Tommy's #1 SHANIA TWAIN SuperSite Message Board

twain2country · Guru

Shania Kids Can / Shania Twain Foundation

Tommy · Guru

RE: SHANIA KIDS CAN

peever · Senior Member

so you can only donate if your in ontario or anyone can

Tommy · Guru

peever wrote:

so you can only donate if your in ontario or anyone can

I assume anyone can but it would be difficult receivng different currencies through the mail. They need to set up an online payment system.

Tanya · Guru

Does anybody know any details about Shania's connection with Second Harvest Food Bank and Kids Cafe? I mean, when did she start to support these organisations and how she helped them?

PurplePeopleEater · Guru

I know she has been supporting them a long time - you might want to do a google search for key terms to obtain more details.

Tommy · Guru

Tanya wrote:

Does anybody know any details about Shania's connection with Second Harvest Food Bank and Kids Cafe? I mean, when did she start to support these organisations and how she helped them?

Second Harvesst is now called Feeding America. Kids Cafe is one of Feeding America's programs. I don't think Shania is associated with the organization any more.

http://feedingamerica.org/our-network/network-programs/kids-cafe.aspx

Tanya · Guru

I heard there was some charity organization she supported during Up! Tour and she even invited winners of some charity contest on stage. Do you know the name of organization and any information about that contest?

Tommy · Guru

I remember her drawing a name at some concerts but I can't remember what it was for or the contest. There was also a show on CMT Canada called "Ultimate Fan Access: Shania Twain" where a couple guys won a contest and got to go on stage during a concert (I think in Vancouver).

PurplePeopleEater · Guru

Tanya wrote:

I heard there was some charity organization she supported during Up! Tour and she even invited winners of some charity contest on stage. Do you know the name of organization and any information about that contest?

Second Harvest

PurplePeopleEater · Guru

Tommy wrote:

Tanya wrote:

Does anybody know any details about Shania's connection with Second Harvest Food Bank and Kids Cafe? I mean, when did she start to support these organisations and how she helped them?

Second Harvesst is now called Feeding America. Kids Cafe is one of Feeding America's programs. I don't think Shania is associated with the organization any more.

http://feedingamerica.org/our-network/network-programs/kids-cafe.aspx

I would think she would be involved with Feeding Canada moreso than Feeding America, eh?

Tanya · Guru

Thank you guys for the info. :)

-- Edited by Tanya on Sunday 24th of January 2010 06:06:28 PM

Robby · Senior Member

Tanya wrote:

I heard there was some charity organization she supported during Up! Tour and she even invited winners of some charity contest on stage. Do you know the name of organization and any information about that contest?

The supported charity organization during the Up! Tour concerts in Germany was Deutscher Kinderschutzbund (German Children's Protection League).

Tanya · Guru

Robby wrote:

Tanya wrote:

I heard there was some charity organization she supported during Up! Tour and she even invited winners of some charity contest on stage. Do you know the name of organization and any information about that contest?

The supported charity organization during the Up! Tour concerts in Germany was Deutscher Kinderschutzbund (German Children's Protection League).

Wow! So this means she supported different organizations in different countries. Thank you for the info!

Tommy · Guru

Shania’s charity Up! and running for 5 years

DSBONE has quietly participated in pilot project

Posted By Ron Grech, The Daily Press

Shania Kids Can has actually been quietly operating as a pilot program through one of the Timmins school boards for the last five years.

Shania Twain only announced the launch of this initiative last month.

Linda Knight, director of education for District School Board Ontario North East, said her board was "honoured" to be selected by the country music star for this $100,000 initiative.

Shania Kids Can is a program designed for children at the elementary school level who may come from financially underprivileged families and are having difficulties achieving their full potential in school.

Through her website, Twain said, the "program aims to help educators identify children in this situation and provide a safe, productive, confidence-building environment where the kids are coached in good and appropriate behaviour, taught practical life skills, assisted with homework, given an ear to just simply listen when they need it."

With the program still in its infancy as a pilot project, Knight said it is being offered at one school within the board's jurisdiction. She said more than 70 students are enrolled in it. She declined, however, to say which school it is.

Even though the program has been offered for the last five years, Knight said the board abided by Twain's wish that it not be publicized.

That changed when Twain announced it through her website.

Knight said Twain also expressed hope for the program to eventually be offered at schools across the country.

On her website, Twain wrote: "I can personally relate to the effects of growing up with difficulties at home and understand the problems kids can face while trying to fit in with other students who are not experiencing the same disadvantages in their personal lives.

"My reason for creating this program is to ensure that underprivileged children in our communities are provided and cared for during their time at school, to help prevent them from falling through the cracks. I feel luck saved me from falling through the cracks as a child and believe it's neither wise nor fair to leave the destiny of any child to luck."

Knight described the board's arrangement with Twain as a "partnership" but declined to provide details about the amount the country star has financially contributed towards the program.

