This letter is from Mark Erwin who was the organizer of the boxing event and 50/50 draw in support of Karri’s scholarship fund

I know this is tough, although I could never pretend to know just how tough it is…Please remember this…The two of you have done what many people have failed at….And that was to have raised a young man that absolutely was a “stellar” human being and most certainly touched evryone who knew him and 100% loved by all. At such a young age, Karri became a role model and not just for the younger crowd…I’m positive his influences were heavily weighed with his elders and those who knew him intimately. It’s through our children’s eyes and wisdom where we learn the most…I personally can tell you through my daughter…she has taught me the meaning of tolerance, because of her…I am a much better human being…Tyler’s mild demeanor and kindness has me yearning to have some of his finer qualities. Both of these kids are deeply affected by this string of events and tragedy….However, something has become perfectly clear to us as a family…We have become closer and everyone who knew Karri have come together to become simply….”better people” [Read more…]

My dad, step-mom, brother and sister recently moved from Toronto to Calgary. Everyone seems to be adjusting to the move well except for my little sister. She is fourteen and just starting grade ten and her new high school is very different from her old one. It’s been hard for her to make friends and she feels pretty lonely at school and when she comes home. I decided to fly out and visit my family last week before I started school here in Ontario. I wrote my sister encouraging notes and gave her little gifts throughout the week. One night we went on a long walk and talked as we watched the sunset over the Rocky Mountains. She told me how she doesn’t feel like she fits in at school and it made me sad for her. I comforted her, told her many stories and emailed her this picture after I left telling her not to be afraid to be herself.

It was an amazing time together and I really hope my sister’s week was better because of it. Mine sure was.

Emma Furfaro

This weekend my family and I were treated to a a ringside table at a boxing event. The organizers Kevin Lyon and Michael Simon held a 50-50-draw 1/2 of the draw to be given to the Karri Oksanen Scholarship fund. the Karri Oksanen Humanitarian award will be awarded to a John F. Ross student each year.The draw was won by the main event winner Logan McGuinness’s
mother. At the last minute she read where the proceeds were to go and bought a ticket. She won $750 and having a true Karri hour experience, donated back the funds.

What a wonderful person.

Grandpa & Grandma

I have thought long and hard on how to really use my Karri Hour to make a difference, I wanted to do something to make Karri proud. In honour of Karri Hour I have gathered a few of my classmates and friends to do a food drive. We will be collecting food items around the community and the city of Ottawa. Our goal is to fill a school bus full of food to be able to give to the food bank in order to help them supply families with Thanksgiving dinner. Many people rely on the food banks around the city and we figured that Thanksgiving is usually a sad and hard time for people so we wanted to give back. I will post another Karri Hour Story when we fully complete this goal. We also intend to do a coat and boot drive closer to winter for kids and adults around the city who go without a coat during our freezing Canadian months. Karri hour is something I plan to live by, Karri was an amazing man who taught me that being self-less took you further than being selfish. Thank you Karri for helping us all build the love and kindness in our hearts. I know you will be proud of all the good we are doing in honour of you.

We miss you everyday.

Kelsey Scott

when I went to pick up our two boys from school today, I could see a mother was very upset about seeing her child crying when their eyes met ( he is in JK ) so all I could think of doing was trying to talk to her, and let her know that it is a common thing for children this young to cry when missing their mommy. We talked for a good 1/2hr about our boys being in the same class, and how great of school it is! (then all of a sudden I remembered Karri hour) so tomorrow the boys and I are going to go early to school and meet them on the playground for some much needed boy time and some mommy talk! – It makes me feel happy to write about this, even though it does not seem like a big deal it is for her.

Sarah Rimmington

Just a short story. My son has started playing Middle School Football this year and the games are Wednesdays after school. Two of the games are at 6:15 and they asked parents to give money so that they can feed the boys first. They also mentioned that if you can give any more than the requested amount it would be appreciated as some families have little extra cash to go around. I immediately thought of Karri and how much sports meant to him – so in his spirit a couple extra kids won’t have to worry about dinner.

Heidi Johnson

Nicholas and I helped save sea turtle hatchlings from light disorientation on the beach of Isle of Palms, SC.

Tee Johannes

I have recently left Guelph again to move to Toronto for school. I shared Karri’s story with my roommate from Boston and explained the concept of Karri Hour to her. Since then we have both been trying to take little opportunities to help others in any small way that we can.

