HoHoTO

On Sunday, October 14^th, 2012, HoHoTO lost one of our founders, friends and bright shining lights,  Michael O’Connor Clarke, to esophageal cancer.

The Daily Bread Food Bank was an organization near and dear to Michael’s heart.  He had a great sense of community and an insatiable desire to help his neighbours who are hungry live with diginity. As a result, Michael has always been very hands-on with HoHoTO and his impact can be seen in every word written and dollar raised over the past four years.

It was Michael who first coined HoHoTo’s catch phrase, “help make the world suck a little less.” In this time of darkness, you can help make the world suck a little less. Leona, Michael’s wife, has asked that people donate to the Daily Bread Food Bank in Michael’s name in lieu of flowers for the funeral.

Michael’s death is reverberating through the hearts and souls of all who knew him, and through the internet in the form of countless tweets and blog tributes. Here are just a few of the words being said. Feel free to add your own in the comments of this post.

• Goodbye MOCC (Jay Goldman)
• Missing Michael (Doc Searls)
• Evergreen (David Weinberger)
• Remembering Michael O’Connor Clarke (Donna Papacosta)
• Remembering Michael O’Connor Clarke (Dave Fleet)
• Memories of MOCC (Kerri Birtch)
• Michael O’Connor Clarke (Tom Matrullo)
• Goodbye blog brother, for now. (Jeneane Sessum)
• RIP @michaelocc (Brent Ashley)
• The Day I Met Michael O’Connor Clarke  (Michael Nus)
• In memoriam: Michael O’Connor Clarke (Suw Charman-Anderson)
• R.I.P. Michael O’Connor Clarke (Joey Davilla)
• Michael O’Connor Clarke (Aerin Guy)
• Missing Michael (A.K.M. Adam)
• RIP, Michael O’Connor Clarke (Rick Klaus)
• Inspiration on Sunday (Connie Crosby)

Lots of folks want to help out with HoHoTO, and everyone brings their own special gifts. While at the end of the day we’re all about getting more money into the hands of the good people at the Daily Bread Food Bank, sometimes we get an offer to help out that’s unlike any other.

The good folks at Cartilage Inc. offered to create a documentary film about our event, and came down to the part with cameras and lights and action enough for us all.

Cartilage Inc. was excited to help out, while spreading their own social media wings, and so they are making a short-sweet-n-shareable web documentary. Director Brett Blackwell and producer Matt Kloske worked with the HoHoTO crew to grab interviews from founding members and plenty of footage from the event held at Mod Club. Here we present to you the teaser trailer for the full documentary.

Please share it around to your friends! Cartilage Inc. is going to wait until the trailer reaches 5,000 views before they release the full documentary, so encourage everyone you know to watch!

Toronto: thank you.

HoHoTO 2011 raised over SEVENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS for Daily Bread Food Bank. Our sponsors, and all of you who purchased tickets, should feel very proud of your contributions. These donations really help our community and we are humbled by the generosity of our fellow Torontonians.

This year, our media sponsor Metro Toronto ran a full-page ad a few days after the party, thanking all our sponsors. It’s a remarkable mix of big corporations, small businesses, and freelance operators who make this party possible, and whose donations make the holiday season a little easier for everyone. If you didn’t catch the ad the day it ran, you can download the PDF just by clicking on that image there on the left. If you’re one of those wonderful sponsors, you might want to print this and proudly display it in your office as a testament to your generosity and community spirit.

It was a bit of a job making sure every single logo appeared, but we certainly tried to make sure we squeezed them all in there. If we missed anyone, please accept our apologies. The last few days before the event are plenty crazy, and every now and then a detail gets past our highly-trained logo wranglers.

The HoHoTO events have now raised well over $225,000 for Daily Bread Food Bank since our first party back in 2008. If you want to get involved and help us with the 2012 event, email us and we’ll see how we can best make use of you and your talents.

