The document outlines a leadership project aimed at collecting food donations for the Salvation Army of Brampton, surpassing the initial goal thanks to community support. It emphasizes the importance of giving back, creating a domino effect of positive actions, and accepting personal vulnerabilities to foster collective success. The author encourages readers to make a difference in their communities through small acts of kindness and leadership.

1. “The way to gain a good reputation, is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.” ~Socrates
Want to Make a Difference in 2014
Today I will be making the final collection of donated non-perishable food items for my High
Performance Leadership project titled Holiday Season Food Drive to benefit the Salvation Army of
Brampton. My goal for this project was to collect at least TEN 3.0 cubic feet (18 x 18 x 16) boxes by
December 18, 2013 (today). From all indications I will surpass my goal by about 5 to 10 boxes courtesy
of a substantial donation which I will collect today from Give & Go Prepared Foods Corp.
The joy of givingand being able to support someone’s dream to have food and eat this holiday season
has led to a sense of contentmentthat is indescribable. The success and happiness I have experienced
on this journey is attributable to the generosity and support I received from Toastmasters clubs and
members in the cities of Brampton and Mississauga over the past four weeks. On this journey I have
learned that fear can prevent us from doing good things. It was fear that kept me sitting on the fence
with this project for more than three years. I also doubted my abilities to successful execute the project
as well as I questioned myself in terms of what would I accomplish or how would I benefit from such an
initiative.
Today I can say without a doubt that the level of satisfaction and sense of accomplishment knowing that
I have contributed to the Salvation Army of Brampton’s mission to meet human needs and be a
transforming influence in my community by helping to feed those in need is awesome. I am also elated
by the fact that I did not do it by myself. For this I am truly delighted for the support and encouragement
from the people around me and as such I am already planning for 2014.In a later blog I will do an official
thank you.
You too can make a difference in your communities in 2014. In 2013, I was able to contribute more to
my community by using my time and skills and consequently I experience the sense of belonging and
being part of a wider community. This year I mentored more high school and college students and
delivered my Leaders Leave Legacy Workshop numerous times. I got involve as co-chair of Terry Fox
Elementary Public School council. I got involved as in Toastmasters District 86 as Area Governor in
Guelph, Ontario. I advocated against youth violence and human trafficking in the Greater Toronto Area. I
was also able to re-connect with Calabar High School in Kingston, Jamaica by getting involved with the
Calabar Old Boys’ Association – Canada Chapter. Like me you too can make a difference in 2014 with
very little by giving and sharing your time and skills with those who will benefit from you compassion
and generosity.
Here a 3ways in which you can make a difference in 2014:
Create a domino effect
When FarazMoin saw the flyer for my Holiday Season Food Drive he did not hesitate to participate. He
immediately sent out an email to all the members of Point of Tale Toastmasters with a short personal
message asking for donations. He created flyers and posted them around his desk at Loblaw so people

2. knew where to drop off the food items. When his manager, Rhonda Templeton saw this, the next day
she jumped on board and helped Faraz spread the word within other departments at Loblaw. She made
arrangements for Faraz to announce the food drive at their weekly floor huddle, where he confirmed
that he and his team would go around and collect food items from people’s desks. They put up flyers all
around the building at Loblaw and Faraz constantly send out emails to his peers reminding them on a
weekly basis.
Faraz created a domino effect. Faraz credited his success to the collective effort by the people who
decided to help him raise awareness and the people who decided to donate, especially the supply chain
teams at Loblaws. When start something that is positive it creates a domino effect for others to join
forces with us and consequently we have a greater impact. We don’t all have to find the cure for cancer
or radically impact our world like Steve Jobs to make a difference but we can take small actions that
counts towards makinga difference. Faraz demonstrated that though our collective efforts we were able
to make a substantial contribution to the Salvation Army of Brampton.
Be you and be passionate about making a difference
As I mentioned in my post The Joy of Giving, after listening to my 7 minute speech titled “Leaders Leave
Legacy” Judy Martin, Sales Analyst at Give & Go Prepared Foods Corp offered to make a substantial
contribution to my Holiday Season Food Drive. She said it was a pleasure listening to my “Leaders Leave
Legacy” speech and that she could hear my passion for the project in my delivery. The truth is I have
experienced tough times or setbacks but I have never had reasons to use the food bank, but what if
during my tough times or setbacks I have to rely on the food bank? Would I want others to care about
my wellbeing?
Making a difference in 2014 is about making a connection with the people around you and in your
community. This is true secret of service to others. It ensure that both the giver and receiver benefits. As
I mentioned above I am not only helping to support someone’s dream to meal this holiday season but I
also feeling a sense of satisfaction achieved by being able to make a difference in people’s lives. The
reward for me is contentment and recognition that I am part of a wider community in which we should
care for each other.
Accept your vulnerabilities and unlimited capacity
On Saturday December 7, 2013 I had to attend a funeral services in Pickering, Ontario and consequently
I was unable to keep my commitment to speaking at Soar to Excellence, Lambs to Lions and Comfortably
Speaking Toastmasters Clubs in Mississauga. Diana Alandete agreed to collect the donated items on my
behalf at Soar to Excellence and NeeruRia agreed to be my replacement as a speaker at the other two
clubs. On December 11, 2013 I was unable to keep my engagement with Speak to Inspire because of a
doctor’s appointment for Marisa as well as it was my 20th wedding anniversary and Michelle had taken
the time off work for us to celebrate. TuulaRedditt agreed to collect the donated items for me.
You cannot make a difference if you do not accept your own vulnerabilities. As you would have noted
above it would be impossible for me to be in more one places at the same time. A part of my success

3. was recognising that there are others around who are willing to help me achieve my goals. Once you
accept your own vulnerabilities and recognise that success is not about me but rather about us you will
be able to make a difference.
Tuula wrote me a wonderful email in which she said “leadership is not about doing it all yourself but as
aleader having the ability to lead everyone to do the roles. You inspire leaders in others by giving
leadership roles to them. Allowing me to help you enjoy your day 20th anniversary and delivering our
club’s donation ourselves gives us a sense of leadership.”
We have to be able to look outside of ourselves if we want to make a difference. The growth that takes
place once you start to look outward has unlimited capacity.There is a Buddha quote that says
“thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be
shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared” which I think is appropriate. Essentially once we
start to allow ourselves to grow and others around us to grow we create a domino effect of positive
energy that is infinite.
If you want to make a difference in 2014 do the following:
Create a domino effect
Be you and be passionate about making a difference
Accept your vulnerabilities and unlimited capacity
How will you make a difference in 2014?
Mark McKenzie is a leading Subject Matter Expert in financial services regulation and supervision as well
as a professional motivational speaker, corporate trainer and youth mentor. He can be contacted by
email mastbmckenzie@gmail.com or by telephone 647-406-4622. Read my blog
http://mastbmckenzie.blogspot.ca/ and always write me a comment and share. Follow me on Twitter
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