With the announcement, Twain is going through the process of applying to have Shania Kids Can become a charitable organization. In the meantime, Twain is inviting anyone who wanting to donate to the program to do so through the District School Board Ontario North East, which is hosting the pilot program.

http://www.timminspress.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2444220

Tommy · Guru

High school's special ed. students to receive work experience in program

Posted Nov 18, 2010 By EMC News

EMC News - The Smiths Falls District Collegiate Institute (SFDCI) Special Education Department has recently introduced a new life skills component into the Work Experience Program called Nature and Nutrition, an ongoing unit that teaches students about shopping, growing and cooking with healthy foods.

SFDCI offers the Breakfast for Learning program and the Food for Thought program for all students each day to ensure they have access to breakfast, lunch and snacks. The new Nature and Nutrition program requires the students involved to take daily inventory of perishables, shop for groceries and restock the supplies. Skills such as comparison pricing, reading labels for ingredients and getting the best nutritional value on a budget are emphasized. Students also learn about proper hand-washing, baking, food preparation and money management.

In addition, the horticultural aspect of the program has introduced students to basic gardening skills. Students have built and filled raised garden beds in the school yard. By doing so, they learn about where food comes from, how to grow their own garden, and how to use what they've grown in their own baking. Students have also gotten involved in worm composting to nourish the gardens.

"We're very excited about the new program," said Shawna Davidson, Learning Resource Teacher. "It's very positive and students are so engaged. There's really something for everyone."

Davidson said the program seamlessly integrates life skills and in-school work experiences, blends regular stream students and students with special needs for experiential learning opportunities, incorporates learning expectations from all areas of the curriculum including literacy, numeracy and adaptive living skills, supports formal transition plans, and supports the school's gold EcoSchools designation through environmental initiatives like gardening and composting.

"There's just so much you can do with this program," said Educational Assistant and program lead Melanie Beath. She constantly emphasizes the importance of buying local to students by partnering with a variety of community organizations. For example, once a month Beath purchases the Good Foods Box from the local Lions Club which includes local produce - provided at cost - from the Garden Market Grocery Store.

Beath said the program has been made possible through funding from both the Breakfast for Learning and Food for Thought programs, as well as the Shania Twain Breakfast Clubs of Canada program. Twain's club will be giving the school $2,500 a year for the next three years.

Both Beath and Davidson said the program is also strongly supported by the community through personal donations, clubs and other grocery stores like Your Independent Grocer which donates fresh fruit each week.

Beath mentioned one student who has found a love for gardening through the program.

"Even his mother was talking about it," she said. "Apparently he was going home and talking about it with her."

Student Jason Pedro discussed his two favourite aspects of the program.

"Baking cakes and hanging out with friends," he said.

PROGRAM

The Nature and Nutrition program is run in conjunction with the Work Experience Program, as both life skills and vocational training are the fundamental components of the program. Students are selected to work on a rotational basis, depending on their availability, needs and learning expectations. Jobs completed are recorded in the Work Experience Logs and count toward total weekly hours.

http://www.emcsmithsfalls.ca/20101118/news/High+school%27s+special+ed.+students+to+receive+work+experience+in+program

Tommy · Guru

Shania Kids Can Featured on Nascar Nationwide Series and Nascar Sprint Cup Series Cars

3/10/2012

Shania Kids Can is proud to be a featured logo on cars racing in the upcoming Nascar Nationwide Series and Nascar Sprint Cup Series this Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's car (Sam's Town 300, ESPN2 @ 5:00pm ET) will be driven by Blake Koch - #41 and Sunday's driver (Kobalt Tools 400, FOX @ 2:30pm ET) will be 2012 rookie of the year contender Timmy Hill - #37. See below for more info on Shania Kids Can and charity details directly from Shania:

I started the Shania Kids Can project 8 years ago in my native Canada and over the years it has proven to successfully improve the quality of daily life for countless, underprivileged kids, kids who are just like I was at their age. Today my objective is to expand the project to support as many underprivileged, primary school kids as possible throughout North America. On behalf of myself and the kids, we would like to express our gratitude to Rick Ware Racing and General Pacific Partners for offering their help in various ways, toward the objective of building awareness of the foundation and raising funds by placing the Shania Kids Can logo on their cars and later in the year, auctioning off a car at a trade show in Vegas in December 2012 where the proceeds will go to the Shania Kids Can foundation. Please visit the following website: http://www.shaniakidscan.com for more information and / or to donate to the foundation.

Thank you,

- Shania Twain
http://shaniatwain.com/news_archive.html?articleID=193&sectionID=1

Tommy · Guru

Shania Kids Can is now on Facebook and Twitter. The organization's website (www.shaniakidscan.com) will also be re-launched soon.

Tommy · Guru

Rick Ware Racing

Butters · Guru

Nice to see her doing some good for a good cause. I like the logo--not too flashy.

