Hot Tomali is proud to announce our support for the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust (MWCT). This charity was formed by Academy Award-nominated actor Edward Norton, as part of a group fundraising effort in collaboration with the New York Marathon. Last year 30 runners, including Edward Norton, ran the New York Marathon to raise money for the MWCT and the campaign was a success — they raised over $1.2 million! The money raised is used to protect the legendary ecosystems and astounding biodiversity of East Africa by promoting conservations that directly benefits local Maasai communities.

The MWCT Watering Hole Party

Hot Tomali has completed a pro bono ad campaign (see the first ad above) as part of our involvement. Our internal goal is to raise a minimum of $12,000 to enable MWCT to build a watering hole that will attract and sustain threatened wildlife, such as elephants and lions, on their protected land and help keep them safe from poachers.

We’re hosting a fundraiser, the MWCT Watering Hole Party, at 6:00 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011, featuring live music, drinks, and a mix of people representing the very best of Vancouver’s marketing and design community. Click here to RSVP on Facebook.

As part of our fundraising, many great items are being donated by our clients and local businesses to be auctioned off, with all funds raised going to MWCT.

Place your bids here! Hot Tomali MWCT Charity Auction

Music by:

Top Less Gay Love Tekno Party
Kristie Yung
DJ Blaze Kik

Prizes generously donated by:

Shot Glass Pack Shot Glass Pack Coffee Mug Set Coffee Mug Set Sports Pack XBox360 Shooter Pack XBox360 Sports Pack Playstation3 Shooter Pack Playstation3 Adventure Game Pack XBox360 Adventure Game Pack Playstation3 PC Gamer Pack Family Pack Wii	1 Health Assessment ($75 value)	Bracken Vest ($150 value)
	Earrings: Red Crystal Tear Drop Earrings Silver Crystal Tear Drop Earrings Dark Silver Crystal Tear Drop Earrings	Icebreaker Merino Wool gear: Mens & Womens
1 Loaf, Banana Bread	One night stay at the resort for 2, VIP wine tasting for 2 and two bottles of wine.	Ski Vacation Package for Two
SPUD gift basket	$100 Catering Gift Certificate	3-Month Fitness Pass 3-Month Fitness Pass Donated by SNFW Howe St. location
Speakout Nokia 2720 phone 7-Eleven gift cards	Gift Basket ($100 value)	4 weeks of Semi-Private Therapeutic Yoga classes at The Network Hub ($200 value)
Mixed Crate of 12 BC Bud Cooking Sauce $20 Gift Certificates x 2	Ticket to the Marketing Mastery Summit ($495 value) Chocolate Tasting 101 Class for 2 People and 2 Boxes of chocolate from Xoxolat ($90 value) 2 Tickets to the Murders, Mysteries and Mayhem Halloween Tour ($52 value)	Gift Basket ($50 value)
1 Month Membership at Gracie Barra Vancouver - Unlimited Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Boxing & Mui Thai ($150 value)	Sakura in Aqua Clutch ($65 value)	2 hour Design Consultation ($300 value)
GUESS Seductive Eau De Toilette ($69.00 Value) Chloé Love Eau Intense Eau De Parfum Intense ($125.00 Value) Kiehl’s Limited Edition New York Heritage Collection ($60.00 Value)	Rice giftbags

Weekly Trivia Night

We also have draws planned at several upcoming trivia nights at the Lamplighter and Academic, so if you can, be sure to come check those out.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQWR59vQsng

As part of Ed Norton’s team, Thomas Stringham, Hot Tomali’s president and creative director, and Scott Maddox, art director, will be running in the New York Marathon on November 6, 2011. If you would like to make a donation directly through the charity’s web partner, Crowdrise, you may do so by following one of the links below:

Thomas Stringham’s MWCT Crowdrise Page
Scott Maddox’s MWCT Crowdrise Page

If you are interested in donating any items for use in the auction, or if you would like to be added to the guest list for the MWCT Watering Hole Party on Oct. 14, please contact our office manager, Sabrina Wagner.

