Today’s Inspirational Quote: “The world needs BIG Dreamers, create want you seek most in life” – VISCA    We recently conducted a poll with hundreds of individuals asking them the top 3 things that they seek most in life.  Over 97% of the responses were: HAPPINESS.  The responses were stated in the following way: “I want more happiness in my life, I want to feel a greater sense of peace…” So many of us continually search for what is already attainable inside each of us; ‘a greater state of happiness’.  Here is what I believe: Happiness is not something that you can attain since happiness attains you – it is who you are. What typically prevents us from continually living with a state of happiness is fear.  Recognize that fear only lives in the past or the future.  So act and be happy NOW and you will find that within this state, you can love unconditionally....

Step Right Up to the 3rd annual Edmonton Volunteer Fair! Volunteer Edmonton, in partnership with West Edmonton Mall, City of Edmonton and NextGen, is inviting Nonprofit Organizations & Registered Charities to participate in our annual one-of-a-kind volunteer recruitment event on Saturday, April 20, 2013 to kick off National Volunteer Week! Your organization can join dozens of other groups in this excellent occasion to celebrate volunteering in our city. Thanks to West Edmonton Mall, who receives 78,000 visitors daily, you will have the opportunity to engage the crowd by promoting the good works you are doing in the community and recruit new volunteers to support your programs and services! Sign up your nonprofit organization now to showcase your volunteer opportunities and raise awareness about the importance of volunteering and the good work your organisation is doing in our community. Let’s celebrate the spirit of National Volunteer Week (April 21-27, 2013) by making this event an outstanding success! What: Edmonton Volunteer Fair Where: West Edmonton Mall, Lower Level, Phase 1 Date: Saturday, April 20, 2013 Time: 11 am to 4 pm Cost: There is a $25.00 Registration Fee. Non-refundable. For more information, contact: Madeleine Smith at voled@volunteeredmonton.com or call 780-732-6649. Share your passion and expertise to create a vibrant community full of excitement. Find the right volunteer opportunity at the Edmonton Volunteer Fair with over 80 different non-profits or charities looking for volunteers just like you. This event is free to the public. Need volunteers? Are you a non-profit or charity looking for volunteers? Register here to have access to a booth and share your volunteer opportunities at Edmonton’s one-of-a-kind volunteer recruitment event on Saturday, April 20. For more information contact Madeleine at msmith@volunteeredmonton.com Visit our website at www.volunteeredmonton.com #EVF2013  ...

Now in its 71st year, National Volunteer Week is all about volunteer recognition. This year’s celebration takes place the week of April 21 to 27, 2013. In Canada, more than 13 million volunteers contribute over 2 billion hours every year. Volunteers support us in everything we do and communities thrive because of it. At Volunteer Canada, we encourage and strengthen community involvement. We work with a broad range of partners to promote and support our shared vision of a vibrant Canada. To learn more, visit the new volunteer.ca, your connection to Canada’s volunteering community.  Click here and watch Volunteer Canada: 2013 PSA Canada’s volunteers make a tremendous contribution in communities across the country and around the globe. They make our communities resilient and our country vibrant. Today, volunteers are involved in more ways than ever. Volunteers complete tasks from smartphones while waiting at the bus stop. They sign and share petitions. They govern organizations as board members. They lead rescue efforts when disasters strike. Every day, Canadians lend a hand to their neighbours and friends. And many of them don’t realize that in doing so they’re volunteering. National Volunteer Week pays tribute to the millions of Canadian volunteers who graciously donate their time and talents to our communities. To get you started on your local NVW campaign, Volunteer Canada has put together a NVW Campaign Kit click here   Volunteer Week 2012 Click here and watch the video clip produced by Volunteer Canada 2012....

If you and your partner are thrill riders, adrenaline junkies, adventure seekers, or just wildly fearless, your wedding day should reflect that, and your wedding location should be as daring and exciting as the two of you. Consider these off-the-beaten-path places for your anything-but-dull wedding day.   Host your wedding at a haunted manor. If you’re fascinated by the macabre, the dark and the mysterious, the unknown, then brush up on your local legends and look for a haunted hall or manor. There are so many well-known haunted cities around the world and hundreds more locations with chilling ghost stories. If you want to make a fun and spooky night of your wedding, give your reception a murder mystery-theme or just captivate your guests with tales of paranormal activity! A night in a haunted mansion could give your wedding a fun, supernatural edge that your guests will talk about for years to come! Take your reception to a theme park. You may want to have your ceremony at a more private location, but for your reception, consider renting a bus and taking all your guests to a theme park. You could choose a more reasonably priced place that is closer to home, such as a beachside location like that of Coney Island, a place you may have visited in your childhood or on a first date with your spouse. Or you could opt for a bigger destination park with a built-in resort. Many amusement parks—like SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Disneyland, Santa’s Village, Cedar Point, Great America, and Morey’s Piers—will close for a few hours for exclusive events. In fact, many of these locations have specific wedding ceremony and receptions venues in addition to corporate party areas. You can discuss a set rate to rent out the park nearest you for a few hours to host your reception, but you don’t have to—your guests can enjoy the rides, games, food and entertainment via general admission as well. Build your own carnival or circus. Ladies and gentleman, brides and grooms, step right up and create a carnival or circus-styled reception! Rent a giant circus tent and place an ad for performers, or contact companies that specialize in event entertainment of the Cirque de Soleil persuasion, like Aloft Circus Entertainment. Look for a company that rents out (and regulates) small carnival rides. Set up a few small tents with carnival games where guests can try to win big stuffed-animal prizes and goldfish. Rent a dunk tank for any brave soul willing to take a plunge. Serve circus-themed snacks, like corn dogs, popcorn, cotton candy, oversized lollipops, ice cream and funnel cakes. Your guests will have a wild time, and your wedding day will...