Tommy · Guru

Press Release

July 24, 2012, 8:31 a.m. EDT

Kevin O'Connell Lead Driver at Indianapolis in Brickyard Grand Prix

THOMASVILLE, NC, Jul 24, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- O'Connell Racing ( www.OConnellRacing.com ), a leading professional motorsports organization, announced today that in conjunction with Rick Ware Racing and the RWR North American Tour presented by Poynt, Kevin O'Connell has been confirmed to be lead driver in the RWR Ford BOSS Mustang for the Brickyard Grand Prix to be held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS). This is the first time in history of IMS that Sports Cars have been permitted to race at the facility on the road circuit.

O'Connell will be joined by marketing partners Poynt Corporation (Poynt.com), Gunbroker.com, General Pacific Partners (GPP), Adia Nutrition (pinksheets:ADIA) and SHANIA KIDS CAN, the 2012 cause related effort supported by the RWR North American Tour.

SHANIA KIDS CAN founder and benefactress Shania Twain commented, "I am pleased that Kevin O'Connell and Rick Ware have joined forces to raise awareness of the SHANIA KIDS CAN foundation. I created SHANIA KIDS CAN to support underprivileged primary age children in North American schools and Kevin and Rick obviously share my desire to give back to those less fortunate by getting involved. Thank you for believing in our kids."

Under Grand-Am Rolex Series rules, a minimum of two racing drivers per team, per race are required in competition. A current, yet to be named NASCAR co-driver will be announced on July 25th at 5:30AM ET.

Team owner Rick Ware stated, "We are racing at the Brickyard with 2011 'Rookie of the Year' Timmy Hill in the Nationwide Series and Kevin and a co-driver yet to be announced in Grand-Am. This weekend on the RWR Tour is a special weekend because the Brickyard means so much to any passionate member of the racing community and we are proud to be a part of it with our Tour sponsors."

Driver Kevin O'Connell commented, "Being a road course driver in various NASCAR series and in the Rolex Series, the opportunity to race at Indianapolis was always reserved for the oval races with the exception of Formula One. With Rolex and Nationwide both present and both series being part of the 2012 RWR North American Tour, we worked hard with our sponsors and teammates to make this happen. It's a unique opportunity to race on hallowed ground and to pay tribute to the 'founding fathers' of American motor racing who started racing here over a century ago."

The Grand-Am Rolex Series race begins at 4:10pm ET on July 27th and the NASCAR Nationwide Series race begins at 4:30pm ET on July 28th, 2012.

About Rick Ware Racing: Rick Ware Racing (RWR) has competed in every NASCAR sanctioned series, ARCA Series, the WMA Motocross Series, AMA Arenacross, Motocross and Supercross Series, Summer X-Games and Rolex Grand-Am Series.

About O'Connell Racing: O'Connell Racing (OCR) competes in Sports Car racing in the Grand-Am Rolex Series and Stock Car racing various touring series in NASACR as well as various Vintage Racing series throughout North America.

About General Pacific Partners: Established in 1997, General Pacific Partners, LLC (GPP) is a leading North American advisory services and public venture capital group. GPP specializes in seed, early and developmental stage direct investments and has long-term minded investment experience, in depth capital markets knowledge, proven strategies for improving and growing private and public companies, and strong commitments to teamwork and accountability.

About Poynt Corporation: Poynt.com is a convenient and timesaving GPS-enabled mobile application that connects users to local businesses, events, restaurants, movie theatres, offers, gas prices, weather information and directions at the moment they are looking to buy or acquire products or services. Poynt is available as a free download for users in the United States and Canada on Android, iPhone, Windows Phone, BlackBerry(R) smartphones and BlackBerry Playbook(TM) Tablet, and Nokia devices from the respective App Stores.

About SHANIA KIDS CAN: SHANIA KIDS CAN ( www.ShaniaKidsCan.com ) is a charitable organization founded by Shania Twain and designed to support underprivileged primary age children in North American schools.

About Adia Nutrition: Adia Nutrition, Inc. (pinksheets:ADIA) is a company specializing in shelf-stable probiotics. Currently, Adia offers five flavors of probiotic powder and two flavors of probiotic chews. Adia sells their products across the country in independent pharmacies, health food stores, fitness centers and grocery store chains. In states and countries where Adia does not yet have retail distribution partners you can find Adia online. According to a market research report titled 'Probiotics Market,' published by Markets and Markets ( www.marketsandmarkets.com ), the global probiotics market is expected to be worth US $32.6 billion by 2014. Moreover, the global market is expected to record a CAGR of 12.6%.

Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "expect," "should," "intend," "estimate," and "projects," variations of such words and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, but their absence does not mean that a statement is not a forward-looking statement. These forward-looking statements are based upon the Company's current expectations and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ significantly from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the Company's filings, which are on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

        
        For Further Information:
        Benefactour Investor Media & Relations
        Company Contact:
        Charles B. Arnold
        Tel 949.702.2423
        
        Adia Nutrition, Inc.
        Director of Investor Relations
        Michael Matsie
        Email Contact
        (949) 945-5384

SOURCE: Adia Nutrition

http://www.marke****ch.com/story/kevin-oconnell-lead-driver-at-indianapolis-in-brickyard-grand-prix-2012-07-24

Tommy · Guru

From Shania Kids Can on Facebook:

Dear friends,

Here I am in Iceland in July, proudly sporting the new logo for Shania Kids Can. I packed my foundation clothing with me for my summer travels and wear them as much as possible to help build awareness around this important cause. I'll have merchandise available for you soon. We'll keep you posted.

