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by Rebecca BollwittDisclosure: Sponsored Post — Sponsored by the Richmond Christmas Fund Please review the Policy & Disclosure section for further information.
Each year, the Richmond Christmas Fund helps brighten the holidays for nearly 3,000 of their neighbours in need. You can support their efforts, while even doing a little gift shopping of your own, with the second annual Richmond Christmas Fund Online Auction!
Richmond Christmas Fund Online Auction
Where: View items and place your bid online here When: From 9:00am on November 22 to 5:00pm on December 6, 2021
The volunteer organizing committee has worked tirelessly to secure a wide selection of fabulous items, from luxury car experiences and high-end travel packages, to restaurant gift cards, bottles of wine, appliances, tools, electronics, and so much more!
If you’d simply like to donate, you can do that on the auction site as well.
Each holiday season, the Richmond Christmas Fund assists thousands of low-income residents by delivering grocery vouchers to individuals and families in need. Children 11 and under also receive toys, books, and sports equipment, while youth aged 12 to 17 are given gift cards.
The program is supported by nearly 150 volunteers, who contribute well over 2,000 hours annually. Hundreds of other Richmond residents, businesses, and community groups donate cash and toys.
The Richmond Christmas Fund Online Auction is an opportunity to do some holiday shopping, and maybe purchase a gift (or two or three) for yourself. Either way, you’re very likely to get an amazing deal, and 100% certain to make a meaningful, immediate difference in your community.
This contest has become an annual tradition, and with the amazing cause behind the social enterprise, and the joy the giveaway brings my readers, I’m pleased to present the 5th annual Aunt Leah’s Christmas Tree Lots wreath giveaway! But first, some important details:
Aunt Leah’s Christmas Tree Lots
All profits go towards preventing children in foster care from becoming homeless, and mothers in need from losing custody of their children.
Aunt Leah’s Tree Lots will open in Vancouver on November 25th, and in Burnaby, and Coquitlam on November 26th. The tree lots will be following stringent BC Health protocols including social distancing, masks, and sanitization to keep customers, volunteers, and staff safe. No online orders.
Vancouver: St. Stephen’s United Church 7025 Granville St, Vancouver
The Aunt Leah’s Tree sales are a major source of revenue for the housing and programs Aunt Leah’s provides for vulnerable foster youth and young moms and babies. This year the need is more urgent than ever. It is estimated that 50% of BC foster youth will experience homelessness and during the pandemic young single moms have experienced even greater levels of housing and food insecurity. Aunt Leah’s has been a lifeline for these young people, providing housing, food hampers, living essentials and a supportive and compassionate adult to help them navigate these challenging times.
Aunt leah’s started selling Christmas trees in the 1990s when government funding was cut. The Christmas tree sales have increased every year and the Tree Lots have become Aunt Leah’s most successful fundraiser raising over $640,000 with 100% of the profits from tree sales going to support its programs. For many Metro Vancouver families buying an Aunt Leah’s’ Christmas tree is a cherished part of their holiday tradition.
Win a Wreath
You can enter to win a fresh, handcrafted, holiday wreath, here’s how!
[clickToTweet tweet=”RT to enter to win a handcrafted wreath from @AuntLeahs #AuntLeahsTrees http://ow.ly/4wCR50GTEe2″ quote=” Click to enter via Twitter” theme=”style6″]
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 10:00am on Friday, November 26, 2021. The winner will be able to pick up their wreath at an Aunt Leah’s Christmas Tree Lot. UPDATE! The winner is Jen!
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by Rebecca BollwittDisclosure: Sponsored Post — Sponsored by Lumière Vancouver Please review the Policy & Disclosure section for further information.
Lumière Vancouver is illuminating the city through beautiful public art this month at more locations than ever! The 8th annual late-autumn festival in the West End has expanded with light installations in Downtown Vancouver and on Granville Island. At its core is the local businesses that make the neighbourhood shine and to celebrate them, Lumière is giving away an epic prize package valued at over $400!
To enter to win, head over to the Lumière Vancouver Instagram post and tag a friend you’ll be enjoying this staycation with, and follow all of the prize partners.
The giveaway is open until Friday November 26 at 11:59pm. Must be a resident of the Lower Mainland to win. The winner will be contacted directly via Instagram direct message. Good luck!
More About Lumière Vancouver
Lumière has installations in four iconic spots: English Bay, Jim Deva Plaza, Granville Island and Bentall Centre – there is no admission fee in these public spots and the displays are for all to enjoy.