Thanks again, Toronto. You still deserve your old nickname: Toronto the Good.

We’re all chomping at the bit to know what’s up for grabs tonight at the Hangover Auction, and finally the list!!!

Remember biddding starts at $20, unless otherwise indicated and your auctioneers’ decision is FINAL.

8:00-8:30 Lots

#Lot1 -Blackberry Bold White ($599.99)

• Blackberry Bold 9900 – White
• Sponsor - @rogersbuzz

#Lot2 – Starbucks & Gelaskins ($170)

• Starbucks basket filled with goodies: whole bean coffee, Tazo tea,  Starbucks Mugs, Starbucks Holiday Ornament & a gift card
• Gelaskin for iPad2 & iPod
• Sponsors – @starbuckscanada @gelaskins

#Lot3 – Raptors vs. Pacers Dec 28th ($288)

• 2 tickets to Toronto Raptors vs. Indiana Pacers
  Wednesday, December 28th @ 6pm
  Section 106 – ticket value $144 each
• Sponsors – @raptors

8:30-9:00  Lots

#Lot4 – Night-In Kit ($170)

• Sideroad Twenty Cellars gift box with 2 wines
• Cheese board & Knife
• Geek demitasse set w/ Geeky design
• Sushi set from Eden
• Sponsors - @sideroadtwenty @edenspodek  @thetenspot

#Lot5 – Zip Car Membership ($210)

• Zip Car Membership for 1 year
• $75 of driving credits
• Pair of tickets to Yuk Yuks
• 1 litre of Hollywood Gelato
• Sponsors – @zipcar @yukyuks @hollywoodgelato

9:00-9:30 Lots

#Lot6 – Restaurant-a-Month Prize ($690)

• Enjoy a different restaurant every month for a year! (alcohol, taxes & tip not generally included)

• Dinner for 2 at Beast Restaurant
• $100 gift certificate from Linda Modern Thai
• $50 gift certificates from:
• Table 17
• any Oliver & Bonacini restaurant
• Burrito Boys
• Caplansky’s
• Cava
• Joey Toronto
• Lou Dawgs
• Fuel House
• School
• Mickey’s Pizza
• 2 litres of gelato from Hollywood Gelato
• Sponsors - @schoolville  @beastrestaurant @burritoboyz @caplansky @cavachef  @feedyourdragon  @FuelHouseTO  @joey_toronto  @lindaModernThai  @loudawgs
  @Oliver_Bonacini @table17 @hollywoodgelato
• Starting bid: $50

#Lot7 – Zip Car Membership ($210)

• Zip Car Membership for 1 year
• $75 of driving credits
• Pair of tickets to Yuk Yuks
• 1 litres of Hollywood Gelato
• Sponsors – @zipcar @yukyuks @hollywoodgelato

#Lot8 – Raptors vs. Nets Jan 6th ($288)

• 2 tickets to Toronto Raptors vs. New Jersey Nets
  Friday, January 6th @ 7pm
  Section 106 – ticket value $144 each
• Sponsors – @raptors

9:30-10:00 Lots

#Lot9 - Bag Full Of Harlequin #1 ($200)

• A collection of books from Harlequin, but not romances – cookbooks, humour and self-help. This ain’t your grannie’s Harlequin.
  
• Sponsors - @harlequinbooks
  

#Lot10 – Private Beef Tasting for 8 ($1,600)

• Enjoy an intimate, private artisan steak tasting and four-course meal in your home hosted by a world-class chef and a leading expert in beef flavor and texture. It’s like a wine tasting, but with steaks! ™ For up to 8 people.
• The festivities will begin with an interactive discussion with Carrie Oliver, founder of The Artisan Beef Institute, about how top ranchers and butchers influence taste and texture to create their own signature styles of beef. From here we’ll go on to taste the same cut of steak from four different ranch and butcher teams, each of whom specialize in a specific breed, diet, husbandry, aging technique, in a blind taste test. Chef Bangerter, Toronto’s famed Executive Chef of LUMA restaurant will give you and your guests a taste of the LUMA experience, right in your own home.
• Sponsors – @carrieoliver @chefbangerter
• Starting bid: $500

