Seven months ago I spent the night outside, in a back alley off Pender Street, with a sleeping bag on top of a piece of flattened cardboard. The sky was clear and the moon glowed as bright as the Harbour Centre lookout that I could see across the street. I slept about 30 minutes between sundown and sunrise. It was uncomfortable, bone-chillingly cold, and miserable… but it was also for a cause.
Photo by Covenant House
A group of local business leaders and media personalities took part in the annual Covenant House Sleep Out to raise funds and show support for the youth of Vancouver, some who end up sleeping on the street without the comforts of a sleeping bag and a flattened piece of cardboard.
Covenant House Vancouver exists for those young people for whom there is often no one else – young people who have either willingly fled physical, emotional and/or sexual abuse or those who have been forced from their homes. We understand that life changes are challenging and do everything in our power to ensure that young people succeed at whatever plan they have chosen for themselves. As long as genuine effort is demonstrated, so is our commitment.
We met a few Covenant House youth during our campaign and they all thought we were nuts, since we were doing this by choice. One even went to her room and brought down her own blankets, from her own bed, to cover us. This is the culture of caring that you will find at Covenant House.
Covenant House June Donation Matching
The sleepout also gave us all the opportunity to learn more about Covenant House and its various levels of care such as the Crisis Shelter, Drop in Centre, Street Outreach, and Rights of Passage.
This month, The Robert L. Conconi Foundation is going to match every donation Covenant House receives up to $150,000 so the impact of any donations received will be double throughout June 2014.
Bob Conconi is a self-made businessman who attributes much of his success to the stable upbringing and supportive family that allowed him to pursue his interest in business. As a father, Bob has a lot of empathy for the challenges faced by homeless and at-risk youth, and is honoured to be able to support Covenant House Vancouver. Bob and his family believe that the services and supports Covenant House provides young people give them the opportunity to develop into outstanding members of our community. Bob and his wife Diane founded The Robert L. Conconi Foundation in 2003 with the goal of helping others and creating opportunities for communities.
If you would like to support Covenant House, now is a great time as a gift of $25 instantly becomes $50 when you donate online. Follow Covenant House on Twitter and Facebook to learn more about their work in Vancouver and I’ll see you again in November when I do my second Covenant House Sleepout.
There are many milestones being celebrated in Vancouver this year. We have the 40th anniversary of the Whitecaps, the 25th anniversary of Bard on the Beach, The Arts Club’s 50th anniversary, the 50th anniversary of the Stanley Park Train, and several more. Many of these organizations and businesses have also been online for a long time and I thought it would be fun to hop into the Wayback Machine at Archive.org to check out what some popular Vancouver websites looked like at least a decade ago.
Vancouver Websites Years Ago
Vancouver Art Gallery in December of 1996 (includes site visitor counter)
Canucks.com in July of 1997 (was the Orca Bay home page)
UBC in November of 1996 (not pictured here, the Guestbook at the bottom of the page. Remember those?)
Canada Place in June of 2000 (-5087 days 10 hours and 47 minutes Until Canada Day 2000!)
Museum of Anthropology in January of 1998
CKNW in May of 1999 (includes helpful instructions to “simply point and click on the buttons at the side or the links at the bottom of this page” to navigate)
Bard on the Beach in August of 2000 (complete with an animated GIF of a lightning bolt)
The Arts Club Theatre Company in August of 2000 (with popular Comic Sans font)
White Spot in March of 2000 (best viewed in Internet Explorer 5)
And to be fair, here’s the evolution of Miss604 since 2004:
I salute all of these businesses and entities for not only being online for 10 to 15 years, but for evolving their web presences and keeping up with the times. I look forward to seeing what the future of web design holds for all — and to see if other trends like the animated GIF will make a come back.
Latincouver, a cultural and business society that hosts diverse, inclusive, and festive events, is proud to present Latin America House this summer, where you’ll be able to watch all FIFA World Cup matches in Vancouver.