Jim Deva Plaza is set to host ‘Twin Harmonic Amplified Neuro-Knowledge Stimulator’ (T.H.A.N.K.S.), designed to amplify feelings of gratitude. The bright colours are reminiscent of sunsets, sweet treats, and daydreams.
Photo submitted
Bentall Centre is home to ‘Parasol’, one-of-a-kind mushroom-like structures that fuse nature and innovative light design to reignite onlookers’ sense of wonder. Each of the five, nine-foot-tall sculptures contains 40 fins to mimic the underbelly of a mushroom. Parasol will take on a new life when animated with colourful patterns that react to music providing an exceptional visual experience for visitors enjoying the patio in the evening.
Additionally, on the Dunsmuir Patio at Bentall Centre, ‘Canopy Lights’ a 55 LED string light structure will allow people to see their voice translated to light patterns creating an immersive light and sound experience to interact with the canopy in a whole new way. Downtown Vancouver’s third installation, ‘Chromatic Blocks’ on the Burrard Benches, invites guests to get lost in light and colour when physically immersing yourself inside the cubes to explore a stunning gradient visual.
Granville Island – Photo submitted
Located on Granville Island, ‘A Beacon of Light’, adds colour and light to the Courtyard of the Public Market. This 12-pointed, 22-foot-tall illuminated star shines bright enough to be spotted from the West End. Alongside this is the 14-foot-tall ‘Alder Bay Star’ which dazzles as it hangs off Granville Island’s furthest point of land.
New this year in English Bay is a dazzling 12-foot-tall beaver, that will join Davie, Luna, Stanley and Eugenia. Select installations will remain on display until February 2022 to be enjoyed nightly. Enter to win the Lumière Vancouver Staycation Contest on Instagramby Nvember 26th.
Strathcona Business Improvement Association (“SBIA”) has brought back its popular Dine Strathcona culinary event from November 17 to 30, 2021 as nineteen of the neighbourhood’s beloved independent restaurants, cafés and breweries come together to raise money in support of vulnerable community members within Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
I also have $300 in gift cards to give away – details below!
Belgard Kitchen (top left & right), The Garden (bottom left & right)
Dine Strathcona
First launched in 2019, the two-week community festival invites locals and visitors to savour special promotional dishes at food and drink hotspots in the vibrant neighbourhood — including The Mackenzie Room, Superflux, Strathcona Beer Company, Dosanko and The Garden Strathcona to name a few — with $5 from the sale of each Dine Strathcona menu feature donated directly to the festival’s 2021 community partner, HAVE Culinary Training Society.
Guided by a philosophy of Hope, Action, Values and Ethics, HAVE Culinary Training Society is a not-for-profit organization that provides accessible food service training and employment opportunities to members of the community who face barriers to employment such as poverty, homelessness, addiction, and mental health challenges. Over the past 14 years they have successfully trained 1,200 students with over 75% of them gaining steady employment in the tourism and hospitality industry. Since March 2020, the kitchen at HAVE’s on-site café has been utilized to prepare over 1,000 meals per day for at-risk individuals who have experienced food insecurity due to the pandemic.
“For the third year in a row, the Dine Strathcona festival gives diners the chance to support a worthy cause while discovering the incredible culinary talents and community spirit that make Strathcona such a unique and special neighbourhood,” says Johanna Lauyanto, Manager, Communications & Sustainability at the SBIA. “The money raised during this year’s event will provide funding to enroll new students in HAVE’s culinary training program and help secure job placements for new graduates in Metro Vancouver restaurants.”
[clickToTweet tweet=”RT to enter to win a $300 gift card prize package from @StrathconaBIA! #DineStrathcona is on now until November 30th in support of @HaveCafe http://ow.ly/RFWN50GRriw” quote=” Click to enter via Twitter” theme=”style6″]
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Thursday, November 25, 2021. UPDATE the winner is Amanda!
It’s been an incredibly tough and trying week in BC, first and foremost I hope that folks are safe and sound even while displaced or evacuated by the devastated flooding. If you are looking to support the relief efforts here are some links: Red Cross (donation page), and big lists of beneficiaries via GoFundMe and CanadaHelps.
If you are around the city and are looking for activities and events, you can find a big list of things to do in Metro Vancouver this weekend below including the Portobello West Holiday Market on Saturday and Sunday at the Roundhouse in Yaletown:
