For the seventh year the Hope in Shadows calendar campaign is supporting residents of the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. Rising above it all in what is seen as Canada’s most downtrodden neighbourhood, residents sign up to become licensed sellers of the calendars once a year which feature local photography of their community.
In the summer of 2009 a photography contest was held for residents of the Downtown Eastside. Run by the Pivot Legal Society, Hope in Shadows distributed disposable cameras to 200 residents so they could snap images of the community from their perspective and not be depicted only as addicts or victims. The winning photos have been printed in the calendar that is being sold by residents out on the streets of Vancouver this winter.
The calendars are $20 and $10 of that goes directly to the licensed seller. The rest of the proceeds go towards operating costs and Hope in Shadows programs.
I bought mine from Catherine this afternoon outside of Waterfront SkyTrain station. She told me that she suffers from depression and severe anxiety and that getting out to sell the calendars is a highlight for her. This is her second year selling Hope in Shadows and she said it’s helped her immensely to get out into the community like this and has grown as an individual.
Big support this year once again came from Vancity who has made several of its branches depots for the calendars so that sellers don’t have to lug them around all day. They have also been a core sponsor since the beginning of this project seven years ago.
For 2010, 16,000 calendars have been printed (which is up from 13,000 sold out last year and 9,000 which sold out the year before that). The calendars have some of the most compelling and authentic images of our city and to top it off they are all 100% carbon neutral.
You can view the winning photos themselves over at the Vancouver Public Library’s main branch in the Moat Gallery throughout the month of December. There will also be a book reading tomorrow night (Thursday, December 10th, 2009) of the award-winning Hope in Shadows book. This is a part of the Robson Reading series and will take place at the UBC Bookstore in Robson Square (800 Robson Street) at 7:00pm.
Spot a DTES resident around town this winter, purchase a Hope in Shadows calendar from them for $20, and help make a difference in someone’s life.
You can also find Hope in Shadows on Flickr, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter if you would like more information.
Grace Gallery on Main street will open its doors to a one-of-a-kind art sale next Wednesday for the Art of Giving showcase.
The Art of Giving is about support and celebration. Featuring some of Vancouver’s top artists who’ve graciously agreed to sell for a price point of $400 or less in our first ever Cash & Carry original artwork sale.
All proceeds from the event will support Our Social Fabric. This non-profit in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside specializes in textile collection, recycling & re-manufacturing. It also provides employment & social reintegration opportunities for DTES residents.
Local artists who are donating their work for the sale include: Raif Adelberg, Ronan Boyle, Bienvenido Cruz, Andy Dixon, Michael Doehle, Christopher Fadden, Angela Fama, Indigo, Kris Krug, Malcolm Levy, Bobby Mathieson, Jennifer Mawby, Chad Murray, Neal Nolan, Terri Potratz, Stacy Sakai, Philippe Sokazo.
I’ve been a big fan of many of these people for years and it’s so great to see them offering up their pieces for this exceptional cause. The event takes place December 16th from 7:00pm until 11:00pm at Grace Gallery, 1898 Main Street in Vancouver. Food for the event is being sponsored and supplied by Nuba Lebanese Cuisine as well as ABSOLUT Vodka and Jameson Irish Whiskey.
Attendees are asked to bring scarves to the event for donation as well. You can RSVP by emailing [email protected].
The Sutton Place Hotel is presenting its 4th annual “Home for the Holidays” gallery of Christmas trees benefiting Canuck Place. Stop by the lobby of the Hotel anytime between now and January 1st to vote on your favourite tree and support the work of Canuck Place Childrens Hospice.
Each tree has been trimmed by local Vancouver home decorators, designers and stagers.
When you stop by the view the trees, cast your vote along with a $5 donation to Canuck Place and you’ll be entered to win one of many prizes including a ski getaway to Big White, an autographed Vancouver Canucks Ryan Kesler jersey, one of two weekend getaways at the Sutton Place Hotel, a Vancouver Island getaway or a trip for two on the amazing Rocky Mountaineer to Whistler… and more.
It’s easy to include a trip to the Christmas trees at Sutton Place when you’re out and about doing some shopping or enjoying a holiday evening on the town with the family. Stop on by, warm your toes, look at the lovely tree decorations and consider contributing $5 to help make a difference with Canuck Place.
Today is also the Canuck Place Day of Giving Radiothon, which also has some great prizes up for grabs when you donate to this worthy community organization.
Tonight at 5:30pm a 50-foot high Christmas tree will be lit in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery. The tree is put in place by local real estate development firm, AMACON, as they help raise funds for various local causes over the holidays.
Organizations that are supported by AMACON and its colleagues include: BC Lions Courage for Kids, Empty Stocking Fund, Rock 101 Cares, Lasting M.A.G.I.C, BC Children’s Hospital, Amateur Sports in BC, Canada Company and The Diana Krall Foundation.
Special appearances tonight include The BC Lions and the BC Lions Cheerleaders, Vancouver Children’s Choir, Arimasu Taiko Drummers, Rock 101’s Bro Jake, Vancouver Giants, and Santa. Honorary guests Diana Krall, Elvis Costello, and Sindi Hawkins will be present to help light the tree.
Update: I stood outside for about two hours to cover this event and I have to say, it’s cold out there folks. Luckily I wasn’t shivering too hard and was able to snap some shots of the festivities including many of the performers (such as the Vancouver Childrens Choir, the Arimasu Taiko Drummers).
Many cheques were also given to various organizations with members of the BC Lions and even little Lola (seen in the white coat below) were on hand to make some of the presentations.
Diana Krall and her husband Elvis Costello were on hand to accept a donation to VGH’s Krall Centre and also to push the big red button to light the AMACON Christmas Tree on the Art Gallery lawn.
Stop by anytime over the holiday to enjoy the tree. You can view the rest of my photos from the lighting ceremony on Flickr.
Over the years ChangeEverything.ca has been doing much more than blog about social and environmental causes — they’ve been taking action. Three years ago contributor Kate Dugas decided to take to the streets of Vancouver, moving from the online realm into a real life situation where support was greatly needed.
I thought about collecting some clothes and blankets from my house and bringing them to local shelters and quickly realized that I couldn’t drive my 20 year old car with its all-season tires anywhere. I was stuck. It felt pretty awful to want to do something to help but to have barrier like this get in the way. I imagined that others were probably having a similar experience – and since I wasn’t about to be stopped, I decided to use ChangeEverything.ca as it was designed – to make some changes happen.
Kate then wrote this blog post encouraging others to look through their closets and drawers for items they could donate and then she personally went around the city to collect. She got support from the Cooperative Auto Network so she could make the pickups and deliveries, got mainstream media coverage, and connected with volunteers like Phil.
The results were outstanding: 1 blog posting = 3 volunteers = over 4,000 items donated to local shelters in 48 hours.
Since 2006 Kate has kept the campaign going, and growing. “This is my fourth year using the powerful ChangeEverything.ca to collect items of warmth for people in Vancouver’s DTES,” she told me. “The campaign gains more and more momentum with each year. This year the Vancity branch network have agreed to all place ‘Got Socks?’ boxes in their branches, so now all our members can participate in the campaign on the ground too. It feels good.” With the full support of Vancity (who powers the ChangeEverything.ca community website) it makes donation collection through their branches possible.
You can help the less fortunate get through those bone-chilling winter nights this season by donating to the Got Sock? campaign. Cold wet feet are not only unbearable but a health hazard, especially in the winter. Got Socks? will take mis-matched socks, clean socks, and those that are in good condition. Even better, they’ll take new socks that you purchased specifically for this campaign. You can contact Kate through the ChangeEverything website or stop by your local Vancity branch to drop them off.
Kate says, “Each pair will totally make a difference. It’s true. Believe it.”
Update: December 21, 2009 — I just received the following update:
After hearing that many homeless people get sick and some have even died from having cold, wet feet for five months of the year Kate Dugas of Vancity’s ChangeEverything.ca asked for socks in her annual campaign to benefit Triage Emergency Services in the Downtown Eastside. Vancity members and employees didn’t disappoint: after hours of counting, Kate (that’s her in the attached pic) has over 4000 pairs of socks for people living on the streets.
She will deliver the socks tomorrow, Tuesday, Dec 22 about 2 pm.
Kate used Vancity’s ChangeEverything.ca website, of which she is the moderator, to engage the community in the Got Socks? campaign. Vancity members made contributions through Vancity branches and employees held friendly competitions between departments to see who could collect the most socks.
You can still donate by dropping of new or gently used socks to Vancity’s Head Office 183 Terminal, any Vancity branch or come to Triage at 707 Powell Street Tuesday around 2:00pm.
