• Province of Alberta announces $1.1 million in funding for Edmonton Veterans’ Village:  https://globalnews.ca/news/7374550/alberta-government-funding-edmonton-homes-for-heroes-veterans-housing/
• On the day before Remembrance Day, the Province of Ontario and the City of Kingston announced the donation of a 1-acre parcel of land (valued at $1.1 million) to Homes For Heroes for a Veterans’ Village, together with $200 thousand in seed funding for the project.:
  • https://www.thewhig.com/news/local-news/tiny-homes-to-be-built-in-kingston-for-homeless-veterans
  • https://globalnews.ca/news/7454897/province-partners-with-homes-for-heroes-foundation-to-address-homeless-veterans-issue/
• The Calgary Herald recently highlighted ATCO’s Christmas present to the Veterans at our Calgary Village: https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/atco-village-lights-up-for-veterans-who-call-area-home  Notably, ATCO has offered to match all donations to Homes For Heroes during December up to $100 thousand.
• CP Rails recently finished their Spin 4 Vets https://vimeo.com/486602596 and managed to raise $400 thousand in support of Homes For Heroes.
• This video from ATCO about their support is worth watching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qV44j1csGRc

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Tell Me A Story Soldier

The Afghan Mission Film Festival

In 2013 I traveled across Canada with a collection of films about Canada in Afghanistan. The objective was to encourage those who had served in Afghanistan to share their stories in the book “Afghanistan: A Canadian Story” Ultimately I was able to collect the stories of 150 of the men and women who served between 2001 and 2014 and the book was published in 2014. The link to “Op Athena” no longer works, but I highly recommend “Waging Peace” and “Life and Death IN Kandahar” is you want a better understanding of what distinguishes the men and women who serve Canada.

The film tour is over, but with the Tell Me A Story title link above you can still have the film festival, in part or in full, and at no cost to you, come to your organization, whether you are a CF Base, a Reserve Unit, A Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, a Canadian Military Museum, a Canadian school, or a local community or business organization prepared to help tell the story of the Canadian Military in Afghanistan, you can help to tell the Canadian story.Canadian Soldiers, Sailors, and Air Men and Women are ordinary people doing an extraordinary job for Canada. Trying to get them to tell their story, their boots on the ground experience from the conflict in Afghanistan, however, is difficult. Responses range from “I was just doing my job” to “I can’t talk about it”.

Canada and Canadians have a historical tendency to forget their military when the crisis is past. The military can take much of the blame for this. We are not very good at telling the Canadian Forces story. The legacy album “Afghanistan: A Soldier’s Story” wants to make sure the “official” record of the Afghan Conflict includes the unofficial human stories of the men and women who served. To that end a series of films have been gathered and will be heading to communities across Canada to remind Canadians, and those who served, that the human stories of this conflict, of any conflict, must be shared. They are vital to an accurate historical representation, as well as to the cultivation of a more robust Canadian identity and consistent government support necessary to sustain a credible, responsive, military.

We wish to take this opportunity to congratulate and welcome the new “Knights and Dames” who have been inducted into the Order of St. George by way of a Virtual Ceremony this day, 3^rd October 2020.

The Order of St. George, which is an international order, exists to promote and pursue the timeless traditions of chivalry by compassion and supporting works of charity specific to the men and women in uniform who serve their respective communities and nations. The Order has grown to encompass people of many faiths and maintains its commitment to service by helping people in need. The Order’s Foundation contributes funding in support of wounded or fallen military personnel and their immediate families. The Order also offers its support to programs of Royal Canadian Sea, Army and Air Cadet Corps, and the Junior Rangers, as well as to other charitable organizations.

We wish to take this opportunity to congratulate and welcome the new “Knights and Dames” who have been inducted into the Order of St. George by way of a Virtual Ceremony this day, 3^rd October 2020. 

The Order of St. George, which is an international order, exists to promote and pursue the timeless traditions of chivalry by compassion and supporting works of charity specific to the men and women in uniform who serve their respective communities and nations. The Order has grown to encompass people of many faiths and maintains its commitment to service by helping people in need. The Order’s Foundation contributes funding in support of wounded or fallen military personnel and their immediate families. The Order also offers its support to programs of Royal Canadian Sea, Army and Air Cadet Corps, and the Junior Rangers, as well as to other charitable organizations.