Several CBC employees recently took part in Movember, a mash up of November and mustache.

According to Wikipedia Movember is “an annual month-long event involving the growing of mustaches during the month of November… to raise awareness and funds for men’s health issues, such as prostate cancer and depression.”

Ryan Couldrey, a CBC employee who also works as a photographer, captures the hair-raising results in Toronto. Click here to see the individual profile shots.

There were also Movember events in Ottawa and Vancouver.

In Vancouver, participants got the Mayor to officially proclaim the month of November as Movember. They even managed to persuade the mayor to grow his own mustache.

In Ottawa, “Stu Mills was also a participant in the Movember festivities, growing his very own “Stu Manchu” and drawing attention from the likes of singer-songwriter Jim Bryson.” Bod LeDrew a former CBC staffer and contributor, said in the comments, “Stu was the top Movember fundraiser in Ottawa, with more than $11K raised!”

In total Canadians raised $19,890,551 during the Movember fund-hair-raising drive.

Congratulations to all who participated.

	2 Comments »	Email This Post
	Community Events	Posted at 8:11 am (03 Dec 2010)

By simply sending an email, CBC employees can support military families that have been afflicted by war.

To support a family all you have to do is send an email to remembrance.souvenir@cbc.ca with your name and employee ID number (it’s on your security pass).

When you send the email a one-time donation of $11 will be made to the Canadian Military Families Fund (MFF). Your donation will be deducted from your December 2nd paycheque and a charitable tax receipt will be sent to your home address.

Founded by General Rick Hillier, the fund helps children who have lost a parent or whose parent has been seriously wounded while serving this country.

The deadline is this Friday, Nov 12th.

Fred Parker, the chief director at The National, is the man behind the initiative.

“Throughout the years I’ve spent covering Remembrance Day ceremonies at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, I never cease to be touched by the faces of the victims of war and by those who are wounded by the loss or the injury of a loved one.

Up until last year, I kept thinking that there had to be a way to show support to the families of those who make the ultimate sacrifice and put themselves in harm’s way for the love of their country. Thinking back, I wonder why no one ever thought of supporting the families of the victims of war in this way, sooner.

It’s such a simple initiative – all it takes is 11 dollars to begin to make a difference in the lives of those families touched by war – but its impact is profound,” Parker explained on the internal employee portal. “I really feel that this could help military families heal in a way they otherwise might not be able to. And we would have a hand in that recovery.”

The funds go to after school programs, counseling services, or any other program designed to help a child who has lost a parent or whose parent has been seriously wounded while serving this country.

	22 Comments »	Email This Post
	Community Events	Posted at 10:39 am (11 Nov 2010)

CBC/Radio-Canada launched an initiative in the lead-up to Canada Day with the idea of “Celebrating Canada” What does that mean to you?”

To date there’s been 182 photos uploaded, and while a bunch of them are, ahem, pretty stereotypically Canadian… you know pics of Mounties, maple leaves, and cottage scenes; some of them are really unique and surprising.

The picture above was submitted by M. Christine Duncan. It was shot last year at Dundurn Castle in Hamilton, Ontario.

	2 Comments »	Email This Post
	Community Events	Posted at 6:09 pm (20 Jul 2010)

Thousands of children are enslaved by fisherman on Lake Volta. They spend their mornings on the water casting nets and their afternoons and evenings picking the minnows out of the nets and hanging them to dry.

CBC Reporter David Gutnick sent this picture for the CBC Employee Photo Contest. To submit your own photos send them to photos [at] cbc.ca. The full guidlines for are here.

	Add Comment »	Email This Post
	Community Events	Posted at 11:15 am (11 Feb 2009)

Kirk Williams, TV news, Bill Richardson, CBC Radio host, and Rob Easton, radio news show off the MotherCorp’s float at Sunday afternoon’s Pride Parade in Vancouver.

Photo: “CBC Vancouver preps for today’s Pride Parade.” by todmaffin

	2 Comments »	Email This Post
	Community Events, Vancouver	Posted at 3:00 pm (03 Aug 2008)

Q: Where can you spend your evenings off being yelled at by a CBC Producer to hurry up?

If you answered “At my show, jackass!” you’re wrong. (Well, maybe you’re right, but that’s another story.)

Vancouver’s Dragon Boat team, the “Wave Catchers,” are on the hunt for seven new members. The team competes in at least two of the big festivals: the Alcan Dragon Boat Festival in mid-June and the Kelowna Dragon Boat Festival in September.

Practice is Sunday mornings at 11:00 a.m. and lasts for two hours. Practices are run by a coach with many years of experience as a competitive paddler.

It all starts March 30th on Sundays, then it moves to weekday evenings after June. The boat season ends just in time for your next show’s season in September. There is a registration fee of $150 to cover Festival fees, a CBC jersey, coaching, and dock fees.

Even if you aren’t able to join the team, you can cheer them on on their Facebook group.

If you’d like to join, contact Monia at 6218 in Vancouver (centrex 181).

Does your region have any recreational teams?
Tell me about them!

	Add Comment »	Email This Post
	Community Events, Vancouver	Posted at 2:30 pm (26 Feb 2008)

Little Mosque on the Prairie creator Zarqa Nawaz will participate in a Toronto forum tomorrow, offering insight into the show’s premise and message, and will comment on the show’s popularity.