Love,

Shania

Click to enlarge.

http://www.facebook.com/shaniakidscan

Tommy · Guru

Posted on the "Shania Kids Can" Facebook page:

"A lot of work has been done on the Foundation, and we can't wait to share it with you! More to come soon!"

http://www.facebook.com/shaniakidscan

Tommy · Guru

The Shania Kids Can website has launched!

www.shaniakidscan.com

Tommy · Guru

Video from www.ShaniaKidsCan.com

Shania Kids Can - Supporting Haiti

Tommy · Guru

Goldcorp Develops the Future, makes Donation for Shania Twains’ Shania Kids Clubhouse Program

Thursday, 13 December 2012

It’s an investment in the future of Timmins and lives. Goldcorp made a $10,000 donation to the Shania Kids Can program at the Schumacher Public School Thursday to help remodel their clubhouse. The clubhouse is a place where the kids can learn while having fun. Dominic Rizzuto, manager Human Resources Goldcorp says they have always been a supporter of education and youth in the community and this donation was a great way to support both of those at the same time. The money will be used to brighten the atmosphere in the room, located on a lower level of the school. Tracy Hautanen, operations manager of Shania Kids Can adds new benches, bean bags and the programs’ logo will be added. Hautanen also says Shania is very passionate about her program and is very much involved no matter where she is.

http://www.moosefm.com/chmt/news/11976-goldcorp-develops-the-future-makes-donation-for-shania-twains-shania-kids-clubhouse-program

Tommy · Guru

Shania Twain's childrens charity success to become a model at schools across North America

By Len Gillis | Thursday, December 13, 2012 5:34:48 PM EST

She’s a huge hit in Las Vegas right now, but Shania Twain is also scoring some heavy duty points with the children at Schumacher Public School back home in Timmins.

That’s because the charitable foundation that Twain established to give youngsters a helping hand is fixing up the Shania Kids Can (SKC) clubhouse at the school and will become a model for other “clubhouses” at schools across North America.

Goldcorp Porcupine Gold Mines is helping out and this week made a substantial financial contribution to the SKC program at Schumacher Public School.

The Shania Kids Can Foundation was established by Twain several years ago to help children in challenged situations have a more positive childhood experience.

“We have two pilot programs running right now for Shania Kids Can. We have one here in Timmins. We also have one in Huntsville,” said SKC operations manager Tracy Hautanen. She added that the program provided organizers with the data needed to justify moving ahead with similar programs at other schools. The program began as a personal mission by Twain who experienced difficulties as a child having to occasionally cope with poverty.

“She puts anywhere between $40,000 and $50,000 per year into the program here at the school,” said Hautanen, adding that the SKC program has paid off for the students with challenges.

According to the SKC website, students who were part of the program at the two Ontario schools showed significant improvements in things such as reading, writing, mathematics, social skills and even hygiene.

“These pilot programs have been awesome for us. We have been able to collect data, follow what they’ve accomplished here and that has allowed us to put together a model that we will now expand through North America,” Hautanen explained.

“We will start providing programs in more communities throughout Canada and the States,” said Hautanen.

We’re also trying to teach kids that their community is here for them and that they should also provide for their community,” she added.

Hautanen said she was pleased with the partnership with Goldcorp in Timmins announced at a special event Thursday at the Shania Kids Clubhouse at Schumacher Public School. The event was attended by several children from Schumacher Public School, principal Mary Ann Nielsen and school board superintendent Steve Pladzyk.

“We went out and briefly spoke with some of our community partners and good corporate citizens and Goldcorp was very quick to jump on board and say they would like to help us with this program here at Schumacher Public,” she said.

Goldcorp Human Resources Manager Domenic Rizzuto was pleased to speak with the youngsters and was quickly smiling to hear one Grade Two student mention that “Goldcorp mines for gold” and that “Goldcorp has a cheque.”

“This is why we’re here,” said Rizzuto. “It’s basically education and providing a forum and partnering with organizations to provide learning for children. Certainly this clubhouse is an example of what can be done.”

Hautanen agreed. She said the Goldcorp money will be applied to revamping the room to make it more of a fun place and less of a classroom. An artist’s concept of the new room was provided on a laptop computer that immediately got the attention of the children present at the media event on Thursday.

Hautanen added that despite Twain’s incredibly busy schedule, she is making time for the SKC program and monitors it closely.

“Shania is encouraging them to write letters to her to telling about their goals and their dreams and she will be writing back to them. She wants to hear from the kids,” said Hautanen.