Ten years ago, Hot Tomali launched United Way of the Lower Mainland’s first ever website. We did the site as a pro bono project and have continued to stay involved with United Way ever since, as one donation helps so many people. United Way’s main focus is preventing problems tomorrow by supporting especially vulnerable groups such as children 0–6, 6–12, and seniors. Partner agencies that United Way helps include the Canadian Red Cross, SUCCESS, YWCA, and Big Brothers.

This year we decided to combine our United Way Employee Campaign with a last Friday of summer BBQ on our new rooftop patio. The Campaign kick-off was on Friday, September 17 after our biannual Town Hall meeting. To get the campaign started, we did a small presentation with facts about United Way to remind our team, friends, guests, and neighbours from MET Printers what United Way is about. Our goal this year was $2,000, which at first seemed, dare I say, too high for the size of our team.

Luckily the day was sunny and we could gather together outside by the BBQ or in the boardroom by our colourful potluck buffet prepared by Ali, Dav, Alex, Jan, and Kyle. International specialties were offered, such as Canadian Butter Tarts, Indian Samosas, Chinese Zongzi, Czech Goulash, and English Bean Salad. As well we served refreshing Margaritas with premium Tequila that Jan kindly brought back from Mexico.

After the weekend we got together again for coffee and cookies to wrap up our campaign. We did a prize draw for everyone who pledged, and with great pleasure I announced the total amount raised: $2,517 — way higher than our original goal of $2,000!

Thanks to everyone who helped to make this United Way campaign so successful! It’s amazing what a small group of people can do. I’m glad I set the goal higher than my comfort level because it reminded me that goals are meant to be tough to reach — that’s what makes it so rewarding when we meet (or exceed!) them.

1. The guys at Hot Tomali have very ravenous appetites, and
2. Making two pans of lasagne in one go is a real pain in the ass.

At the end of October, I created a team and convinced the boys of Hot Tomali to grow moustaches in the name of prostate cancer. Movember is a movement started in Australia, challenging men around the globe to start clean-shaven on November 1st and collect donations for their best ‘stache attempts. Considering at the time we were elbows deep in a website launch promoting men’s health, it seemed a no-brainer for Hot Tomali to participate.

I’ve never been one to pound down doors in a fundraising attempt. As a girl in the choir and on sports teams, I hated the inevitable bake sale/bottle drive/chocolate-covered almond push that was required to raise money for our activities. But as an adult, I’ve come to learn that it’s pretty easy to whip up a plate of something tasty and sell it at the office for ten bucks a head. Last month, for the United Way, it was chili. For Movember, a good, hearty lasagne was in order.

My husband laughed at me as he saw me unloading the groceries. “THREE boxes of pasta? Are you kidding!??” He marvelled as he watched me layer not one, but two, casserole dishes with pasta, sauce, spinach, cheese, and more cheese, and questioned again how many I was feeding. Sure, it looked like a lot of lasagne—and maybe it was a bit excessive—but I didn’t want to be the gal who offered to cook for the team and then come up short. Besides, I thought I’d cooked way too much chili last month, and I watched that pot get licked clean.

My Italian creation was a huge success, despite a slightly overcooked crust. And, just as expected, both pans were quickly devoured. Perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to load up our developers on carbs and cheese and then expect them to hit their deadline four hours later—by 3 pm the air in the office was heavy and surprisingly quiet. But in the end, a few hundred dollars raised to further prostate cancer research is always worth a calorie-induced coma.

It’s not too late to donate to Hot Tomali’s Movember cause. If you would like to support our team, please visit our Movember page to make a donation to Prostate Cancer Canada. Any amount—no matter how large or small—is appreciated and has an impact.

On Friday afternoon, as part of Hot Tomali’s commitment to United Way, we all took a break from work for an hour and converged as a team in the boardroom for some home-cooked chili. This, of course, meant that on Thursday night, while my husband cooked hot dogs for our dinner, I was up to my eyeballs in beans, peppers and sirloin.