Executive Producers Mary Darling and Michael Snook will also participate, along with the two of the series’ lead actors Sheila McCarthy and Manoj Sood.

Their participation is part of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television’s Canada Award Screening Tour — part of a road show that attracted audiences in Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary and Vancouver.

The screening series showcases diversity in the show, encouraging discussion and promoting multiculturalism. The series will feature episode screenings and a question and answer period with the show’s producers, creator and several cast members.

The screening is free to the public and will be at the NFB Cinema (150 John Street) at 6:00 p.m. ET.

	6 Comments »	Email This Post
	Community Events, Little Mosque on the Prairie	Posted at 1:45 pm (12 Feb 2008)

For the first time, the CBC has tabulated the amount it raised for charities across the country. The total was 3.35 million. $345,030 of that came from CBC Radio’s Food Bank Day.

	1 Comment »	Email This Post
	Asides, Community Events	Posted at 12:26 pm (04 Feb 2008)

CBC Television anchor Peter Mansbridge speaks at rally (Robin Rowland/CBC)

Hundreds of CBC staff and colleagues from other news organizations gathered Thursday in Toronto to mark the 60th day of BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston’s captivity and make an impassioned plea for his immediate release.

The crowd filled the sun-drenched Simcoe Place outside the CBC building on Front Street over the noon hour to express their solidarity with Johnston, who was kidnapped at gunpoint near his Gaza City home on March 12.

Johnston, the only Western journalist living in Gaza at the time of his capture, has not been seen or heard from since. The 44-year-old reporter had been working in the turbulent region for three years.

More at cbc.ca

	Add Comment »	Email This Post
	Community Events	Posted at 6:02 pm (10 May 2007)

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) and the Canadian Media Guild (CMG) will hold a rally tomorrow in support of British journalist Alan Johnston. The BBC Gaza correspondent was kidnapped by gunmen near his office in Gaza City on March 12.

The CBC’s Peter Mansbridge, Brian Stewart, Anna Maria Tremonto, and Rick McInnes Rae will be speaking at the rally, to be held at noon in Simcoe Park (beside the Toronto Broadcast Centre).

Johnston is believed to be alive and in good health but there is no sign of his captors releasing him anytime soon. Why he’s being held remains a matter for speculation.

• Tony Burman’s Letter: Why BBC’s kidnapped Alan Johnston needs to be freed.
• How you can help spread the word

	1 Comment »	Email This Post
	Community Events, Personalities, Toronto	Posted at 1:56 pm (09 May 2007)

Did you know? CBC offers thousands of hours of CBC programming — both radio and TV — to support school curriculums, from junior high right through to post-secondary and career colleges. Shows like The Nature of Things and O’Reilly on Advertising are available.

The folks who put all this together have now launched a web site which includes lesson plans, video, audio, and links to the dozens of educational CBC sites. A great site for teachers, professors and people involved in the educational community. It’s at www.cbclearning.ca

And, for the first time, educators can purchase curriculum relevant programs directly online, view excerpts, and explore the vast library of resources for the classroom. (Try visiting the Classroom Resources links on the right nav-bar and Click on Nature of Things to have a peek at the multimedia resources that exists there.)

	2 Comments »	Email This Post
	Community Events	Posted at 10:13 am (16 Apr 2007)

CBC Radio host Jennifer Gibson will compete in Toronto soon for the title of Canadian Media Idol — a light-hearted charity fundraiser. Gibson won the Saskatchewan rounds by playing a guitar and singing. “(The guitar) made a difference for me and for my own comfort. The competition is about vocal talent, but it’s also about how comfortable you are on stage,” Gibson said. Canadian Idol donated $1,000 to the Saskatoon Food Bank, Gibson’s charity of choice. more

	Add Comment »	Email This Post
	Community Events	Posted at 12:19 pm (16 Feb 2007)

During the holiday season, CBC focuses on charity drives in many communities across the country. Turns out this past year’s holiday was especially successful, with many locations setting new records. I’ve seen the spreadsheet of all the donations raised from CBC’s audience and in cash and food it exceeds $2,500,000! Some of the more interesting donation successes:

• CBC’s audience in PEI donated 3,218 turkeys. Edmonton brought in more than 7,000! None were dropped from a helicopter
• The Cape Breton Christmas Carol event brought in more than 300 pounds of food donations
• Vancouver’s food bank day raised $500,000 and Calgary’s raised $750,000

	Add Comment »	Email This Post
	Community Events	Posted at 12:26 pm (08 Jan 2007)

CBC’s fundraising drives to support the food banks in local communities set records last week. In Toronto, more than 3,100 kg of food were donated and $57,000 in cash was taken in — above the previous record of $45,000.
     Vancouver’s CBC plant raised more than $500,000 (!), thanks in part to a $97,000 donation from Viatech and $88,000 from Business Objects (employees raised half, and the company matched it).

	2 Comments »	Email This Post
	Community Events	Posted at 1:37 pm (12 Dec 2006)

The National Ballet of Canada is offering CBC employees 20% off ticket prices to the following Toronto performances of The Nutcracker:

• Wednesday December 13 at 7:30pm

• Thursday December 14 at 7:30pm
• Tuesday December 19 at 7:30pm

To take advantage of this offer, quote the discount code in this PDF document (sorry, link works from within CBC only)

	Add Comment »	Email This Post
	Community Events	Posted at 4:47 pm (11 Dec 2006)