Tag Archives: Community

100 In 1 Day – Global Festival of Civic Engagement Comes to Vancouver June 6th

4 Jun

100In1DayYVR100 in 1 Day is happening in Vancouver this Saturday, June 6th. The idea is to bring hundreds of people together on ONE day and each take one small action to improve their city. This is in fact a global festival of civic engagement returning to Metro Vancouver for its second year.  Organizers are encouraging small initiatives to spark change. Everyone is invited to come out and participate. And really, the beginning of any journey, just takes that first step, then another and so on.  We’ve set out a listing of the events happening in East Vancouver, but if you’d like to see the full listing of events, visit 100 In 1 Day Vancouver.

ProVibers People’s Picnic – Victoria Park

This event is hosted by the ProVibers. They would like to see a happy and more connected Vancouver so they are hosting a community potluck in Victoria Park from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm on Saturday, June 6th.   You are invited to bring food for the potluck, music, games and an openness to meet new people. Their aim is to build community connections in our neighbourhood.

Britannia School Garden Salad Picnic – Britannia School Garden

This event is hosted by the Grandview Woodland Food Connection. Organizers of this event would like people to experience the magic of eating fresh healthy food picked straight from the garden. Organizers invite community residents to come and enjoy the simplicity of eating a freshly picked salad together.  The site is the beautiful Britannia School Garden which is abundant with fresh greens. You will pick veggies for a salad, prepare a healthy salad dressing and savor the taste of eating a fresh salad. While doing this, you will  meet people in your community who are passionate about urban sustainability.  This event begins at 1:00 pm and runs till 3:00 pm on June 6th.  All you need bring if you wish, is a picnic blanket, the rest is provided.

Stories of East Van – Cedar Cottage Neighbourhood House

This event is hosted by Christine Nguyen and Eimon Yin. They are looking to connect spaces and people in the Kensington-Cedar Cottage community.  They will be hosting a one hour walking tour highlight the diversity of history, culture and interesting stories that abound in the very places we live and play but often forget to appreciate. There will be two tours offered. One begins in front of Cedar Cottage Neighbourhood House at 9:00 am.  The second tour starts at the SouthEast corner of East Broadway & Victoria Drive at 10:30 a.m. As each tour has limited spaces available, you are asked to sign up at Eventbrite.

Love and Letters in the Library Lounge – Kensington Library

This event is hosted by Sarah Green. What do you love about your city, community or neighbours? You are invited to come hang out  and through conversation or typewritten notes share information about your community.  At this event, you will be seated in a mini-lounge where people can come and relax, sit for a moment and maybe meet a neighbor. You will be invited to use a typewriter or write a short love note about your current or future community.  Sarah hopes to highlight where people find value in their surroundings, build connections and share information.

“Every journey starts with a single step.” – Confucius

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You Can Be A Maker With Vancouver Tool Library In East Van

1 Jun

VancouverToolLibraryToday we’d like to introduce you to another exhibitor at the Vancouver Mini Maker Faire. This one hails from the heart of East Vancouver.  The Vancouver Tool Library is a cooperative tool lending library located at 3448 Commercial Street. This a membership driven co-operative that lends a wide variety of tools for home repair, gardening, and bicycle maintenance much like your local library. They also offer affordable workshops on tool related skills and projects including a monthly Introduction to Tools Workshop.   This is an organization that is committed to building vibrant spaces that reflect a commitment to sustainability and at the same time create a community resource that will reduce the costs of improving and greening the places in which we live, work, and play.

Vancouver Tool Library will be participating in this year’s Mini Maker Faire at the PNE Forum on June 6th & 7th. They will be holding workshops over the course of the weekend making none other than holders for growlers. Which we think is rather fitting in that A) East Vancouver is now affectionately being called ‘Yeast Van’ for the number of craft breweries located in a small area and 2) Vancouver Craft Beer Week Festival will be taking place outdoor on the PNE Fair Grounds the very same weekend.  Perfect fit we think.

Various members/volunteers from the Vancouver Tool Library will be on hand as well to answer questions about their co-operative, tools they have available and yes new members are always welcome. Feel free to ask one of their members for more information when attending the Vancouver Mini Maker Faire. We certainly will be. As an added bonus, for those that sign up to be a member during the Vancouver Mini Maker Faire, you will have the opportunity to win 1 of 6 2L growlers from Strange Fellows Brewing. Your newly made growler holder will hold two 2L growlers.  Pretty good incentive to sign up we think.  If you can’t attend the Mini Maker Faire but wish to learn more about becoming a member, you can email them directly at info@vancouvertoollibrary.com.

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City of Vancouver’s Keep Vancouver Spectacular Campaign This May

21 Apr

KVSLogo20YearsSpring is officially here which also means the return of the City’s annual clean up campaign called “Keep Vancouver Spectacular” that takes place each May. This initiative began in 1996 and is now in its 20th year and was a co-ordinated  effort between the City of Vancouver, Tourism Vancouver and Oceans Blue Foundation. It has evolved with a variety of sponsors over the years. People get together individually or in groups to clean up their neighbourhood streets, lanes, parks and shorelines. The City of Vancouver supplies the tools which include:

• Garbage bags
• Gloves, cleanup tools (tongs)
• Free pickup of litter collected

As a past Block Captain, there is satisfaction in everything looking green and clean in your neighbourhood. It is amazing how much garbage can be picked up with a small group of people. It is rather simple if you are the one doing the organizing. You simply go online fill out the registration form. After that, the City delivers you the requested items. Enlist a few volunteers. Designate a location that everyone in your group returns the garbage to. The City will pick up the collected garbage from that designated spot. The time commitment is what you make it, but generally 1 to 2 hours is the average. If neighbours need a little encouragement to participate, truth be told, I have enticed a few neighbours with fresh coffee and baked goodies. Organizing a clean up in your neighbourhood is a great way to get to know your neighbours and build some community.

If you would like to learn more about becoming a Block Captain, the City of Vancouver provides a Block Captain Manual which is fairly straightforward and available to download online.

Did you know, in 2012, 16,400 volunteers in 180 groups came together to fill more than 6,000 bags with litter.  Remember though if at any time you see items illegally dumped, you can contact the City at 311 or email them to request the item(s) be picked up. Will you help keep the City looking spectacular?

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Apply For A Neighbourhood Small Grant To Help Build Community

11 Mar

NeighbourhoodSmallGrant2015

Would you like to make your community a better place? If yes, consider applying for a Neighbourhood Small Grant. If you have not heard about this program, it is worth looking into. Speaking from past experience this program is a great way to get to know your neighbours and build community. You can apply for grants from $50 to $1,000 for projects in your neighbourhood. The aim of the program, which is funded by the Vancouver Foundation, is to connect and engage people within the community in which they live. Neighbours can get together and make an application for a variety of events. Some examples of past events include neighbourhood block parties, clean up campaigns, ethnic cooking classes, emergency preparedness plans, community gardens and an outdoor movie night. This is not for adults only, kids are welcome to get into the act. One could do something nice for seniors in your community and it could be something simple as hosting a tea. The ideas are only limited by your imagination. Once your application is submitted, it is reviewed by a Resident Advisory Committee made up of residents in your neighbourhood. Applicants are advised in late May/early June if they receive funding and are usually asked to have their projects completed by November 30th. The program is available to anyone living in Vancouver. To apply for a grant, visit Neighbourhood Small Grant. Application deadline is Wednesday March 31, 2015.

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Keep Vancouver Spectacular Clean Up Campaign May 2014

21 Apr

KVSSouthHill#1Every Spring, the City of Vancouver, puts on a city-wide clean up campaign called “Keep Vancouver Spectacular” during the month of May.  This initiative began in 1996 and was a co-orindated effort between the City of Vancouver, Tourism Vancouver and Oceans Blue Foundation. It has evolved with a variety of sponsors over the years. People get together individually or in groups to clean up their neighbourhood streets, lanes, parks and shorelines. The City of Vancouver supplies the tools which include:

• Garbage bags
• Gloves, cleanup tools (tongs)
• Free pickup of litter collected

As a past Block Captain, there is satisfaction in everything looking green and clean in your neighbourhood. It is amazing how much garbage can be picked up with a small group of people. It is rather simple if you are the one doing the organizing. You simply go online fill out the registration form. After that, the City delivers you the requested items. Enlist a few volunteers. Designate a location that everyone in your group returns the garbage to. The City will pick up the collected garbage from that designated spot. The time commitment is what you make it, but generally 1 to 2 hours is the average. If neighbours need a little encouragement to participate, truth be told, I have enticed a few neighbours with fresh coffee and baked goodies. This event is a great way to build community and get to know your neighbours and of course everything looks so green and clean afterwards.

