Tag Archives: Community Project

Neighbourhood Small Grant Applications Are Now Being Accepted Until April 18, 2024

7 Apr

The Neigbourhood Small Grant program is back for 2024.  The foundation of this program is connecting people within their own communities.  The premise of the program is fairly simple – the best people to affect change in a community, are those that live within it. When money is less of an issue, it allows more ideas to flow.  This is where the grants come in. The Neighbourhood Small Grants program allows you to apply for up to $500 for your idea to connect your community.

What have other people done?   A few ideas include book exchanges, clothing swaps, cooking classes, creating benches and community gardens.  Some other ideas include creating small care packages for seniors with a few spring flowers and crossword puzzles and/or word search games.  For young children, creating a scavenger hunt in a park with prizes or rock painting. People have also created art cards for seniors in long term care. Connection is the key and the ideas are only limited by your imagination and, of course, the $500 budget. Want more ideas or thinking about applying? We invite you to visit Neighbourhood Small Grants for more information and ideas on what others have done with their Neighbourhood Small Grant.

The basic principles of the Neighbourhood Small Grants Program:

  1. Small is beautiful. Small ideas are beautiful and manageable.
  2. Everyone has something to offer. Whether you can teach a skill or give some tips, or provide a service. We all have something valuable to share.
  3. It’s your project. You create how you want it to look and feel.
  4. Create your chosen family.  A platform to help build networks within your community.

Applications are now open until April 18, 2024.   Applications may be accepted for a second cycle in the Fall depending on whether funds are still available. This is a great opportunity to create something memorable for your community.

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Senseless Vandalism Breaks The Spirit of Children In South Hill

19 Aug

BeesTennisCourt

A story came to our attention recently we wanted to share.  East Vancouver has many great pockets of community minded folk. There are so many residents that give of their time to build a better community and make people feel a part of their community and instill pride in what they call home.  Our hats go off to these individuals, as there time and effort is appreciated.  Recently, we received a note from a community organizer in South Hill that gave us pause.  On Canada Day, South Hill Neighbours hosted a great community event at MacDonald Park that included a potluck dinner and had the neighbourhood kids paint bright wooden bee cutouts to hang on the tennis court fence of the park.  The aim was to remind everyone of the great work these flying pollinators do in the local parks.

But after Canada Day, something strange, sad and unexpected happened. July 7th ALL the bees and a pathway information sign that was posted was not only removed but ripped to shreds and thrown in the garbage. To add insult to injury, someone left a sidewalk chalk message in the tennis court entry saying “bees suck!” Neighbours sadly pulled the bees from the garbage and remounted them.

Then later in July neighbours noticed that someone had been removing several bees at a time and again throwing them in the garbage. One mother retrieved 11 bees from the park garbage bin, but couldn’t account for 12 missing bees, since the garbage had been emptied.  We learnt there was a young girl in tears looking for her missing bee that she had painted and a number of other kids were equally as upset. This painting project brought neighbourhood children so much joy and pride in being able to share their work for others to see. It was heartbreaking for South Hill residents to see their community efforts destroyed. For the idiots that participated in this senseless vandalism not once but repeatedly, you made young children cry! Who does this and why? 

BeesPleaseLeave

 

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