The HELLO Project

THE HELLO PROJECT: JENNIFER www.thehelloproject.ca Jennifer Huggins, the 32 year old heart and dynamic soul behind the Fight To End Cancer has had a busy year!... During the past year, Huggins, together with her partner, Virgil Barrow, the most recent of 52 boxers and a staggering number of volunteers helped raise $500,000 for cancer research for The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation to date. The money raised was the result of a year of training for the five boxing teams which culminated in the 2016 Fight To End Cancer gala held at The Old Mill in Toronto, Ontario. A frenetic multi-tasker, Huggins continued to work with an international stage magician, oversaw operations at her boxing gym and managed the Fight To End Cancer preparations all the while travelling internationally as a boxing referee and judge around the world. The International Boxing Association called upon Huggins to be a judge and a referee at international boxing events including Olympic qualifying fights in Rio de Janeiro. She was also sent to officiate in Cameroon, Bulgaria, Venezuela, South Korea, Taipei and Kazakhstan. To say this would exhaust anyone would be an understatement, especially given the fact that her life in boxing came about after a broken neck sidelined a blossoming career as a competitive figure skater when she was only 14 years of age. Recently, Huggins has become involved in working with youth and women, focusing on self-protection and self-defence. She empowers women by instilling in them the courage to speak out and prevent situations from becoming problems while giving them the skills to protect themselves. #Women #GirlPower #Inspiration Fujifilm Cameras Rio 2016 Boxing News Boxing Ontario Boxing Canada #Boxing Beckie Scott AIBA #AIBA

DOCTOR DOCTOR Taking a break from 30-hour shifts, around-the-clock patients and their specialties in Family Medicine, Aaron and Alexis come for a visit to Toronto. Entering their last year of residency, these two young people will soon be deciding in what community they will live, settle and begin serving patients. The Hello Project congratulates these two newly-minted doctors on completing many, many years of study and dedicating their careers to helping others.... Queen's University Aaron Arthur Alexis Anne Toronto, Ontario Fujifilm Cameras

THE HELLO PROJECT: SHIREEN When the door opened, a flood of brilliant light punched into the darkened interior of the boxing gym. The only thing breaking the intensity of the light in the doorframe was the petite silhouette, in tight curls, of Shireen Fabing her shadow reaching far into the darkness across the concrete floor. After a move to Canada at the age of 20, Shireen found it difficult to adapt to her new country, after about a year and a half, she returned to her ho...me town of Capetown, South Africa for another ten years before eventually moving to Canada for good, with her husband. Shrine, her husband and daughter now call Canada home. I have a daughter, she’s four, going on 14 some days, she says laughing, a sparkle in her eyes, She’s wonderful. Shireen by day works for Rogers in the Go To Market business area of communications for customers launching businesses. A big job with big deadlines and pressures as her team juggles clients who’s livelihood can depend on them getting it right. I was someone who always hated the gym, I felt self conscious, she describes, but when a colleague persuaded her to join her at a boxing gym, Shireen’s life began to change! It wasn’t even getting into a ring! It was putting on the gloves, punching the bag, I was hooked! Years later, Shireen received a Facebook message from a total stranger. That person was Jennifer Huggins, owner of the Kingsway Boxing Club and wanted to know if Shireen would come box and train at her club. Shireen jumped at the chance, it was closer to home and Jennifer and training partner Virgil Barrow could bring her boxing up and make her competitive. After training hard for Fight To End Cancer, Jennifer’s intense yearly event to raise money for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, Shireen won her bout and has never looked back. With her black mass of curls under control with a tight skull cap while training, Shireen looks badass to say the least. Her intense gaze is enough to send an opponent scurrying to their corner for good. After winning another fight at an east Toronto, Ontario club, Shireen has made boxing part of her life. It is a long way from Capetown, and as far from marketing as one can go. But then, thats the point to reach deep inside and find out what you are made of. SHIREEN FUN FACT: For someone who is incapable of sitting still, people would be surprised that for a time in her mid 20s, Shireen was an avid knitter! I don’t know what happened, maybe it was a pattern I saw, but I took it up, made a few sweaters and scarves, she says laughing at the long forgotten memory! Boxing Boxing Ontario Fujifilm Cameras

