2012-13 Recipients’ Letters
“The one hundred
dollars a month is a great help to me and my family. I can pay for some class
fees and help out my parent by buying my new shoes and new clothes and I am
grateful that I was picked for the program. Thank you.”
‐ ‐ ‐
“I am pleased
that I was chosen for the Host Our Students (HOST) program award. This award
will help me to accomplish one of the many dreams that I’ve had. I am
determined to succeed and achieve my future goals. So I have worked and studied
diligently. Being a recipient of this award has shone a light on a path that
was a bit dim. Now I can proudly say that the path is not dim anymore and that
this is the start of a successful journey.
I have always
wanted my very own laptop which will help me with researches that are assigned
to me. It will also allow me to spend more time at home (instead of the
library) and close to my younger brother who is terminally ill. Thank you for
choosing me and making me realize that all is not lost.”
‐ ‐ ‐
”I'm one of the few
very lucky students who gets help and support from the
Host program. Before I was told about the HOST program I was working a lot of
hours at work because I wanted to play school football and the cost to play was
over 200$. On top of this I had my car insurance and general problems with the
car that were taking up most if not all of my paycheck. With the host programs
support I was able to fully pay off the football fee without having to keep
asking the coaches for another two weeks to get them the money. With the money
that I will be receiving in December I'm going to be using it to buy some
Christmas gifts for my mom and my sister. The HOST program has really helped me
in my final year of high school by making me able to not have to work as much
and by giving me a head start on saving for university. Thank you very much for
giving me this opportunity Merry Christmas!”
‐ ‐ ‐
“I would like to
begin by thanking you for this tremendous award you have chosen me for, as a young
mother I am not only thankful, but also honored to be chosen for such a
program. Over the last 2 years my life has been difficult; the change from your
average teenage girl to a full time mom has been incredible but also
challenging. I have had great support from family, friends and staff at school,
but as these are hard times the financial stability has not been there. This
money has helped me not only move forward with my life but has given me the
opportunity to do things I haven’t had the luxury of doing for some time now.
My boyfriend got a visa some time ago in order to pay for some of the expenses
we had, but recently haven’t had enough money to pay it back; 100$ of the money
you provided us with went towards paying our visa, which was huge help although
it might not seem like it. Another 100$ worth of the money was used to buy a
little bit of school supplies that I was missing at the beginning of the school
year and to pay of some fees for classes, for example cooking which was a
$35.00 fee. Lastly with half of the remaining money I was able to take my
family out for a small dinner, something we haven’t been able to do for a
really long time, and the remaining money was put into a savings account for
possibly buying my son Christmas gifts.
_ _ _
Although I might
not have been able to explain it all in words, the money you have given me has been
life‐changing for me in many ways; to a lot of people $100.00 might not
be a lot of money, but to me it was the help I needed to be able to move
forward with my life and keep challenging myself to do well in school so one
day I can achieve my hopes and dreams. I thank you very much for choosing me
for this great opportunity, and would like to let you know that I appreciate
everything HOST has done for me, and with success I hope I will be able to
return the favor in years come to someone who will need my help. The support
HOST has shown me is not something I will forget, but something I will carry
with me as a reminder that although times may be tough there’s always someone
looking to give you a helping hand. Thank you very much.”
‐ ‐ ‐
“I would like to
thank you for such a nice gesture. With the help that you have given me I was
able to help my family out with things needed such as helping with groceries
and other necessities. It has made things easier around the house and I truly
feel the atmosphere being less stressful. This has also allowed me to be a part
of some outings with my friends like going out for dinner and things that
normal teens do! My self‐esteem has improved because of not being left
out with my friends. I greatly appreciate what you have done for me. My mom was
planning on having the whole family over for Christmas dinner; she hasn't been
able to have all of us over in a couple years and I know that it will be hard
to pay for all of the dinner with food and beverages. With the HOST money, I
can help pay. I was also looking into being able to get my parents a small
Christmas present and be able to get my G1 license.”