 10:00-10:30 Lots

#Lot11 – Blackberry Torch  - White ($550)

• Blackberry Torch – White
  
• Sponsor - @rogersbuzz

#Lot12 – Little Kitchen 7-Course Dinner

• 7-course dinner for 2 catered in your home by Chef Matt Kantor of Littlekitchen.ca and Secret Pickle Supper Club ($400)
• Sponsors - @mattkantor
• Starting bid: $100

#Lot13 – Raptors vs. Timberwolves Jan 9th ($244)

• 2 ticketes to Toronto Raptors vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
  Monday, January 9th @ 7pm
  Section 106 – ticket value $122 each
• Sponsors – @raptors

10:30-11:00 Lots

#Lot14 - Yes/No Cuff links ($298)

• A set of cufflinks from Studio 1098 – YES on one, NO on the other
  
• Sponsors - @studio1098
  

#Lot15 - Bag Full Of Harlequin #1 ($200)

• a collection of books from Harlequin, but not romances – cookbooks, humour and self-help. This ain’t your grannie’s Harlequin.
  
• Sponsors - @harlequinbooks

#Lot16 - Ubisoft Rocksmith ($60)

• Rocksmith the music video game produced by Ubisoft
  
• Sponsors – @ubisoft

Bidding

Place a bid using the following tweet format:

@hohoto #LOT<lot number> $<your bid>  – <optional friendly note>

Here’s an example of bidding $150 for the Raptors vs Nets game:

@hohoto #LOT8 $150 -  I want to watch the Raptors crush the Nets!

Click here to read How to Bid in the Hangover Auction

Tomorrow, Tuesday Dec 20th, is the #HoHoTO Hangover Auction – your last chance this year to help HoHoTO help the world suck a little less by helping Daily Bread.

We’re auctioning off  some great new prizes, the prizes that arrived late, and the small handful of unclaimed prizes left over  after Thursday’s massive, exhausting, and wonderful HoHoTO Holiday Party!

There are some exceptionally groovy goodies in this list‚ terrific last minute presents for a friend, loved one, family member, or just to treat yourself! We’ll get to the list of auction items shortly, but first here’s how to be  a part of it!

• Tomorrow morning (Tuesday)  go to the blog and check out the list of Bid Lots
• From 8:00pm to 11:00pm, Tuesday Dec 20th get yourself onto Twitter
• Bid lots run for 30 minutes, so keep a close eye on the prize!
• Watch for the auction bid lots to be announced as open on the @hohoto Twitter account;
• Start bidding using the following format (note: bids can ONLY be accepted in this format):
  @hohoto #LOT<lot number> $<your bid>  – <optional friendly note>
  e.g.  @hohoto #LOT8 $150 -  I want this prize so badly!
• Watch for other competitive bids, and try to win your favourite auction lot!

Rules and backgroundy details:

• Winners will be determined by the highest bid received at or before the time the relevant bidding window closes, based on the Twitter time stamp.
• Winners will be announced by the auctioneer on @hohoto
• The final decision of the auctioneers is FINAL!
• No late bids, no early bids will be accepted.
• Opening minimum bid on most items is $20 (higher where indicated); no maximum. Remember – every dollar goes direct to feed hungry people via Daily Bread Food Bank.
• Any items not bid on by the end of their allotted 30 minutes may be withdrawn and re-purposed for other charitable ends.
• Prizes must be claimed in Toronto and services-type prizes must be used in the Toronto-area

Just In Case:

• If for any reason the kind folks at Twitter decide we are tweeting too much from @hohoto, we will continue the auction at @hangoverauction

We’ll contact each winning bidder and arrange for payment and collection of your winning items (yes, we’ll need you to collect them‚ remember, the goal here is zero expenses, if possible. More money for the food bank that way).  Items must be collected within 6 months (preferably 6 days), or they will be re-purposed for other charitable ends.

