banner instructions

What also needs to be done, since the reason we are having the parade of banners in our community, to help address this subject at a rural level.

 

I am now working on a report pertaining to donation in rural communities. (The information I will provide will come from what I have learnt by trying to address this subject, at a rural level, during this past 20 years.)

 

There are a few more things that I have to complete before the web page can be put up but I now feel that things are finally on a roll.

 

Take care - God bless and have a great day

 

Maria