The Before Shot

This is what my tiny kitchen counter looked like before I started prepping everything. That’s two cans of red kidney beans and one can of white; garbanzo beans, plum tomatoes and black-eyed peas; two onions and a whole head of garlic; two jalapeños; one poblano pepper and two bell peppers, as well as a can of chipotles; a 2 lb sirloin roast with an extra pound of lean ground; and a plethora of spices. One and a bit of the two bottles of chocolate stout made it into the pot, as did two cups of freshly brewed coffee and two squares of unsweetened baker’s chocolate. There’s a reason the base for this recipe (which I have modified greatly over the years), is known online as “The Best Chili You Will Ever Taste”. (For the record, the glass of wine on the edge of the shot didn’t go into the chili. That was just for me.)

The After Shot

I pulled everything together into the crock pot and started its cycle around 11:30 pm. When I woke in the morning, I had a perfect pot of goodness on my counter. Getting said perfect pot of goodness from the counter to the office across the city… this was going to be fun. MacGyver style, I taped the lid on, wrapped the whole thing in a bath towel, secured it all with heavy duty elastic bands, and away we went.

It didn’t take long for the smell to permeate the whole office. By lunchtime, all of us were tortured by the aroma calling to us from the kitchen. I knew the boys in the office had some mean appetites, but I honestly believed that I’d be packing up “to go” containers to get rid of the leftovers. Not so. I think just about everyone went back for seconds, and all I had to carry home was an empty crock pot.

Adding the $10 bowls to the other fundraising we did during our 2009 campaign, Hot Tomali raised more than $1,600 for United Way of the Lower Mainland. Knowing that such a small effort from me could make such a difference was heartwarming. Wait, maybe that warm feeling was just from the chili. At any rate, I’m currently trying to come up with excuses reasons to feed the team more often. Any ideas?

The dish is categorized as “Central American”. I was married in the small Central American country of Belize. The dish is also categorized as “Caribbean”. Our Account Director, David, was raised in the small Caribbean nation of Dominica. This is a nicey-spicy meatball. Part of Hot Tomali’s name comes from the owners’ (Tom & Ali) love for spicy food. It’s a pork tenderloin recipe. I’m willing to bet that 92% of Hot Tomali’s staff will giggle at the mention of the word “tenderloin”. I’m also fairly certain that 92% of Hot Tomali’s staff would not be able to walk into a vegetable store and knowingly purchase a napa cabbage. Look at the photo and ingredients list. Playful, creative, a little bit edgy and curious, delivered with perfect execution. Sounds familiar.

I’ve long trolled Epicurious.com, among other sites, for new recipes and inspirations. Only once have I ever produced a meal that required a phone call for pizza delivery (sad but true). But about two weeks ago, I stumbled across this recipe for an Island Pork Tenderloin Salad that was out-of-this-world amazing. Even my little sister, who has just begun culinary school yet never cooked with a jalapeno pepper, was blown away.

I recommend that you make the pork and the vinaigrette as written first, and then adjust as you see fit when (because you will!) make it again. Tonight I cut back on the cinnamon because I found it a bit overpowering the first time I made this. The salad itself is pretty versatile and you can mix and match to your heart’s content. I used an herbed spring mix instead of spinach and cabbage because I had a huge bag of it. I skipped avocados because neither my husband nor I really like them, and I tossed in slivered almonds because they’re nutritious and delicious. The vinaigrette is amazing and I’m planning to keep a batch in my fridge always because it’s just that good.

Bottom line: Try this dish. Try it now.

We are excited to inform you that two of our employees have signed up to participate in the Ride to Conquer Cancer to benefit the B.C. Cancer Foundation. The 200 km ride from Vancouver to Seattle takes place on June 20-21, 2009. Our involvement in this event is largely driven by stories close to us.

We want to celebrate our journey with you by inviting you to join us for a fundraising party on Thursday, June 18, 2009 @ 5:30 pm at the Railway Club 579 Dunsmuir (at Seymour) http://www.therailwayclub.com Let’s have dinner together in our own private Chill Lounge, socialize, listen to live music, and win great prizes in our raffle! All money raised goes directly to the B.C. Cancer Foundation, which is committed to raising funds to reduce the incidence of cancer, the mortality rate from cancer, and improve the quality of life for those who live with cancer. Your support will help thousands of people, including those Hot Tomali family members, directly affected by this terrible disease.