‐ ‐ ‐
“First off, I
want to say how fortunate I feel to be in the program for a second year. It
made me feel great to hear the news. I live alone with my mom, and she is not
always home. Because of that, I often have to buy my own groceries. I like this
though because I get to pick what I like! Having this money, does impact my
life. I don’t like seeing my mom worried or stressed. Being part of the program
helps. I do buy food and sometimes clothes as well. I would like to thank Mr.
Lussier and all of the donors for making a difference in my life. Merry Christmas to everyone.”
‐ ‐ ‐
“I’d like to
start by saying thank you. It’s a really great opportunity that you give to
students. It gives the students a motivation to work harder during the school
year. Before I wasn’t able to ask my parents for money since they had the accident
and stopped working, but now the money I’m provided with really helps. I’m able
to buy birthday gifts for my family and also my friends. I’ve also been taking
my brother out to see movies and have dinner together. I also bought the
yearbook and I paid for the play that I’m going to see with my class. I also
bought some new clothes for myself. I also started paying for the events that
happen at school, for example the Christmas hamper. I’d like to thank you again
for your support. My family and I really appreciate your help and care.”
‐ ‐ ‐
“The money helped me at this difficult time in
my life ‐ my mom recently passed away. I hope you have the best Christmas
and New Year with your family. You are blessed to have them.”
‐ ‐ ‐
“Hi. I just
wanted to thank you for the money that you are giving me each month it has been
really helpful for me since I have to pay for my own bus pass so I can get
around to places. I hope everybody else that is also getting this will also be
very happy just like I am. I hope that you can keep on going with this program
to help people out and make everyone that you help happy. Once again thank you
for helping me out you have been a really good help for me so far this year.”
‐ ‐ ‐
“I've been busy
this past month with studying, and I've taken part in the school play which has
taken up a lot of my time, and though I've been meaning to write to you, I've
found myself a little overwhelmed this year so far. However, I would like to
add that it is because of HOST that I have been able to put my time towards
study and extracurricular activities, rather than having to spend my time at a
job I don't like, just to earn money. I actually ended up working a
full‐time job at Tim Hortons the entire summer,
so I can only imagine how much stress it would have been for me this semester
if I had needed to continue that job, or have it would have dramatically
lowered my marks, but now I've also had the time to take part in dramatic arts
and the school play, which has been so rewarding. It's an incredibly warming
feeling to know that an organization like yours is here to help me through my
final year of high school, as I normally worry myself over financial issues and
their impacts on my family. I feel like I can now look forward to my
graduation, prom, and university. I don't really spend much money for myself,
so it's been my primary goal to save this money for university. However, I now
have some extra money to spend towards Christmas presents for my friends and
family, which has been a great help! I would like to kindly thank you and
everyone contributing to the HOST program for what you've done. It has been an
incredible help to myself and my family to have this program to be able to rely
on, and I would like to thank you for directly influencing my life this year.”
‐ ‐ ‐
“I just wanted
to say thank you very much for choosing me as a recipient for the H.O.S.T.
award this year. I am honoured and grateful for this generous donation. I have
applied to University for next year, so I will be using this money to put
towards furthering my education. This money will help me with school costs.
Thank you again and have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.”
‐ ‐ ‐
“I was given the honour to be awarded this
privilege of receiving help from such kind people at the Host Program. This
program has helped me with so much. I've been able to use the money to pay for
my bus pass every month. Having my bus pass helped me get to and from Co Op at
the Civic Hospital. Without this generous help I wouldn't have been able to do
so, and with the extra money I've been able to supply my son with anything he's
needed. This program has helped me get to where I am today. It has taken stress
off me because I didn't have to worry about my transportation and not having
enough money to buy my son food or diapers. I'd like to say thank you to all
the people who have donated money to the HOST Program. I was very blessed to be
the student that was chosen.”
- - -
“This year has been the most stressful year
of my life. Having to deal with all the graduation expectations is a hard thing
and I found myself always down from it. With getting these payments it has
helped me pay off graduation payments and by doing so this has not only helped
me but my family also. It would have been honestly close to impossible to pay
for my graduation, which would have resulted in not being part of it with my
closest friends.
