Why People Power Parties? We are the bridge that brings us all together.
Our Bios
Lisa Hanssens
Lisa Hanssens, Founder of People Power Parties, has shared her love for art and crafting with adults and children around the world and now she wants to share it with you. Fun can also have meaning, in fact it makes it even more fun.
“When volunteering abroad, I know my time with them is finite but I can never forget them. So how can I continue to help these women, children and seniors from home. If I can find a way to share their story with people back in Canada, perhaps they would enjoy a moment or two of helping them while crafting for a cause ... and maybe people at home would enjoy staying 'in the know' about how the money is spent and benefiting the charities from the 'boots on the ground' relationships I have built.”
“Crafters can even come along on a virtual shopping trip, visit a shelter and meet the beneficiaries. It's not first hand experience but it's getting close.” Lisa Hanssens
Company Values:
Allison Poutiatine
Meet Allison Poutiatine - She's our “Boots on The Ground” when I can't be there and even when I can. Allison is a tireless volunteer. She fund-raises throughout the year in Mexico for Agua Y Mas and has turned their semi annual camping trip into a time and place to create special memories for both the children and for the snow birds who join in! Allison also grew Clean Up San Carlos from a small group of beach cleaners to a mission that influenced the local government and other environmentalists. Allison is a precious resource to her community and gets thing done! We are very fortunate to have her support.
Allison created a “Maggie's Kids” Facebook Group. You can ask to join to see all the work she does for them: MAGGIE'S KIDS (Guaymas, Sonora)
Astrid Urrutia
Meet Astrid Urrutia - Astrid and her family recently moved from Mexico City to San Carlos, the neighboring town of Guaymas and San Jose. Her strong desire to give back to community lead her to El Cobijo and she has “plugged” in quickly. There are a variety of needs being met by charities in Mexico and Astrid supports many of them. Unfortunately seniors can sometimes be over-looked. Even though Lisa has supported El Cobijo prior to Astrid moving to San Carlos, Astrid is fluent in both English and Spanish and she offers us her sincere heart and skills as a translator. She is a valuable asset to continued efforts and we are fortunate to have her along side us!
Becky, Amy & Judy
Becky sits on the board as Secretary of Seguro Y Sano, Safe & Sound and has been a resident of Guaymas since 1993. She is concerned about the lack of resources in her community and is motivated to support this charity to create much needed change.
Amy holds the position of President, an expat living in San Carlos, she plans to maintain a steadfast platform of supports that will remain a part of the community ongoing.
Judy is the Treasurer for the charity and a survivor of domestic violence. Since discovering her own strength to access resources and save her own life she has been motivated to help as many women and children to either escape a lifetime of fear and violence and or to access safe interventions that help bad relationships become healthy ones.
These ladies are doing the tough work and People Power Parties wants to support them by raising funds to establish long lasting change in Guaymas and beyond.
Shayne & Kayla
Green Okanagan, or GO for short, is a grassroots environmental non-profit organization based in the Okanagan region of British Columbia. Their mandate is to progress sustainability from an individual level as they believe community involvement is the key to creating positive change.
Shayne (left), is the founding Executive Director of GO. She is passionate about being involved in the community and sharing the ins and outs of zero-waste living to inspire others to adapt their lifestyle and reduce their impact. Shayne has a background in communications, community development, as well as stakeholder and Indigenous relations.
Kayla (right) has a background in mechanical engineering and has experience in community waste reduction and project coordination. She is passionate about sustainability, travel and alternative energy and hopes to use her technical background to progress green technology. Kayla is the founding Assistant Director of Green Okanagan.
GO creates positive sustainable change within the Okanagan by creating educational resources, leading community events and hosting hands-on educational workshops. Through their partnership with People Power Parties, Green Okanagan is enabled to grow their resources and offer more sustainability-based events in the Okanagan region.
Shannon
Shannon, the Founder of Mamas for Mamas and proud mom of 2 boys, was recently selected as one of 15 top tech founders nationally through Metabridge, for the innovative use of technology in digitizing poverty relief, mainly by being the first charity born on social media.
Founded in 2015 as a grassroots organization to connect moms and share resources through a Facebook page, Mamas for Mamas has grown into a registered non-profit organization with 20,000 members locally and has encouraged the expansion of over 50 other chapters across Canada. Mamas for Mamas offers poverty relief and mental health services to mothers, caregivers and their children, experiencing varying levels of poverty.
