Chimp a local Vancouver company that empowers people and organizations to manage and amplify their charitable impact.
Used by individuals, groups, companies, and charities, Chimp allows you to host an online account from which you manage donations to your favourite charities or give the gift of a cause neutral charitable contribution to friends, family, and colleagues.
How Chimp Works
When you deposit money into your Chimp account, you receive a tax receipt immediately. The funds can then be given away or simply saved to give another day. If you’re familiar with charitable lingo, your Chimp Account is like your own private foundation, or you can think of it as a savings account for charity.
You can give to any registered charity in Canada with Chimp, and you can choose whether you wish to remain anonymous. You can also support a group that’s raising funds for a good cause by contributing to their Giving Group.
Give the gift of giving. Send a friend a gift of charitable dollars through Chimp, and let them decide the recipient. Your friend does not need to have a pre-existing Chimp Account; they’ll receive a personalized invitation to claim your gift, and can give it through Chimp to whatever cause they care most about.
Chimp lists every registered charity in the country and they display public data (from the Canada Revenue Agency) for each organization on our Charity Pages. This helps users research their giving options, and learn more about organizations working in their area of interest. Charities will receive any gift a Chimp user makes to them through Chimp. They don’t have to sign up to receive this money.
Chimp’s customizable and automated matching technology makes it simple for companies to empower employees, customers, and community members to give to what they care about. Companies can match contributions to personal Chimp Accounts, or they can match any gift to a charity or Giving Group they want to support.
How I’ve Used Chimp
I had funds in my Chimp account which I recently used to contribute to my Covenant House Sleep Out campaign, which raised over $4,100 for their work with at-risk youth in Vancouver.
I simply logged in, clicked on “Give Money”, found Covenant House Vancouver on the list of charities, and within a few more clicks of the mouse the funds were off.
Until December 31, 2014 another local company, Hootsuite, is covering fees on gifts to charities. This means that more of the money you give through Chimp goes to the charity of your choice.
Chimp Charitable Giving Giveaway
I have $80 in my Chimp account right now that I will be giving away to a Miss604 reader, to empower them to support the cause of their choice. Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment (1 entry) with the name of the cause you would support (optional)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
You can use your gift to support any registered Canadian charity via Chimp and $80 can go a long way with many organizations, providing meals and supplies for dozens of people, or you can pay it forward and help a friend who currently has a donation campaign going for a charitable fun run or event. There are many possibilities!
Follow Chimp on Twitter and Facebook for more information about their powerful giving tools. I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Thursday, December 18, 2014. The winner will receive the $80 prize via a direct Chimp account in their name for which they can then use to support the cause of their choice.
Update The winner is Shirley!
The White Spot Christmas Day lunch for charity is back again this year as management and staff at two locations continue a decade-long tradition of donating their time, tips and proceeds to the Richmond Hospital Foundation and Variety – The Children’s Charity.
White Spot Christmas Day Lunch for Charity
The Kingsway Vancouver and Richmond Centre White Spot restaurants will serve legendary classics – such as award-winning Legendary burgers, Spot Classics, pastas, salads and ribs – in support of two local charities. Last year, the restaurants raised more than $16,000, and hope to set a new record this year.
Where: Richmond Centre (Unit 1902 – 6551 No. 3 Road)
When: Wednesday, December 25, 2014 from 11:00am to 3:00pm
Cause: Richmond Hospital Foundation
Where: Kingsway (1476 Kingsway at Knight Street)
When: Wednesday, December 25, 2014 from 11:00am to 3:00pm
Cause: Variety – The Children’s Charity
Since the Christmas Day Luncheon’s inception, more than $160,000 has been generated for a good cause. Follow White Spot on Twitter and Facebook to keep up to date on their latest menu offerings and promotions.
For decades the North Shore mountains have been a playground for locals and visitors, especially during ski season. Grouse Mountain had one of the first double chairlifts in the world when it was constructed in 1949, Mount Seymour has been enjoyed since 1938, and Mount Strachan & Black Mountain make up the popular Cypress Mountain Ski Area that was in the spotlight during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Thanks to the City of Vancouver Archives, we can catch glimpses of what skiing (and ski equipment) on the North Shore has looked like over the years.
10 Vintage Ski Photos
Bonus
Of course I can’t leave out that epic Empire Stadium ski jump:
1958: Empire Stadium Ski Jump. Photo: Leslie F. Sheraton. Archives# 2008-022.007.