More information on the program is available at http://shaniakidscan.ca or go to the link on The Timmins Times Facebook page.

http://www.timminstimes.com/2012/12/13/shania-twains-childrens-charity-success-to-become-a-model-at-schools-across-north-america

Tommy · Guru

Shania Kids Can program growing

By Benjamin Aubé | Thursday, December 13, 2012 9:50:27 PM EST

TIMMINS - Timmins' most internationally recognized daughter is once again using her influence to positively affect the city she once called home.

Seven years ago, Shania Twain was the figurehead of a committee which created two pilot programs for the singer's charity, Shania Kids Can, designed for primary school students whose education and self-esteem might be suffering due to personal problems at home.

Two Shania Kids Can clubhouses were created; one in Hunstville and the other right here in Timmins.

After years of increasingly positive response from the local scene, the hope now is that Shania Kids Can will be able to help students all across the continent. And it all started in Timmins.

"These pilot programs have been awesome for us," said Tracy Hautanen, co-ordinator for Shania Kids Can.

"We've been able to collect data, follow what they've accomplished here, and that has allowed us to put together a model that we will now expand through North America and start providing programs in more communities in Canada and the States."

On Thursday, a media gathering was held in the Timmins Shania Kids Can clubhouse at Schumacher Public School, where the beginning of a new era will soon dawn for the program.

"We will be revamping this already lovely room to have more of what we call our Shania Kids Camp brand," explained Hautanen, bringing up an image on her laptop previewing the clubhouse's new look.

The display brought a chorus of "oohs" and "aahs" from a small group of schoolchildren on hand.

"If you notice, there is a more serious craft centre available for the kids where they can actually have time to sit and work," said Hautanen. "We'd like to brand all Shania Kids Can programs so they look the same, so when you go into a school, you know Shania Kids Can is in that school, and this is a starting point for us thanks to Goldcorp."

When Shania Kids Can went out seeking for corporate support for the program, Hautanen said they didn't have to look long before the mining company stepped up to the plate.

"This is a fun day," said Goldcorp and Porcupine Gold Mines manager of human resources, Domenic Rizzuto. "Certainly, this clubhouse is an example of what can be done and what opportunities there are to allow children of all aspects to have the chance to learn and have fun."

According to Hautanen, despite Twain's recent return to Las Vegas, where she'll be busy performing on a residency contract for the next two years, the pop-country music icon takes a remarkable amount of pride and responsibility for her charity.

"Shania is extremely involved in this program," explained Hautanen. "This is her concept, she oversees everything. If you go to our website, you will see a complete letter that she wrote.

“This is not just a side-bar thing for her, she's very passionate about this, so she wants to see it grow and develop is a positive way."

Part of the letter on www.shaniatwain.com/shaniakidscan.html reads that Twain's "reason for creating this program is to ensure that children in our communities are provided and cared for during their time at school, to help prevent them from falling through the cracks.

"I feel luck saved me from falling through the cracks as a child and believe it's neither wise nor fair to leave the destiny of any child to luck."

Dozens of kids from Grade 1 all the way to Grade 6 benefit from the Shania Kids Can program at Schumacher Public School. If all goes well, that number will grow exponentially over the next few years, and an increasing number of students will get friendly guidance and be presented with the tools to work through their personal problems and find a niche of self-worth.

"The program leader here has a fabulous program," said Hautanen. "She does lot of extra activities with the kids, she plays games with them, there's craft, movie days, there's bring-a-friend day. We are hoping to use this clubhouse as our model as we go forward.

"The really interesting thing is we're going to have the Shania Kids Can symbol on the wall here, and it's going to be very interactive for the kids, they'll be able to display their artwork there," explained Hautanen. "Shania's encouraging them to write letters to her, telling her about their goals and dreams, and she will be writing back to them. She wants to hear from the kids."

http://www.timminspress.com/2012/12/13/shania-kids-can-program-growing

tinaturner · Member

hi shania twain good person

Tommy · Guru

Posted on the "Shania Kids Can" Facebook page:

Shania Kids Can is looking forward to a very busy 2013!! Stay tuned for more details.....and Happy New Year to all!

http://www.facebook.com/shaniakidscan

Tommy · Guru

Posted on the "Shania Kids Can" Facebook page:

Looking forward to another great year with our friends from Rick Ware Racing! More to come!

http://www.facebook.com/shaniakidscan

Tommy · Guru

Letter from The Founder

Welcome to Shania Kids Can!

As the creator of the Shania Kids Can Charity Foundation, I would like to explain my purpose behind this effort. I know that not all children in our schools receive the same love, nurturing, guidance and stability in their personal lives. Many young students are less fortunate and endure daily life without the personal care that meets even the basic nutritional, emotional and hygiene needs essential for proper physical and mental health, yet in some cases goes unnoticed by others. We currently have special needs programs for children with learning and behavior disorders in our schools today, but we don't have aid and support for children who may not have a learning disability but are still challenged with daily school life for reasons that can be associated with challenges in their personal lives.

The goal of the Shania Kids Can Charity Foundation is to create a program in primary schools that recognizes and assists students who fall into the gap between a dysfunctional home life and qualifying for a social service intervention. These are children who may be experiencing abuse or neglect outside of school that may not be obvious, or children who are not necessarily being abused or neglected but who's social and educational experience at school is affected due to personal life issues which are out of their control.