So get your Twitter fingers ready and help push us over the $72,000 line. All proceeds, as always, to Toronto’s Daily Bread Food Bank

[This is a guest post from Melanie Masson, part of the Social Media Team at Rogers]

Good day HoHoTOers!

What’s the first thing you think about when heading home after a night at the bar? Amazing after-the-bar food – and this time, it’s on us as a thank you for buying your HoHoTO raffle tickets.

Rogers has partnered with HoHoTO so that the first 100 people to spend $25 or more on raffle tickets at the event will get a complimentary Burrito from Burrito Boyz while supplies last.  And don’t worry about having to save money for a cab to get there because there is a Burrito Boyz location just east of the Mod Club on College.

The best part is you’re also helping out a family of four at the same time, since $25 will provide them with an emergency food hamper.

Here’s how the Burrito bonanza will work:

• Once you purchase $25 or more on raffle tickets, take your tickets to a member of the Rogers social media team (we’ll be in our red shirts so you’ll know who we are) and show them your tickets.
• The team will then mark your tickets with our Rogers red markers and give you your free Burrito certificate which can then be redeemed for one Burrito at any of the Burrito Boyz locations.

Looking forward to seeing you all at HoHoTO!

Written by Melanie Masson aka @RogersMelanie

We all love to win and this year’s Silent Raffle is filled with great goodies to win from our very generous sponsors!

The best part? Every raffle ticket you buy will help feed the hungry and that makes you a winner whether you walk away with a prize or not.

And for $25 you get an arms length of raffle tickets!

From 8:30-11:30 we will be giving away three prizes every 15 minutes.  That’s a new winner every 5 minutes!  We’ve got amazing prizes in every window! So don’t miss out on the early draws (there’s always less competition for those).

We have prizes ranging in value from $150-$2000!  And we’ve had so many fantastic prizes came flooding in we had to bundle some of them together. Even after bundling, we ran out of space in our schedule to draw them all at HoHoTO. So some have been reserved some for the HoHoTO Hangover Auction on Dec 20th.

Here’s a partial list of the prizes. We have something  for almost everyone’s tastes:  from baskets to bedroom toys, restaurants to refreshing spas, tech toys to more tech toys:

• HTC Jetstream Tablet from Rogers ($800)
• 15 course dinner for 2 catered by Chef Matt Kantor ($1000)
• Blue Rodeo Prize pack from officialCommunity ($210)
• Linksys Ultimate Home Networking Package from Linksys/Cisco ($485)
• Beaded Animal from Eat My Words ($250)
• 25,000 Aeroplan points from Aeroplan (~$200+)
• Restaurant-a-month prize pack including Linda Modern Thai, Luma, Caplansky’s, Lou Dawgs, School and more! ($650+)
• 3 month membership in Chateau des Charmes Wine Club ($185)
• Prize Pack from the Leslieville Merchants ($360)
• Full site design & build, custom logo design or consulting from The Blog Studio ($2000)
• a bunch of smart phones from Rogers – Samsung, Motorola, LG, Blackberry, HTC, Sony (7 of them ranging from $360-650)
• Gold Topaz Earrings from Best Bargains ($1500)

So don’t forget to buy your Raffle Tickets – you’ve got to be in it to win it.

Besides, $25 worth of tickets  will buy an emergency food hamper for a family of four.  Hit a bank machine before you come out on Thursday and wear your lucky underpants. Even if you don’t get lucky, you might get lucky…

For the past three years Ryan Taylor  (you might remember him as a giant elf) and Duarte Da Silva have provided the kickass music selection that keeps  HoHoTO going long into the night.