Where to Watch FIFA World Cup in Vancouver
Latin America House will show all FIFA World Cup games at Edgewater Casino on 3 huge theatre-sized screens. Those 19+ can enjoy a state of the art sound system, capacity for 420 soccer fans, prizes daily, drink specials for every match, and more.
Entrance is a $5 minimum donation and advanced tickets are available now. There is free parking and it’s also transit accessible from Stadium Station. The semi-final game on July 12th and Final game on July 13th are special events with live entertainment (special pricing applies), see the Facebook page for all the updates.
Latin American countries competing in the FIFA World Cup include: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Uruguay. All nationalities are welcome at Latin America House so be sure to represent by wearing your country’s colours and bringing flags.
Latin America Week in Vancouver
Miss604 is a proud media partner of Latin America Week in Vancouver and the Carnaval Del Sol, presenting the following events this summer: Latin America House – FIFA World Cup June 12 to July 13; Carnaval Del Sol July 5-6; Inspirational Latin Awards July 2; Canada Day Parade July 1; Tastes of Latin America June 28 to July 6, 2014.
The Women of Distinction Awards is the YWCA’s premier fundraising event and this year, the 31st annual awards ceremony honours 60 outstanding nominees and 12 category winners.
This event shines a spotlight on women whose achievements contribute to the well-being and future of our community and businesses and organizations that support the wellness and diverse needs of their employees. Funds raised through the event support YWCA programs and services across Metro Vancouver.
This is my 5th year as Social Media Sponsor of the awards ceremony and it’s always a highlight of the season. There are many inspirational stories, prizes and raffle items benefitting the YWCA (and the lucky winners), fantastic women whose talents are showcased, and a fun and friendly atmosphere.
John will once again be taking photos as I document the evening. Stay tuned to this blog post and my Twitter feed (@Miss604) for updates throughout the evening. Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
In June and July this year, Ollie Blackmore will be attempting a world record by cycling around Vancouver Island solo and unsupported. This challenge is a world-first, and Ollie has planned this entirely by himself to fundraise for cancer charities in British Columbia and the UK. The hope is to raise $25,000 for BC Cancer Foundation and £25,000 for Big C in Norwich, Ollie’s home town through online donations.
With a target of £25,000 for his local charity The Big C, and $25,000 for Canadian charity The British Columbia Cancer Foundation, Ollie hopes to be able to make a big difference to people’s lives, breaking a world record in the process. Both offer support to patients and families in the form of care and even research to combat this all too common disease.
He’s currently well on his way towards his target for The Big C; the total standing at around £9000 with around two months to go until the ride. As an ex-smoker, and someone who has been indirectly affected by cancer, Ollie’s hope is not only to raise support and awareness to fight the disease, but also to show that there are healthy alternatives to smoking.
Ollie also sent me the following information: “The ride is 15 consecutive days over a distance of 2,300km. I’ll climb a total ascent of more than 151,000ft which is 5 times higher than Mount Everest! I carry all my food, equipment, clothes and spares for the custom made bike. I’ll camp in the wild every night, fully aware of the dangers from bears, cougars, wolves and logging trucks. I have been training like crazy for this trip, covering 400-500 miles each week and preparing by taking on two of the UK’s hardest cycling sportives The Fred Whitton Challenge and Tour of Wessex.”
Along the way, he will be recording the challenge with several cameras and posting updates to social media to really show the context of the challenge and how hard it will be — including the riding, planning, camping, weather, repairs and more.
Some facts about Ollie’s Cycle Challenge Canada ride:
- 70% of the route is off-road
- Ollie will be carrying 35kg of supplies and equipment
- He’ll cycle for 2,300km, that’s only 14km fewer than the Tour de France riders in the same period, without the luxury of a day off, a hotel room or a support team
- Some climbs are near 40%
- He will burn an average 6,500 calories a day
- Several days see total climbs in excess of 16,000ft, only 1 stage of the 2013 Tour de France had a higher total elevation.
Support Ollie’s ride, which begins June 22nd from Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal, by visiting his website to learn more, donating online, and following on Facebook for regular updates.