Dogtopia, an award-winning, national dog daycare, boarding and spa provider opened their first Canadian location in Coquitlam this November. Starting out as a doggie daycare centre in Virginia in 2002, Dogtopia is now expanding to Canada with 35 locations planned to open across the country along with the new Coquitlam location.
Among Dogtopia’s services are webcams, so owners can tune in to view their pets when they’re apart, and multiple play areas where dogs are separated by size and attitude. Dogs can also enjoy spa grooming services and specialty gourmet treats.
Visit Dogtopia in Coquitlam (at 822 Brunette Ave) for open play dog daycare, overnight boarding or spa services and experienced, personalized care and exceptional customer service. Their accessible and affordable 4,000 square foot location is a great spot for any size or breed of dog. Their self-serve dog wash, extensive grooming menu as well as overnight boarding make this the perfect place for your favourite K-9.
Win a Dogtopia Prize Pack
To celebrate the launch of the Coquitlam location, Dogtopia is offering up a prize pack valued at $150 to one lucky Miss604 reader. This includes a $75 gift card (for Dogtopia services) and a $75 gift basket filled with assorted toys and treats. Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
- Like, share or comment on this post on Facebook (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Friday, December 19, 2014. Follow Dogtopia’s head office on Twitter and the Dogtopia Coquitlam on Facebook for more information.
Update The winner is Judy!
This post has been contributed by Kathleen Stormont, Fundraising & Communications Specialist with the Stanley Park Ecology Society (“SPES”). I have been following SPES since I moved into the West End almost a decade ago and I have been a member for two years. I wanted to offer the team an opportunity to share their news, events, and work so I have created “SPES Saturday” where they contribute and share stories with my audience once a month.
The Holly and The Ivy
“The Holly and the Ivy” is a traditional British Christmas carol, but for Stanley Park Ecology Society (“SPES”), it’s a call to arms. English holly (Ilex aquifolium) and English ivy (Hedera helix) are among the most widespread invasive plants in Stanley Park – threatening native flora and decreasing wildlife habitat. The Stanley Park Eco-Stewards Program (previously called Ivy Busters) works hard to control this threat: over 325 cubic meters of invasive species were removed from approximately 11,400 square meters of forest in Stanley Park last year. That’s equivalent to 217 wheel barrows-full!
English holly (Photo: Morguefile) / English ivy (Photo: Morguefile)
That’s a lot of green waste. Rather than send it all to a composting facility, SPES launched a pilot project in 2009 to test the feasibility of repurposing English ivy to create a usable material for erosion control and habitat restoration. The results were positive and in 2013 SPES partnered with environmental artist Sharon Kallis to create “bionetting” from the ivy vines. During artist-run workshops, community members used traditional crochet techniques to knit mats of English ivy which were installed on an eroded slope near Lost Lagoon. Today, native plants thrive on the stabilized site and the natural habitat is returning.
English ivy “bionetting” (Photo: SPES)
SPES is expanding this “upcycling” project this spring to experiment with repurposing another Park invasive, Himalayan blackberry (Rubus armeniacus). Himalayan blackberry is well established and widespread in most areas of the Park, especially in blowdown sites left exposed by the 2006 windstorm.
Himalayan blackberry (Photo: Morguefile) / Yellow flag iris (Photo: Morguefile)
These invasive species are some of the most prominent invasive plants in Stanley Park, but they are only four of the 111 species documented here! Ten species are considered ‘expanding’ as they are abundant in some areas, but have limited distribution in other areas. These include plants like Japanese knotweed, yellow lamium and yellow flag iris. Yellow flag iris (Iris pseudacorus) is expanding along the edges of Lost Lagoon and Beaver Lake, but it is limited to freshwater shores. Eleven other species are considered ‘emergent’ or new invaders and are a high priority as they have limited distribution and the feasibility of controlling them is higher. They include St John’s wort, spurge laurel, giant hogweed and gorse.
Japanese Knotweed (Photo: Ancatdubh43 at English Wikipedia) / Yellow lamium (Photo: Teun Spaans via Wikimedia Commons)
Since at least the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, holly and ivy have decorated British churches and homes at Christmas (Wikipedia 2014) and many people uphold that tradition in holiday wreathes and decorated mantles. With the establishment of these invasive species in our parks and forests, you may think it’s helpful to harvest these plants for seasonal displays; but, please leave that to the experts. It is against park by-laws to remove any plants – even invasive species – from city parks without a permit.
You can help SPES help the Park! Stanley Park Eco-Stewards events are open to the public and are held twice per month on Saturday or Sunday. Check SPES’ events calendar for upcoming dates.