Sadly, this year our favourite elf is too busy at the North Pole polishing his jewels to join us. Instead, special DJ guests will join Duarte on stage during the night – let’s call them Santa’s Little Helpers.

Also new this year, we WILL entertain your musical requests — but as you might expect with everything HoHoTO-related, we want your song selections to contribute to the cause. We’ll have a collection box at the front of the stage, along with a Sharpie and a stack of Post-Its.

Got a tune you really want to hear? Pop a toonie in the box and scribble out your choice (clearly!) on a Post-It. Had it to the DJ or one of the on-stage helpers, and…

We will make our best effort to play your request during the night BUT… we should warn you: we’re music snobs.

The DJs’ decision, as ultimate arbiters of taste, is absolutely final. If we determine your taste in music is lacking or generally dodgy, we reserve the right to publicly ridicule your choice and may or may not refund the $2 (we won’t) depending on how many cocktails you’ve bought us.

If, however, we approve of your song selection, we will give you a high five, regale you with public accolades, and may or may not refund the $2 (we won’t).

Remember, with every song request donation you make, you are helping feed a family and making the world suck a little less.

Your toonies for tunes lead to fewer empty spoons.

As part of our 13 days of #HoHoTo blog series, we thought we would put the spotlight on how else to help beyond cold hard cash.  This year, food bank supplies are running at their lowest ever.  Along with your party pants, and dancing shoes, please bring with some food to donate to our drive. Our friends at The Daily Bread Food Bank have identified some of the most needed food items.

They include:

• Baby Food and formula
• Beans in Sauce
• Canned Chilli
• Canned Fish
• Canned Fruit
• Canned Meat
• Canned Stew
• Canned Vegetables
• Canned, Powdered or Tetra Pak cartons of milk
• Cold Cereal
• Dried pasta & tomato sauce
• Fruit & Veggie Juice (ie V8)
• Lentils
• Macaroni & Cheese
• Peanut Butter
• Rice

As a rule of thumb, pick the food you know YOU would want to eat.  There’s a handy dandy grocery store and pharmacy located across the street from HoHoTO party central if you want to pick up some much needed items in closer proximity to the venue.  Our lovely volunteers will be ready with open arms to take your donations and anything you can bring is much appreciated!

Written by: Rochelle Latinsky

Photo Credit : Crossfit Zone

You’re an awesome company. We’re a great cause. It’s a perfect match!

You – smart, fun, outgoing and looking to help make the world suck a little less this HoHoTO season.

Us – committed to being the most rewarding spend you can make this year. Helping people who need our support, making a difference to hundreds of our fellow Torontonians.

Why?  100% (yes, ALL) of our corporate and individual donations go directly to the Daily Bread Food Bank.

DBFB’s goal this holiday season is to collect1.2 million pounds of food and raise $1.2 million before January 3rd. They need our help – and your help! – to get there. Daily Bread serves people through neighbourhood food banks and meal programs in approximately 170 member agencies. Your donations and support are vital to ensuring they can provide food and resources to the thousands of individuals and families across Toronto who rely on them every day.

So let’s come together to make something amazing happen on December 15th this year! 

We’re looking for just a few more marquee sponsors at the $1000+ level. Are you able to step in and be our Mrs. Claus ($7,500) or Elf ($5,000) sponsor this year? Maybe a Reindeer ($2,000) or Snowflake ($1,000)? You can visit our corporate sponsor page for all the information on sponsorship levels.

We would be thrilled to welcome you to our team of amazing sponsors and will give you tons of love before, after and during our event.  Not sure you can swing a sponsorship? Why not get a group together to buy one?  Partnering with your staff, vendors or other business colleagues is a great way to build relationships, show how awesome your company is and will make a huge difference to the people going to the Daily Bread Food Bank for food every day.

Help us help the Daily Bread Food Bank this HoHoTO season — can we count on you for support?

Written by: Heather Williams
Photo credit: Chris Luckhardt