This program has made my year so much easier
it’s incredible. When I started this program I hadn't a clue to how much it
would have helped me. I am very grateful to you reaching and helping me out. I
find myself getting emotional writing this, which only means to tell me that
this whole situation was so appreciated.
What you guys do is a great thing, and to
keep it up, without this program I would have not been able to do many great
things with my friends and family and because of this I thank you very much.
This program has allowed me to save the money and take away stress for the
future in a big way. “
- - -
“Nice to hear back from you, everything has
been great, enjoying school but glad that summer is almost here. I still am
very thankful for the money that you have given me, it helps a lot. It not been
easy with my mom here with me but I'm getting though it day by day. I hope you
have a great summer and a safe one too.”
- - -
“I would like to thank you again for helping
me with the HOST program. I'm very happy to say that because of HOST, I haven't
needed to get a part time job this year, which means that I've been able to put
my focus on school, and have been accepted to two different universities while
maintaining an 80 average. I've been mostly keeping the money in my bank, to
keep it saved so I can actually put it towards university. Also, because I
haven't needed a job, it's also greatly helped me with the amount of stress to
deal with in my last year of high school. I've had so much fun this past year
and I have to thank you so much for everything.”
- - -
“I want to express my sincere gratitude for
the sponsorship you offered me. It has helped me in various ways especially in
obtaining a laptop which made a great difference for my studies, rather than
going to the library for the use of a computer. My 12-year old brother has a
terminal disease which resulted in him losing his hearing and having a
tracheotomy. He requires constant supervision which I usually assist my mother
with. I am happy that I have the laptop so I can do my school assignments at
home while watching my brother when my mother is busy. Currently my family is
in a financial struggle, so this sponsorship has helped greatly with buying
groceries and paying for my graduation fees. I would like to thank you again
for giving me such a great opportunity.”
- - -
“I just wanted to thank you once again for
how much your program has helped me out this year. With all the money I have
saved from buying the bus passes with the money you have given me, I can now
pay off my college fees a lot easier. So once again thank you and I hope you
can keep on doing this program for many years to come. Have a great summer and
a great many years to come.”
- - -
“I would like to thank you again for your
generosity. I have been accepted to the University of Ottawa for the general
Arts program. Your generosity has helped to make this easier. I am looking
forward to starting my post-secondary studies and I hope that my first-year
experience in university will help me to find possible future career paths.
I feel very honoured to have been chosen for
this opportunity. I cannot express how much I appreciate this gift. It is
wonderful that you have created this program for students in need. I hope to be
able to formally thank you in person someday. Your generosity will not be
forgotten.”
- - -
“First of all, I would like to thank the
people who are contributing to this program. It’s really amazing that there is
a reward that students get for all their hard work. This gave me a motivation
to keep working hard during the school year. The money that I’ve been getting
every month has helped me with a lot. I’ve been able to buy birthday gifts for
my friends. I was also able to take my family out for dinner every once in a
while. I also paid for a school trip that I really wanted to go to. Once again,
I would like to thank you and let you know that my family and I really
appreciate this contribution.”
- - -
“Thank you for all of the help that you have
given me this past year. I am truly thankful for the extra support that you
have been able to give me this school year. I've used the money to help pay for
some prom expenses and to be able to go on my schools rugby trip to a
tournament in New Brunswick. This is a great program and I hope that it will
keep helping students out for many years to come.“
- - -
“I just wanted to say thank you so much for
what you have done for me and my mom. You have helped us through some hard
times when we needed it. I am very lucky to be in a program like this. When you
hear about a program like this, it just warms up your heart that people care
about each other.”
I am trying to do the same when I am older. I
wanted you to know you have put a lot of smiles on a lot of people.”
- - -
“It has been a great year. The monthly
payment was a great help and I am very grateful that I was picked for the
program.”
- - -
“I just wanted to say thank you very much for
choosing me as a recipient for the H.O.S.T. award this year. I am honored and
grateful for this generous donation. I will be attending the University of
Ottawa for Psychology this upcoming September, so I will be using this money to
put towards my tuition costs and school supplies.”