Thank you!

I celebrated my birthday just last week and this year, instead of asking for gifts, I asked family and friends to donate to Journalists for Human Rights. And guess what? Through a simple ask, we managed to raise $600 in less than two weeks...all of which will be going to fund our programs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo!

I honestly cannot think of a better gift than your support of an organization and a cause that means so much to me. I've been blown away by everyone's generosity and cannot thank you all enough for making this birthday so much more special.

Here's a short video to express my thanks and to show you where exactly your money is going :)

Salamat, merci, grazie, gracias, danke, bedankt, asante, meda ase, děkuji, thank you!

Birthday, birthday, birthday!

You guessed it! My birthday is coming up! And in addition to my yearly tradition of dancing my face and feet off to usher in another fabulous year of life, I've decided to give up my presents this year and instead, ask all my friends and family (that's you!) to donate to my favorite organization: Journalists for Human Rights. I've been working with this organization for the past two years now and have seen first-hand the incredible progress we, along with our partners, have made in improving human rights by using the power of the media. Watch my ask in the video below :)

Any donation - $5, $10, $15, $20 - will make a difference and I assure you, 100% of all the money raised for my birthday will go to our programs overseas. If you want more information about jhr and/or where your money is going, visit the website at www.jhr.ca or just give me a shout!

In advance, merci buckets for all of your contributions! You are giving the gift of human rights and that is worth more than anything you could possibly buy anywhere else. You are my heroes.

Happy Birthday, MCL!

Holy whoa. Two blog posts in less than 24 hours. Rare but necessary as I just realized that today is the one year anniversary of My City Lives and I just have to send out my love. For those of you who don’t already know, MCL is an online platform that lets you capture and share your daily experiences around the city on video. Presented on an interactive map, these web stories show exactly where each video was filmed so you can learn more about the city based on the stories of others. It's unique and poetic and downright brilliant.

I had the pleasure of collaborating with MCL on behalf of blogUT to shoot some videos exploring the University of Toronto campus. I live and breathe that campus and this city and I just loved being able to document the everyday spaces that make for those simple but extraordinary moments that is la vie.

With MCL Co-Founder Adil & blogUT video partner, Coleman.

I often blog about my travels and love for other cities (see below) but the truth is, Toronto is in my blood. The vibrance of this city just makes me swell with pride and a quick scan through the many videos on the MCL website will show you just what I’m talking about. From our many coffee shops (a staple in my life) to the spaces of innovation, from the obscure spots to find your hipster girlfriend to our Corktown "ukelele jams", MCL captures what makes this city, well, live. It's more than a website, it's a place of discovery.

So with that, happy birthday, MCL! Thanks for bringing in the human dimension that makes our city the pure awesome that it is. Here’s to growing old and grey and taking on more cities than that interactive map of yours can even handle ;)

Sending my love to my friends at MCL (apologies for my sad Photoshop "skills")

Kiva + Me = Birthday Love

Two weeks ago I celebrated my 21st birthday and as a present, I asked my closest friends to invest in an entrepreneur in any developing country using Kiva, my new found love. I discovered the awesome of this organization a couple of months ago when I made my first loan to Tarcila, a woman in the Philippines who makes and then sells furniture (blog post here). Ever since then, I've wanted to get more friends involved in it. And my birthday presented itself as just the perfect introduction I'd been looking for.

Shiyoen Chum groupThanks to the amazing generosity of my best friends of nearly 13 years (!!!), five entrepreneurs from all over the world have been given the chance to develop their business and potentially lift themselves and their families out of poverty. From the Philippines to El Salvador and from Cambodia to Peru, our entrepreneurs are involved in all sorts of different trades and industries, including baking, transportation, fishing, and retail! It's pretty awesome stuff.

But in addition to warm, fuzzy feeling of doing good, what I loved most about this year's present was that I learned something new about my friends along the way. After making their loans, I asked them to share their reasons for choosing whoever it was they ended up choosing...

LuciaMarisa chose Shiyoen Chum's family of fishermen from Cambodia because she wanted to invest in something that reflected health and nurturing. Val chose Aida who runs a motorcycle service in the Philippines because it struck her as a unique and innovative service. Carm invested in José, the baker from El Salvador, because she too is an aspiring baker. Cynthia chose on the basis of necessity, which Lucia's fruit and vegetable store provided for the members of her community. And finally, Gloria invested in Alejandra, who operates a buy-and-sell business, because she knew that Alejandra had to support three young children and would need the money to put them through school.

Honestly? Listening to these reasons was one of the most rewarding parts of this little initiative. Why? Because it gave me a deeper glimpse into who these ladies are and for me, it was an affirmation of how well these ladies know themselves, as their choices brought to the fore aspects integral to their personality.

So thus made my 2010 birthday! Who knew that this simple act of investing would reap so many wonderful rewards? 

Oh and did I mention that October is also Kiva's birthday month? A happy coincidence with wins all around : )

Thanks ladies for actually taking the time to actually educate yourselves about the organization, the process, and the individuals that you invested in! So happy to be on this microfinancing journey with you!

José Pedro QuinterosAlejandra Montejo Aida Navajo

Two weeks ago I celebrated my 21st birthday (legality all over the world, holla!) and as a present, I asked my closest friends to invest in an entrpereneur in any developing country using Kiva. At first they asked me if I was sure that there was nothing else I wanted. Believe me, this wasn't some kind of selfless act, I asked myself that question long and hard too before making the ask. I won't deny it I am absolutely the kind of person who loves being spoiled and showered with gifts on her birthday. But honestly, this time around, there wasn't anything else I could think of asking for. I'm priveleged enough to say taht at this moment, I have evverything that I could possibly need and that there's nothing more that I want. It's an odd but incredibly liberating feeling!

And so enters Kiva...my new found love.

I discovered the awesome of this organization a couple of months ago when I made my first loan to a woman in the PHilippines who makes and buys furniture (blog post here) and ever since then, I've wanted to get more friends involved in it. And my birthday presented itself as just the perfect introduction I've been looking for.

Now, thanks to the amazing generosity of my best friends Carmen, Cynthia, Gloria, Marisa, and Val, five entrepreneurs all over the world have been given the chance to develop their business and potentially lift themselves out of poverty. Investing in countries all over the world

More than that, what I loved most about this ask was that I learned something new about my friends along the way. After making their loans, I asked them to share the reasons for who they chose and that in itself was a wealth of learning. Marisa chose the fishing group because