My Personal Experience:

As a child, I often went to school without having had breakfast, without a lunch, no money to take part in pizza days or many field trips for example, because I wasn't able to pay or get the authorization signature from my parents because they were not available or unable. Reflecting back, I realize that my disadvantages created a lack of self-confidence and insecurity, causing me to withdraw and be less social than I would liked to have been otherwise. In addition to feeling inferior, hunger caused a lack of energy, enthusiasm and motivation to interact with others.

My average classmate had cleaner clothes, freshly washed and brushed hair, healthy teeth, and appropriate lunches, aiding in their own self-assuredness and overall better health than disadvantaged students. Unlike me, my classmates’ parents were present at school assemblies, attended parent-teacher conferences and showed a general interest in their child’s education.

After several days of not eating properly, I would just stay home from school to avoid the discomfort of trying to focus on class work and face another lunch period surrounded by classmates enjoying their nicely prepared meals. I would not want to ask my parents to sign a written excuse reflecting the reason for my absenteeism or, more awkwardly, ask them to lie in order to avoid a social service intervention, so I would simply write and forge the notes myself to maintain privacy for my family and keep my teacher or principal satisfied. I felt an enormous stress taking the solution into my own hands, but in my mind, it was necessary for the greater purpose of protecting my family from investigation. This is often why some children will avoid asking parents to sign permission slips for them to participate in special events at school, because they are uncomfortable for whatever reason, to approach their parent/s with getting the signature. In my case for example, there were times when I didn't have the proper clothing or equipment to participate in a particular event and didn't want to make my parents feel bad that they couldn't provide it. It was emotionally less painful for me to just not participate. In the case of having SKC in my school, I would have been able to approach my parents with the permission slip to participate, explaining that my equipment was being provided and all I needed from them was their approval signature.

My own philosophy of coping with family issues as a child was to remind myself that childhood was only temporary and if I could get through those few years, I would be able to take control of my own destiny as an adult and break free of the dysfunction. Although that may have been a mature way to observe my reality at the time for my age, I don't believe it is a fair responsibility to expect primary age children to have to bare.

I know that in my youth I would have benefitted from a support system at school like SKC that had an enthusiastic, compassionate program leader who listened and understood me - a person who reinforced areas of my day that I found challenging such as recognizing when I didn’t have a lunch and providing one, paying for pizza day when I didn't have the money to pay myself, ensuring that I never missed a field trip or helping the child obtain permission slips from parents, or having an open communication with my teachers to create an awareness, sensitivity and appreciation of my personal situation. I would have felt that even though I might have been going home to dysfunction, I knew I had a safe, attentive, nurturing environment that I could count on and look forward to each day. Instead, I went to school concerned about being ridiculed for being inferior in various ways, while at the same time anxious about what excuse I was going to come up with for not being able to participate in hot dog day that lunch hour, for example.

I promised myself early on in my own childhood that some day I would help kids just like myself cope with their disadvantages and prosper in spite of those challenges. Shania Kids Can Charity Foundation is fulfilling that promise.

The Mission and Goals:

Similar to my childhood experience, many children still remain under the radar of social services as, while they endure family dysfunction, the neglect or abuse may not justify intervention according to the agencies guidelines. It's incredibly humiliating to be faced with the exposure of dysfunction in the family home; some children go to great lengths to cover up their situation and, unfortunately, succeed.

There are many causes for family dysfunction that could result in a disadvantaged school life: economic challenges, single parent family, drug or alcohol problems in the home, domestic violence, over-worked parents, illness in the family, to name a few. These kids often go to school tired, hungry, emotionally stressed and not as ready to learn as the other students.

The Shania Kids Can program will identify children who are experiencing hardship at school due to unfortunate circumstances in their personal lives and provide a discrete form of assistance - a place where they feel they can safely communicate that they are hungry or tired, explain why they were absent from school, or some other misgiving they may find is embarrassing or demeaning. Fulfilling these basic needs and diminishing the social challenges, Shania Kids Can will provide when needed, lunches, field trip expenses, moral support, basic hygiene tools and education, homework assistance and clothing items. If the student has retreated from socializing, integration into the school community will be nurtured.

Providing support to these students at school, where they spend so much of their time, will help to lessen the stresses of their home-life dysfunction and enable them to recognize, handle and prevent issues that could appear in their adolescent and adult years. The Shania Kids Can program can contribute toward the prevention of destructive behavior that often develops as these students mature. Statistics show very clearly that troubled children are more likely to become burdens on society in the way of teenage pregnancy, drug abuse, high school dropouts, violence, prostitution, suicide and criminality. The SKC site explains more on these statistics in more detail.

If we support our children at the primary age and teach them to become responsible, confident, proactive members of their school community, despite personal setbacks, I believe very strongly that they will have a much better chance at personal success in the future and grow to be positive contributors to society rather than becoming a statistic and burden on society. These students need to know that they are understood and that they CAN overcome the disadvantages in their personal lives.