So far we have have offered our subway and bus seats multiple times to people who needed them more than us whether it be from old age, or just because they had more to carry. Once, while walking to the beach by our place, there was a family on a bike ride going down a very steep hill. The young boy in the family was having a lot of difficulty riding in the busy area and got off his bike leaving it with his mother while he ran ahead. We noticed her struggling having to walk her own bike, let alone her sons, so we offered a hand and carried the boys bike for her until he was comfortable with riding it again. Finally, while getting off the subway, we noticed a mother and son that were very confused and unsure of how to get to their destination, as they were from out of town. We walked them to where they needed to go and talked to them, getting to know them better. Coincidentally, they ended up being from Guelph, so we bonded a little over that and sent them on their way!

We will continue to jump at these small opportunities in honour of Karri and are very excited for the necklaces to be available so we can wear them and explain Karri Hour to anyone willing to listen 🙂

Marissa Beattie

(Editor’s note: This was the 4th Karri Hour story received yesterday)
I can’t say this is a story of my efforts within the community; however I’m hoping after you read this, at least one of you can say it touched your heart. As a young girl, I was inspired by my amazing aunt to believe in angels. She told me that angels watch over us and are there to protect the ones we love. She would tell me that it was important to send the angels to those who needed them most, and at the time I never really understood the concept. What stuck with me over the years was what she said was “the sign” of angels. She told me that whenever you see three 4’s in a row, it is a sign that an angel is with you. These “444’s” may be seen on the clock, in a phone number, or on a receipt- truly anywhere. On August 12th 2012, I noticed that when I stopped my car in the driveway after work, the last three numbers on my odometer read “444”. I smiled, remembering the golden rule of the triple 4, and I knew who was with me – Karri. The next 444 I saw was 2 days later when I looked at the time and saw 4:44 on the clock. Again, I knew who was with me – Karri. I can truthfully say that during the last 4 weeks, I have seen my triple 4 almost every single day. Today, in fact, I was lucky enough to see 444 on 3 different accounts – one on a license plate, one in the grocery store, and one on the clock.

Not everybody will believe what I believe, but I know I’m getting a big bright smile from Karri every time I see that sign of my angels. He is not only one of my angels, but you should all know he is one of your angels too. So the next time one of you comes across the triple 4, remember to smile back at Karri and know that he is with you. While the rest of the angels up above picked our brilliant guy to join their
team, we can all be assured that as with any team, he still has our backs, and in this game of life, Karri will always be our angel in the outfield.

Claire Shaw

I’m writing this Karri-hour post on behalf of a friend – someone who didn’t know Karri, but if he had, I feel like they would have been great friends. I was on the receiving end of this Karri-hour. I go to school in St. Catharines, which is great most of the time but sometimes is just too far away from home and the people there. The other night I was out downtown and ran into a friend from Guelph who had reached out to me and offered kind words this past month. We chatted for a bit and this brought back a wave of emotions, but I kept it together. Later that night I found myself alone, trying to get a hold of a roommate I couldn’t find when I ran into a classmate I hadn’t seen since the previous year. I guess he could tell I was struggling because he said, “ok let’s go. I hate seeing people upset so by the end of the night you’re going to be smiling”. We
then proceeded onto phase 1 of the adventure: Smoke’s Poutine, which we ate in Pizza Pizza just to be different. After that he led the way to an Ale House where the bartender chose a house beer for us and we listened to live music and chatted with different groups of local people who, to be honest I wouldn’t have paid any attention to otherwise: a mother of 4 out for a beer at her favourite bar after a stressful week, a highschool teacher unwinding after his first week back etc. From here, we started to walk to a nearby park to see the stars clearly – all the while having the most hilarious conversation with a 3rd friend we picked up along the way (they talked, I listened and laughed just enjoying the moment). In the park, my friend hid a loonie in a crack in a fence post, just barely visible, because he said it would make someone else’s day when they found it. We left the park after seeing the stars and I headed home with a huge smile on my face.

I wanted to share this story, because as I was having an off night, someone lifted me up. This was someone who could have easily just passed by with a simple hello, but stopped to see how I was doing and then proceeded to take over an hour out of his night to cheer me up. It was a genuine act of kindness that I will soon be paying
forward.

Emma Porter