Admission is only $25.00. Tickets are on sale now! Contact Sabrina at sabrina@hottomali.com or call 604.893.8347. If you can’t make it to our fundraiser, but would still like to do your part, please make an online donation @ www.conquercancer.ca (Click on one of our team members’ names or download a donation form)

We look forward to sharing our journey with you!

Through our fundraising efforts, such as the Fundraiser Party at Doolin’s, our Muffin Monday Breakfast, and of course everyone’s generous donations, we collected an unbelievable $2,160.00! That’s almost $1,000.00 more than last year!

With the contributions, United Way will be able to work together with numerous community partners, including the following:

411 Seniors Centre
BC Cancer Foundation
BC Children’s Hospital
AIDS Vancouver
Big Brothers & Sisters
Crisis Intervention & Suicide Prevention Centre of BC
Volunteer Vancouver

While United Way is best known as an organization providing stable funding for programs and services offered by Member Agencies, it also invests in projects that focus on prevention and early intervention of issues that lead to social problems.

Thank you to everyone who took part in Hot Tomali’s 2008 United Way Campaign.

Hot Tomali is looking forward to next year’s campaign.

United Way has a 75-year history of helping people in the Lower Mainland. It supports the delivery of more than 400 programs and services that help people find their way. Each year, Hot Tomali is committed to United Way’s cause to improve the quality of life of those in the Lower Mainland. This year will be no different.

Hot Tomali’s annual fundraising campaign will take place from September 8–11, 2008. There will be contests and draws. Watch for more information coming shortly.

Please inform all your friends. We encourage everyone’s participation in our Employee Campaign to make this year a Gold Success!

Let’s celebrate in the name of United Way and help make a difference.

For tickets call Sabrina at 604.893.8347 or email sabrina@hottomali.com

Thanks for your support!

It was an ugly Christmas sweater party, and we had scored some awesome sweaters at Value Village to distribute to those unfortunate souls who were lacking in the ugly sweater department.

We offered an international buffet — to correspond with our multicultural team — with various snacks from England, Scotland, China, Japan, Germany and Mexico.

Our office was shining with pretty Christmas decorations and our staff were dressed up in our ugliest sweaters. We all decided the winner of the contest for the ugliest outfit was client Ryan Oughtred! He showed up in checkered pants, combined with a Christmas vest and blinking cap, saying “Ho ho ho”. Thomas’s Santa boots were definitely an eye-catcher, though.

The secret drink on this night was “Lumumba”, a specialty from Germany made of hot chocolate and rum, which put everybody in a good mood.

The ugly sweaters were given to charity after the event.

This year Hot Tomali’s annual United Way fundraising campaign took place from October 3–4, 2007. Through three fundraising events and generous donations, we collected a whopping $1,320.00. That’s $100 more than last year.

We started our Kick-off day with a small come together in our office to see the United Way movie and introduce our staff to the United Way details. Afterwards we had an office Bingo, were everybody participated.

The following day at noon we set up our green for a Minigolf Tournament in the lobby of our building. In this competition were great prizes to win such as gift certificates from Browns or a Spa package from Absolut Spa. And whoever didn’t wanted to play Golf, could buy a 50/50 Draw ticket and had the chance to win lots of cash. The jackpot was around $200.

The final event was at night the fundraiser party at the Doolin’s Irish Pub. We all got together and were celebrating in the name of United Way.

Like every year we got great support from a United Way loan representative, who helped with the organization before and during the events.

The whole campaign was not only lots of fun, it also brought people in our community together to support others. United Way invests the money where our community needs it most to change lives and offer a bright future for the people at the heart of the Lower Mainland.

Thank you to everyone who took part in the United Way Campaign 2007.

Hot Tomali is looking forward to next years campaign!