If you would like to learn more about becoming a Block Captain, the City of Vancouver provides a Block Captain Manual which is fairly straightforward and available to download online.

Did you know, in 2012, 16,400 volunteers in 180 groups came together to fill more than 6,000 bags with litter. Now that’s truly spectacular!

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Neighbourhood Small Grants Applications Now Available Until April 7, 2014

12 Mar

NeighbourhoodSmallGrants2014

Would you like to make your community a better place? If yes, consider applying for a Neighbourhood Small Grant.  If you have not heard about this program, it is worth looking into. Speaking from past experience this program is a great way to get to know your neighbours and build community.  You can apply for grants from $50 to $500 for projects in your neighbourhood. The aim of the program, which is funded by the Vancouver Foundation, is to connect and engage people within the community in which they live.  Neighbours can get together and make an application for a variety of events. Some examples of past events include neighbourhood block parties, clean up campaigns, ethnic cooking classes, emergency preparedness plans, community gardens and an outdoor movie night.   The ideas are only limited by your imagination.  Once your application is submitted, it is reviewed by a Resident Advisory Committee made up of residents in your neighbourhood. Applicants are advised in late May/early June if they receive funding and are usually asked to have their projects completed by November 30th.   In East Vancouver, the program is available in the following areas:

Vancouver: Mount Pleasant, Little Mountain

Areas: Mount Pleasant, Olympic Village, Riley Park

•Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House

•Little Mountain Neighbourhood House

Program Coordinators: Jenna Wray, info@nsgproject.com and Olga Cherbina, olga@scherbina.com

Vancouver: South Vancouver-Collingwood

Areas: Renfrew-Collingwood, Renfrew Heights, Victoria-Fraserview, , Killarney, Champlain Heights and Sunset

•South Vancouver Neighbourhood House

•Collingwood Neighbourhood House

Program Coordinator: Sheri Parke, sparke01@shaw.ca

Vancouver: Cedar Cottage, Hastings-Sunrise – Renfrew

Areas: Hastings-Sunrise, Kensington-Cedar Cottage, Grandview Woodland, Renfrew Heights

•Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House

•Kiwassa Neighbourhood House

•Cedar Cottage Neighbourhood House

Program Coordinator: Danielle Gauld, nsg.east@gmail.com

Vancouver:  Strathcona – Ray-Cam

Areas: Downtown Eastside, Strathcona, Ray-Cam

Program Coordinator: Roberta Robertson, roberta.nsgp@gmail.com

•Carnegie Community Centre

•Strathcona Community Centre

•Ray-Cam Community Centre

If you would like to get further information, contact the Program Co-ordinator in your area. Deadline for applications is Monday, April 7, 2014.  Applications can be made on on-line at the Vancouver Foundation Neighbourhood Grants Program’s site.

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Want to Make Your Community A Better Place?

13 Mar

NeighbourhoodSmallGrantsFlyerIf you would like to make your community a better place, consider applying for a Neighbourhood Small Grant.  If you have not heard about this program, it is worth looking into.  You can apply for grants from $50 to $500 for projects in your neighbourhood. The aim of the program, which is funded by the Vancouver Foundation,  is to connect and engage people within the community in which they live.  Neighbours can get together and make an application for a variety of events. Some examples of past events include neighbourhood block parties, clean up campaigns, ethnic cooking classes, emergency preparedness plans, community gardens and an outdoor movie night.   The ideas are only limited by your imagination.  Once your application is submitted, it is reviewed by a Resident Advisory Committee made up of residents in your neighbourhood. Applicants are advised by May 1st if they receive funding and are asked to have their projects completed by November 30th.   In East Vancouver, the program is available in the following 4 areas:

Carnegie, Strathcona, Ray-Cam
Cedar Cottage, Kensington, Hastings-Sunrise
Mount Pleasant, Little Mountain
South Vancouver, Collingwood

Deadline for applications is March 31st.  Applications can be made on on-line at the Neighbourhood Grants Program.

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