Tag Archives: donations

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Barristers Sponsor Food Bank Renovation

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Barristers sponsor food bank renovation in honor of Joe Burke at Debra Dynes Family House.

An Ottawa-based food bank was in desperate need of some much-needed renovations. Barristers for a Better Bytown, a charity that operates by raising funds to help support other charitable organizations, took on the $17,000 project for the food bank at Debra Dynes Family House. They decided to dedicate this particular project to Joe Burke, an Ottawa criminal defense lawyer.

In Joe’s time as a lawyer he often took on cases with little to no pay and dedicated his time and craft defending marginalized groups who ended up in the criminal justice system. He was particularly known for defending the rights of Indigenous people. He became interested in spending his time helping those who were caught up in the criminal justice system when he went to Queen’s University and became a member of the Correctional Law Project. This project focused on working with inmates, where his interest in assisting Indigenous people began. He would often meet with elders in prison sweat lodges.

barristers sponsor food bank renovation
Joe Burke. PHOTO BY WAYNE HIEBERT /Postmedia files

During his time working with inmates and Indigenous people he became close friends with fellow defense lawyer Mark Ertel. According to the Ottowa Citizen, Ertel says the charity is dedicated to assist the Debra Dynes Family House whenever possible. Burke passed away nearly 20 years ago but his legacy of helping others still lives on. Barristers for a Better Bytown thought it would be an excellent opportunity to pay their respects to a man who dedicated his life to helping those whose in need. He’s even honored annually at the Joe Burke Wolfe Island Literary Festival, which was started by locally adored musician David Bidini of the Rhestatics. Joe Burke was an excellent example of the kind of impact one man can voluntarily have on so many, by living a life lead by loving and caring for others.

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Rebuilding Small Businesses

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2020 has been one hell of a year for small business owners. Already hurting from COVID-19 restrictions and mandates, small businesses across the United States were again hit hard during the riots that followed the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.

Thanks to our donors, Voluntaryism in Action (VIA) raised close to $30k to aid small business owners in their cleanup and rebuilding efforts. Funds were sent directly to Emily’s Eatery, Midori’s Floating World Cafe, Coco & Family Beauty Supply, and Lake Street Stop n’ Shop of Minneapolis, as well as Top Cut Comics in Illinois and Marza Jewelers in Atlanta, Georgia.

I personally spoke with Anna, the owner of Emily’s Eatery, and she was so immensely grateful for the financial assistance we were able to offer. Although many members of her community had been volunteering in the cleanup effort, she had been getting nowhere with insurance.


We hope all of our followers and donors know what an incredible impact they have when they share our causes and become donors. Not only are you helping lift your fellow man, you’re also helping spread the message of voluntaryism and the love of liberty across the world. When people see us living our values, they are more likely to listen to our philosophy and consider our ideas viable.

Thanks again to our donors for assisting us with this successful campaign to rebuild small businesses. We couldn’t do what we do without your support!

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Government Stalls Food Donations to Hungry Families

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An act of charity was recently brought to a standstill by the heavy hand of government regulation—this time when the charitable solution would have both helped control deer overpopulation and feed the hungry.

According to an article in the Canadian Press, a recent startup project in Saint Andrews (a town in the New Brunswick province) encouraged local hunters to provide venison donations from their hunt to the local food bank. A similar program exists in Nova Scotia, so the startup appeared to be a good idea that could help people without government interference. The hunters were already storing up donations before the project was stalled by government concerns for “health and safety.” Now the would-be donations sit unused in the hunters’ freezers.

It’s a disappointment to many in the town that the stop was initiated in winter when the donation would have helped a number of low-income families during a rough season. Donna Linton, coordinator of the Volunteer Centre, says that the Centre helps roughly 400 people in a month—many of whom live on broth and dandelions without help from the food bank. It’s no question that the Centre is vital to impoverished and struggling families in Saint Andrews, yet it is only just keeping up with its limited meat supply—consisting mostly of frozen hamburgers and hot dogs.

The current burgeoning deer population in the town (reported at 20 deer per square kilometer) stirs up concerns including collisions with motorcycles, confrontations with pedestrians, increased risk and spread of Lyme disease, and complaints of destroyed gardens. Further, the New Brunswick Department of Energy and Resource Development stated that the province’s deer population has been a concern for 10 years, and a simple web search for Saint Andrews’ deer population brings up various results of news articles addressing the deer overpopulation since circa 2018.

Andrew Vaughan / THE CANADIAN PRESS

According to a CBC News report, the community called for action from officials  to handle the issue, running a full page ad in the Telegraph-Journal newspaper in August 2019. A common resolution for this issue would be to relocate the deer—however, according to Saint Andrews Mayor Doug Naish, the government in the past declined a relocation plan under the statement that their research showed that it would only cause the deer to die from stress. Again the Canadian Press reported that the government under Naish’s term actually extended a controlled bow hunt within the province.

In addition to considering relocation and the off-season quota hunt, officials of the province considered birth control for the does, and park rangers have tried scaring the deer away with hazing and loud noise. Unfortunately, the deer have become so accustomed to the town that they appear frequently and do not startle easily.

Despite numerous calls by the community to initiate a solution, the government seems mired in uncertainty. With relocation off the table and the government unwilling to further extend hunting privileges, official channels seem to have failed. The food bank project could have been a final and viable solution if not for the government preventing the community taking matters into their own hands. As of now, the project is not officially rejected as it’s continuation awaits the verdict from health officials, so many remain hopeful.