It's unacceptable for us to stand by and watch any child in this modern society suffer right before our eyes when there is something we CAN do about it. The Shania Kids Can program will pick-up the ball when the primary adult in a young child's life drops it; it will fill in the gaps so the child can participate more and feel included in the school community. I know these kids CAN do it, and we CAN help them.

I hope we CAN rely on you to help support these children and increase their chances for personal success.

Thank you for checking out the Shania Kids Can Charity Foundation....

Shania

http://www.shaniakidscan.ca/about-us/the-founder

Tommy · Guru

This bike is set up in the lobby of the Colosseum and fans can pose for a professional picture on this bike, with part of the proceeds going to support Shania Kids Can!! We want to see your picture on this awesome motorcycle! If you had your picture taken on the bike while attending the show, please scan it, and send it to info@shaniakidscan.ca, so we can post it in our photo gallery! This is a great keepsake from the show, and a great way to help the kids!

http://www.shaniakidscan.ca/news/38

Tommy · Guru

Rick Ware Racing & General Pacific Partners Renew Partnership with Shania Twain's "Shania Kids Can" in 2013

LOS ANGELES, March 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Rick Ware Racing (RWR), a leading professional motorsports marketing and branding company and General Pacific Partners, LLC (GPP) a private venture investment firm based in Southern California jointly announced today the confirmation of Shania Twain's charity "Shania Kids Can" (SKC) as the primary focus for 2013.

Rick Ware Racing will be competing in nationally televised racing events in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the Grand Am Rolex Series in 2013. Shania Kids Can founder Shania Twain commented, "I am very pleased that RWR and GPP are working together with SKC this year again, offering their help to further build awareness of the Foundation by placing the logo on their NASCAR team cars and driver's suits. Together, we CAN help kids succeed. For more information, please visit our website, www.shaniakidscan.com and/or donate to the Foundation."

Team owner Rick Ware stated, "RWR with its NASCAR competition is positioned well to bring awareness to Shania Kids Can again 2013 for a second consecutive year. We will include our management, drivers and personalities throughout the season. Later in the year, we look forward to announcing an event benefitting SKC that will include RWR, GPP, invited guests and tickets available to Shania fans and supporters of SKC."

Kevin O'Connell, CEO of General Pacific Partners added, "We are excited to be working with Shania Kids Can again for 2013. In conjunction with Rick Ware , we were able to put forward a solid effort last year with our collaborative marketing and branding ideas and look forward to increasing our success in communicating the SKC mission to our unique audience."

Shania will resume her residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on March 19th and will continue through April 10th. Dates and ticket availability can be found at www.shaniainvegas.com.

This second run follows two weeks of sold-out shows this past December.

About Shania Kids Can

Shania Kids Can is a program designed for kids at primary school level who are having personal problems at home. As a result these children often have difficulties functioning at their full potential in the school environment either socially, behaviorally, academically or all three. Children with personal life challenges might come to school with low self-esteem, depressed, tired or hungry - not ideal for taking in the joy of learning, the security of community and the pleasure of friendship. The Shania Kids Can Foundation educates, inspires and empowers children in their communities to achieve their full potential by increasing their chances of equality and opportunities for success. By helping less fortunate children reach their personal best in their daily lives at primary school age; this may likely prevent the less positive alternative that too many children of lost potential face later in life…of becoming statistics that burden society rather than contributing to it.

About Rick Ware Racing

Rick Ware Racing (RWR) has competed in every NASCAR sanctioned series, ARCA Series, the WMA Motocross Series, AMA Arenacross, Motocross and Supercross Series, Summer X-Games and Rolex Grand-Am Series.

About General Pacific Partners

General Pacific Partners, LLC (GPP) is a southern California based private venture investment group that provides advisory work, direct investment and marketing and branding strategies to early and developmental stage private and public companies.

SOURCE Rick Ware Racing

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rick-ware-racing--general-pacific-partners-renew-partnership-with-shania-twains-shania-kids-can-in-2013-197230191.html

Tommy · Guru

Shania: "Come take a pic on my motorbike..."

March 20, 2013

Come take a pic on my motorbike in the entrance of the Colosseum at Ceasar's Palace to support Shania Kids Can Foundation. I love looking through your photos so please share with me on our website (send your pictures to info@shaniakidscan.ca). Have fun and be creative! I will be looking out for my favorite shot to highlight for a prize. I'll keep you posted with that idea.
P.S.
Gotta love the leopard print carpet under the bike!
Shania

http://www.shaniakidscan.com/news/43

Tommy · Guru

‏@shaniakidscan

Shania Kids Can has some great fundraisers coming up soon so keep watching for more details!

11:04 AM - 29 Mar 13

http://twitter.com/shaniakidscan

Tommy · Guru

Watch for our first auction on ebay.ca where we will have a SHANIA TWAIN "Still The One" signed program for sale! It starts tomorrow.....thanks for supporting SKC!

http://www.facebook.com/shaniakidscan

Tommy · Guru

This mint-condition program is from Shania Twain’s “Still the One” show at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. The cover is personally autographed by Shania Twain as well as all of her band members, and is filled with beautiful color photos of Shania, the band, and various scenes from the Vegas show. It is a great addition to any Shania fan’s collection!

