FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
ABOUT THE #WESALUTEYOURSERVICE CHALLENGE FOR VETERANS' HOUSE
why join the challenge?
Ottawa-based charity Multifaith Housing Initiative (MHI) has designed a virtual social media campaign to give Canadians a way to recognize and honour our military members in 2020: the #WeSaluteYourService Challenge for Veterans' House. Ottawa is a well-known crossroads point for transient homeless populations, with approximately 80 homeless veterans sleeping in Ottawa on any given night. MHI's next housing project, Veterans’ House: the Andy Carswell Building, will house 40 veterans who:
- are homeless or at risk of homelessness
- served with the Canadian Armed Forces or Royal Canadian Mounted Police
how do I join the campaign?
It's easy to join in! Just follow these steps:
- Choose someone whose military service you want to recognize.
- If you can, make a donation to MHI in support of Veterans' House.
- Post to social media. Make a video or text post and upload to the social media platform of your choice. Don't forget to include the #WeSaluteYourService hashtag, and tag someone to do the challenge next! When you post, we'd appreciate if you copy-pasted the official challenge text.
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Choose someone whose military service you want to recognize... The most important thing is, whomever you choose, make sure that it's meaningful to you, and from the heart." |
who can i honour in my video?
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We encourage you to honour anyone who is serving, or served with, the Canadian Armed Forces or Royal Canadian Mounted Police! The group/person you honour can be living or passed. Consider honouring...
... an individual who served:
Please note that we encourage you to honour a Canadian veteran, but they don't necessarily have to be Canadian. You might instead choose to honour, for example, a someone who served with one of Canada's allies (e.g. - a British nurse who served in the Second World War or a grandparent who served in the U.S. Army, etc.). If you have any questions/concerns about who to honour (or any questions about #WeSaluteYourService in general) don't hesitate to contact us. |
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i'm a little camera shy... do I need to post a video?
Nope! You can post a photo of yourself and your veteran(s), or an image of them or their belongings. Why not post an image of a memorial or commemoration site? Be creative, thoughtful, and post something that's meaningful to you. Just add #WeSaluteYourService along with your story and tag someone else to do it!
how long does the campaign run?
We launch #WeSaluteYourService on Tuesday, November 3, 2020 on all our channels. Post any time until December 31, 2020 when the campaign closes!
If the public wants to keep honouring our military with the hashtag #WeSaluteYourService on social media after December 31, that's great! However, Multifaith Housing will be promoting #WeSaluteYourService up until December 31 The Commissionaires Ottawa will match all donations until the end of 2020 as well.
If the public wants to keep honouring our military with the hashtag #WeSaluteYourService on social media after December 31, that's great! However, Multifaith Housing will be promoting #WeSaluteYourService up until December 31 The Commissionaires Ottawa will match all donations until the end of 2020 as well.
should i wear a poppy during my video?
It depends on when you're posting. If you're posting in the first nine days of the #WeSaluteYourService Campaign (i.e. - on or before Remembrance Day) it would be appropriate to wear a poppy over your heart (left side). However, poppies should not be worn after November 11. Please check out the Legion's "How to Wear a Poppy" page for more information about how to wear a poppy correctly.
do you have any examples of challenge videos?
Check out these example #WeSaluteYourService Challenge for Veterans' House videos!
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who should I tag?
Make sure to use #WeSaluteYourService, then include a friend, family member or contact and invite them to honour a veteran too. You can also tag MHI or Veterans’ House directly:
- Twitter: @MHIOttawa & @VetsHouseMHI
- Facebook: @MHIOttawa & @VeteransHouseCanada
- Instagram: @MHIOttawa & @VetsHouseMHI
- LinkedIn: Multifaith Housing Initiative
from where can i copy-paste the official challenge text?
We'd greatly appreciate if you incorporate the official challenge text into your post to keep spreading our messaging as far and wide as we can! Click below to learn more.
how can i donate to veterans' house?
- Text: Text VETERANS2021 to 41010 to give $25 automatically off your phone bill.
- Online: Donate online with a credit card through Canada Helps.
- Phone: Call 613-686-1825 to make a credit card donation over the phone.
- Cheque: Make out a cheque to Multifaith Housing Initiative and write "Veterans' House" on the subject line. Mail the cheque to: Multifaith Housing Initiative, 206-404 McArthur Ave., Ottawa ON, K1K 1G8. NB: Please ensure you make out the cheque to Multifaith Housing Initiative (not Veterans' House), or our organization won't be able to cash your cheque.
- In-person donation: Contact us to set up an appointment to drop off your donation in person.
Please note that if you're a member of a United Church in the Eastern Ontario Outaouais Region, you may wish to consider making your donation through United We Stand: the EOORC Campaign for Veterans' House.
where will donations go?
All donations will support the Veterans' House Capital Campaign (construction costs). The Veterans' House Capital Campaign will run until June 2021.
how does the commissionaires Ottawa matching program work?
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In an effort to encourage the public to support the Veterans' House Capital Campaign, Commissionaires Ottawa has generously offered to match all donations provided directly to Veterans' House, up to $150,000, until the end of 2020. No matter how you donate directly to Veterans' House, Commissionaires will double it! That means if you give $25, Commissionaires will give $25, bringing the total amount you provide Veterans' House to $50!
Whether you text VETERANS2021 to 41010, give online, donate over the phone, write us a cheque, or make an appointment to drop off a donation in person, Commissionaires Ottawa will automatically double your donation. A note for United Church members: Please note that Commissionaires Ottawa has provided two matching gifts:
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CAN i run an event TO FUNDRAISE for veterans' House?
That would be wonderful! For more information on running a fundraising event for Veterans' House, visit our Run a Fundraiser page. There, you can download our Community Event Toolkit, which contains dozens of pandemic-proof fundraising ideas! We ask that you register your event with us.
who is multifaith housing and how is it related to veterans' house?
MHI is an Ottawa-based charity that has been building affordable housing projects in the nation's capital for almost 20 years. We are uniquely supported by a mixture of faith groups who work hard to enable us to build and house men, women and families who are priced out of Ottawa’s rental housing.
