The Zen of TOZ
We have many regular programs that centre around the art of staying calm. Finding peace in daily life is always important, even more so when time are difficult or uncertain. Our staff have facilitated yoga, mindfulness, breathing, keeping calm and meditation programs to keep us calm and strong amidst these unprecedented times.
Crafty Creations
Crafts are one of our favourite activities at TOZ. It is amazing how many wonderful crafts there are! Busy Bees has been a recurring program for over a year, our super savvy seamstress Janine has taught us how to sew and put together textile projects in many creative ways. We also have programs crafty programs on how to up-cycle, create home-made decorations and unique DIYs.
Healthy and Happy
Physical fitness is an important part of a healthy and happy lifestyle, and it is a consistent element of our weekly calendar. We regularly incorporate activities at the CGC, fitness classes, dance classes and yoga classes into our programming schedule.
In the Community
Activities based in the community have always been a TOZ favourite. We have had the opportunity to engage in the community and volunteer in many wonderful ways.
A major highlight this year was volunteering for the Arctic Winter Games. In the winter of 2019 and 2020, staff and members went the the AWG office to help with whatever was needed. They kept us busy with a myriad of different tasks and always kept us on our toes. Sadly, the Arctic Winter Games were canceled; luckily, many of us still got awesome vests, jackets and hats that we wear proudly!
Volunteering at the Food Bank was a regular, weekly group activity for the TOZ team. Our hands were always kept busy with whatever they needed help with and smiles were always on our faces.
Recycling was an important part of our weekly schedule. Every Friday, we’d load up our vans and venture out to various businesses within the community to collect their recycling. We’d sort everything at Raven Recycling and save any refunds for future TOZ events.
Food Skills
While we no longer do food skills as we used to, it deserves mention because it was quite the production! Food skills always happened during the last week of the month. At the beginning of the week, our head chef Rebecca, would plan a menu and carefully write the ingredient lists and directions.
We’d be separated into teams and create our grocery lists based off the required ingredient. As a team we’d go to the grocery store and find the necessary items for the course our team was to prepare. Thursdays we’d convert our kitchen into a culinary production line. We’d gear up with our chef hats, aprons and gloves and carefully prepare the food for our food skills lunches. Diligent hand washing and food safe precautions were always our top priority.
Friday we’d do any necessary remaining preparation, set up a serving table and enjoy a satisfying and healthy food skills meal together. Along with making the healthiest meals possible, our chefs had to cook without 14 different allergens! Needless to say we had to get quite creative.
Since March, we’ve had to cancel Food Skills. But that hasn’t stopped us from creating in the kitchen. We have had programs prepared with all the necessary to become at home chefs!