Auction ends June 14.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/SHANIA-TWAIN-Still-The-One-Signed-Program/230985285124?ssPageName=WDVW&rd=1&ih=013&category=163959&cmd=ViewItem

Tommy · Guru

Tommy wrote:
This mint-condition program is from Shania Twain’s “Still the One” show at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. The cover is personally autographed by Shania Twain as well as all of her band members, and is filled with beautiful color photos of Shania, the band, and various scenes from the Vegas show. It is a great addition to any Shania fan’s collection!
Auction ends June 14.
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/SHANIA-TWAIN-Still-The-One-Signed-Program/230985285124?ssPageName=WDVW&rd=1&ih=013&category=163959&cmd=ViewItem

Today is the last day to bid. Auction ends at 12:00 midnight EDT. Current bid is US $712.00.

Tommy · Guru

Auction just ended. The program book sold for US $1,605.00! The money goes to Shania Kids Can.

Tommy · Guru

What an auction!

June 14, 2013

"A big thank you for supporting the foundation with so much heart" – Shania Twain

Shania Kids Can brought in just over $1,600 with its eBay auction for a Shania Twain “Still the One” Vegas Program – Signed by Shania and her band members. This is great news for the charity. The money will go towards helping the kids in the program. Congrats to the winner and thank you for supporting Shania Kids Can!

http://www.shaniakidscan.com/news/51

Tommy · Guru

SKC is planning another online auction! Stay tuned for more details in the coming days! Thank you for helping SKC help kids!

http://www.facebook.com/shaniakidscan

Tommy · Guru

A group of kids from the SKC program at Irwin Memorial Public School spent some time volunteering at their local food bank in June.

Program Leader Nicole Caracciolo and the students raised money throughout the year, and also made a donation to the food bank while there to lend a hand stocking shelves, and assisting with cleaning duties.

Another great opportunity for the SKC kids to learn about and give back to their community! Great Job!

http://www.shaniakidscan.com/news/53

Shanias_Jed · Member

Hey guys, long time Shania fan, and been checking around the site here and there's so much awesome content and info. Just wanted to post a video I made when I attended the SKC event Dec 1st, 2012 and of course the debut concert for STO and Shania's return. Gonna go back Dec 1st for the anniversary! ^^

eilleen333 · Senior Member

Thank you for posting this! Really nice to see! I missed out on some of her speach, since I was too busy getting my guitar signed by the band.
Too bad you did not get her to sign the book. Lots of people had stuff signed when she took a bit of time to sign things while sitting at the edge of the stage. She did sign my guitar, and I am so happy with that!!! (Eventhough I think the guitar is not really made for playing, but hey, it was cheap ;) It's priceless now though).

Nice that you got to talk to her about the horses. I would've loved that! I did talk to Ramon about the horses. I took a photo with Ramon, the pony and me, and the pony couldn't stop sniffing my bracelet, made of my own horses hair. I reckon he could smell that ;) .

But thanks again for posting this, it is fun to bring back memories from that night. Guess it was one of the best moments of my life. After waiting 9 years I finally got to see Shania in a live show. And the afterparty was just awesome.

I hope I'll be able to go back to Vegas, but I am not sure if I can afford it. I live in The Netherlands, and the trip has cost me about 2000 dollars last time. But I will spend the entire summer working night shifts (exta cash ;) ) and hopefully I will make enough to pay for my school and another trip to Vegas. I was just so amazing, I just got to go back someday!

Izy Twain · Senior Member

Thanks for Sharing Shanias Jed The video is wonderful just wondering if you had any clips off Fred or Carrie Talking . Thanks again biggrin

Tommy · Guru

Shania Kids Can has a new logo and redesigned website...

http://www.shaniakidscan.com/

Tommy · Guru

From Santa Ynez Saddlery:

Shania's latest saddle built by us. We have donated it to her charity, Shania Kids Can. With about 300+ man hours and 3,000 Swarovski crystals, you can imagine it's a beauty! She used it for her ride at National Finals Rodeo.

4:38 PM ET - 14 Dec 13

http://www.facebook.com/SantaYnezSaddlery

***The saddle will be auctioned off tonight during Shania's charity event that she is having in her private apartment at Caesars Palace to raise money for Shania Kids Can.

Tommy · Guru

According to Shania's horse trainer for "Shania: Still The One", Ramon Becerra, the saddle went to a family from Canada for $11,500.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ramon-Becerra/185758124810016

Tommy · Guru

Shania Kids Can is featured in the February/March 2014 issue of Horizon Travel magazine (Canada). Click link below to view the cover and read the article. ***Adobe Acrobat Reader required to view PDF file.

http://shaniasupersite.com/shaniakidscan-horizontravel-febmar2014.pdf