CHANGE A LIFE
Close your eyes and imagine your community. What do you love about it? What makes it unique? What is one thing you would add to make it better for everyone? At United Way, we love to see the deep and lasting impact local initiatives can have on our communities. Local projects like Avenues of Change, empower
Too often the greatest problems in our community are the ones we sometimes don’t see. The senior trapped in their home due to mobility and access issues. The young child who sits too quietly at the edge of the playground instead of playing. The kids who don’t know where to go when the school bell
Every day we see how unignorable issues can negatively impact our communities. Here in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley, child vulnerability is an unignorable issue. Almost 1 in 10 local kids say that they don’t think a single adult cares about them. Without adequate supports, vulnerable youth are at risk of negative behaviours, including
This weekend, Vancouver’s tech community logged out of their computers and logged in to nature, taking part in Tech Grind with United Way. Now in its third year, this competition takes teams up Grouse Mountain – all 2,830 steps, 2.9 km and 853 meters in elevation. As they raced against each other, participants also competed to
On Sunday, September 23rd, the 5th Annual UPS Plane Pull reached peak cruising altitude, taking-off and landing in style. Eighteen teams competed at UPS’s hangar at YVR, raising $30,000 for children and youth across our communities. Teams tested their strength by pulling a Boeing 757 jet across the tarmac – no small feat considering it weighs about 127,000 lbs! Pulling for change As a fundraiser, as
On September 20, 2018, residents from across the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley celebrated United Way Day by showing us something we’ve known all along: that they’re one in a million! In recognition of this fact, we formally launched an ambitious new goal: to inspire 1 million people to engage in acts of local love,
For three straight hours on Wednesday, September 12, locals “paid it forward” in a Gastown coffee shop, buying a coffee for the person behind them. In total, 140 people participated in a continuous, unbroken chain, buying the coffee for the person behind them when they learned theirs had been gifted by a stranger. The generous
“The long weekend in September.” “The last, big hurrah before going back to school.” “Your last chance to wear white this season.” There are many ways to think about Labour Day. Unfortunately, they are often far-removed from the day’s origins and the outstanding achievements of the Canadian labour movement – principally, its commitment to building
Sometimes it takes the worst in community to showcase its very best. Earlier this year, there was a local outcry when vandals torched the Little Library at Wellington Park in Port Coquitlam. Amber Gregory is the Community Connector with United Way Avenues of Change Coquitlam River. She is a long-time Port Coquitlam resident and a
What do you get when you combine a beautiful rooftop patio, over 200 local millennials and a shared passion for community? The hottest (and coolest) party in town! Last night, GenNext at United Way British Columbia hosted their 3rd Annual Impact Red: Rooftop Social. Held at event sponsor RBC Dominion Securities’ stunning rooftop deck at
Trisha Dulku is passionate about empowering the community she calls home. As the Community Projects Coordinator with Simon Fraser University’s (SFU) Surrey Campus, she works with students, faculty and staff to help organize and execute community-focused initiatives that support local newcomers and youth. Building community What inspires Trisha? The opportunity for positive change she sees
What makes a community? Is it knowing your neighbour? A shared love for a local sports team? For many, a community means advocating for and supporting each other; it’s creating a shared sense of belonging, no matter who you are or where you’re from. So much of our community relies on connection. As human beings,
The weather forecast for the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley this summer can be summed up in one word: HOT. Our communities are in for a hot and dry July and August, with very similar temperatures and weather to what we experienced last year. As we head into a prolonged hot spell, it is important
The next time you’re riding the bus, take a moment to look at your fellow riders. You may even recognize a few: maybe the passenger who has a similar work commute or someone who shares your stop. Now, take a moment to ask yourself: who is missing from this picture? A seat for everyone Viveca
On June 19, United Way British Columbia held its 88th Annual General Meeting. The afternoon was an opportunity to celebrate our history and share the vision articulated in our recently-adopted strategic plan. In addition to highlighting our community impact from the past year, attendees welcomed new board members, thanked retiring members, and recognized longtime partners.
“What do we have, if we don’t have a connection? We have only ourselves,” says Marlene, a Seniors Community Connector, who helps other seniors access life-changing programming in her East Vancouver neighbourhood. She believes that everyone, no matter their age, should be connected to local home care and transportation services, as well as community-building activities,
When her husband passed away eight years ago, Olive Jean moved to Mission to be closer to her family. Being near her son has helped her. “But I knew from the beginning he could not be the only thing [to help me],” she says. For Olive Jean, spending time in her community, staying active and
Millennials these day get a bad rap. Like many younger generations before them, they’re often unfairly lumped together and stereotyped. But you don’t have to go far to find countless examples of millennials who are passionate about bettering our community, and who work every day to build better, safer and more empowered spaces for us
Food is a powerful community-builder. It brings people together, bridging cultural and generational divides. It shapes our understanding of the world. “Food is about dignity,” says Kevin Huang, co-founder of the Hua Foundation, a youth-driven non-profit organization based in Vancouver’s Chinatown. “Food keeps us alive. It connects us socially and culturally to our families and
LafargeHolcim believes in building great communities. As the world’s largest building materials company, it supplies essential product – concrete, asphalt, cement – to job sites across the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley. Besides the physical construction of many civic, commercial, and residential structures used throughout our community, Lafarge offers innovative products and building solutions with