THE HELLO PROJECT: JUSCIONE www.thehelloproject.ca A smile and heart as big as her home country of Brazil, Juscione Souza, 36 moved to Canada at the age of 24 to be with her husband. Married in Brazil, Juscione's Brazilian husband moved to Canada for work a year before she arrived.... In Brazil, Juscione worked in clothing sales where she blossomed. "I'm a little shy at first, but after a little while, I love to talk to the customers and help them with making choices and picking things out for them," she says of the joy she gets with working with people. A career move took her from sales, into nursing. After training as a nurse in Brazil for two years she moved to Canada and continued her training. Her training as a nurse in Toronto, Ontario stopped when she became pregnant with her 10 year old son, Wendell. At the mention of his name, she beams, obviously a very proud mother. Juscione and her family have no other relatives in Toronto, so it is with great excitement that they travel back to Brazil, infrequently, to visit her large family. "It's a lot! 10 siblings, is a big family" she says laughing at the size of the family in which she grew up. "I love to talk to people," Juscione says of herself. She is well suited for a job where she has the opportunity to get to know people. She currently is a full-time cleaner in a downtown Toronto condominium. It is a job that never seems to end and a job where she meets and chats with people, while never stopping what she is doing.

THE HELLO PROJECT: MEGHAN www.thehelloproject.ca With an uncontrollable smile, Meghan Pelley is one of those rare people who love their job so much, she does not hold back when she says she has, "The best job ever"!... As a groom, Meghan takes care of the breeding horses and racing stallions. "I love it, I can't imagine doing anything else," she says of her eight years at the stable and her passion for horses. Mehgan has her own horse boarded about 10 minutes away. Her horse is a "hunter" which is a sport horse that jumps fences, unlike the jumper competitions one would see at the Olympics. Hunters have to be perfect throughout the year at competition and points are awarded cumulatively, not by individual competition. "You can take your time, it's all about accuracy, not speed," she describes as one of the differences between hunter and jumper competitions. "Mr. Scotty is my favourite! He has such a personality. As soon as I come in every morning, he's the first to greet me with really loud excited neahs! He's super obnoxious," she says laughing as she describes the 14 year old thoroughbred while he stands nuzzling and playing with her. Having to retire early, Mr. Scotty is a breeding stallion who has produced several very successful offspring who also share the same private stable of 100 horses. MOST PROUD MOMENT: "This year I came second in the A-circuit competitions this past year, I'm pretty proud of that"! With feed, just out of reach of some of the horses, she tickles Mr. Scotty's nose and says good-buy and continues with the dream job of a lifetime. Toronto, Ontario The Huffington Post Canada Horse & Hound Fujifilm Cameras

THE HELLO PROJECT: GARY & JOANIE Sure, lots of people claim to be "outdoorsy", but few can quietly say they have circumnavigated the largest fresh water lake in the world, Lake Superior in a canoe. They paddled thousands of kilometres, much of that with a child, and explored thousands of square kilometres of bush. Gary and Joanie McGuffin never need to prove anything they live it. We caught up with the McGuffins in Kleinburg, Ontario over the Christmas holiday wile on a tri...p down south from their home in Sault Ste. Marie Ontario. They were meeting at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection gallery for a meeting to discuss an ongoing project to honour the Canadian painters known as The Group of Seven. Best selling authors of several books, explorers, and now featured in the film, Painted Land which aired on TVO this past fall, this enthusiastic couple are a tireless advocate for the environment, education and Canadian culture. If you would like to stream the film, Painted land, please see: http://tvo.org//painted-land-in-search-of-the-group-of-sev To check out the books, films and other interests of Gary and Joanie: http://www.themcguffins.ca/ Group of Seven Lake Superior Trail Group of Seven Fujifilm Cameras Canada Trans Canada Trail Lake Superior