CHANGE A LIFE
According to new research released today by United Way British Columbia, almost half (46%) of British Columbians say they sometimes feel lonely – but there is an upside. The same poll also found that giving back as part of a group, whether you donate time or money, makes us feel better than doing it alone.
The Vancouver tech community gathered this past Sunday to hack the Grouse Grind, taking part in the 4th annual United Way Tech Grind presented by McMillan LLP. Teams raced to the top of Grouse Mountain – all 2,830 steps, 2.9 km and 853 meters in elevation – all while raising funds for United Way’s School’s
Who doesn’t love a block party? They’re fun, simple, inexpensive, and a great way to get to know your neighbours! That’s precisely why residents of the Clayton Heights neighbourhood in Surrey took to the streets this weekend, for the area’s first Block Party Day. The more the merrier What helped make this weekend such a
Have you ever heard of “community care?” Earlier this year, an article on Mashable.com made waves among progressive do-gooders and community builders. In it, author Heather Dockray makes the provocative case that when trying to overcome burnout, relying on self-care may not be as helpful as it seems. She advocates for community care instead. What is community
Periods are a fact of life. Monthly menstruation products are a necessity. Sadly, across the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley, too many people can’t afford them. These include young girls and single mothers; newcomers and refugees, who face added levels of stigma; and trans and gender non-conforming folks, for whom this can be a compounding
Show your local love in 2019 with your own Acts of Local Love calendar! Download your own copy of the 2019 Acts of Local Love calendar here. And don’t forget to let us know! Share your love and sign up to be 1 in a million here.
Sometimes it can feel like the world has gone to the dogs. It can be hard to recognize all of the ways in which our communities shine. Whether it be through programs that support our most vulnerable, neighbours who take care of each other, or individuals who tackle unignorable social issues – local love is
What defines ‘community’? Is it the people in our neighbourhoods? Our colleagues and teammates? What about our family and friends? Any way you choose to define it, a community can be as diverse and unique as the people who call it home. There are also times when we find and build community unexpectedly: by trying
Gavin Clark wants to challenge the kinds of conversations we have about teenagers and youth. As the Community Schools Coordinator at Templeton Secondary School in East Vancouver, Gavin sees firsthand how engaged and passionate his students are about civic issues that matter to them. It’s a far cry from the stereotypes often reinforced by media,
Connecting youth and seniors Did you know that across the Lower Mainland 25,000+ local seniors say they have nobody to talk to? Unfortunately, the risks are real: loneliness can be just as dangerous to a senior’s health as smoking. The leadership students at Clayton Heights Secondary are helping tackle the unignorable issue of isolation by creating positive
Think of the person who has changed your life for the better. How did they help? What did they do to make a difference? Whether it be a parent, friend or mentor, it’s imperative to have that one person – the person you can count on, no matter what. Across the Lower Mainland and Fraser
If generosity had a holiday, it would be Giving Tuesday. After we shop our hearts out on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday encourages us to give from the heart as well. But we know people in our own neighbourhoods are struggling with unignorable issues, every day. They simply cannot wait until Giving Tuesday
When Jeff Tsai and his family moved to Port Coquitlam 15 years ago, he remembers the city being much different from the lively community it is today. “It was such a sleepy little suburb when we first moved,” he says “but has grown leaps and bounds into a bustling city.” One of the things that
Trinity has lived with her Grandma, Ramona since she was four because her mother and father struggle with addiction. On a typical day after school, nine-year-old Trinity would go home to her Grandma’s. She’d do homework, watch some TV and play with her dog. That changed when she enrolled in a United Way’s School’s Out
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
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