Fun runs, bake sales, gala events and more are all on hold while we navigate COVID-19 but organizations still need our support, and they’re getting creative with how we can get involved. Here are a few ways you can get active for charity this summer, and have some fun while you’re at it!
Get Active for Charity This Summer
#HospitalityHustle Charity: British Columbia Hospitality Foundation Duration of campaign: by May 31, 2020 Details: Encouraging participants to pick an activity – walk or run 5km, dance for an hour, skip, prance, skateboard, or bike 10km – and start training today.
#StepUpForFamilies Charity: Ronald McDonald House Charities Duration of campaign: June, 2020 Details: Assemble your team to move 73 km in June while raising funds to support the families that stay at the 73-room Ronald McDonald House BC and Yukon every night.
Vancouver Pride Run and Walk Charity:Out in Schools and the LOUD Foundation’s Pride Youth Scholarship Fund. Duration of campaign: July, 2020 Details:Register online for the 5km run or walk, or the 10km run or walk. Or you can simply register to fundraise. During the month of July, complete your own 5km or 10km walk or run for the cause.
From my last #CHSleepOut in 2017
#CHSleepOut Charity: Covenant House Vancouver Duration of campaign: July 10, 2020 from 8:00pm to 8:00am Details: Challenging individuals, families, and businesses to spend one night on their living room floor, on their balcony or in their backyard, and raise crucial funds to support our Street Outreach Program.
#SplashforKids Charity: Sunshine Foundation Duration of campaign: On June 20, 2020 Details: Join on social media as you dip into the ‘digital stream’ to share videos and photos of you and/or your virtual team completing water themed activities of your choice – by a pool, lake or tub. Gather some super soakers, water balloons, or a slip and slide. Show us how you #SplashforKids on social media, prizes for Best Picture and Best Video, no registration required.
If you have any more to add, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll include it in the list.
It’s one of Western Canada’s largest celebrations and although it can’t take place among a hundred thousand at the amphitheatre in Cloverdale this year due to COVID-19, Surrey Canada Day 2020 is going virtual.
Surrey Canada Day 2020 is Going Virtual
Presented by Coast Capital Savings, Virtual Surrey Canada Day will take place on July 1 with a kids and seniors segment from 10:30am to 11:30am followed by regular programming from 6:00pm to 9:00pm broadcast on Facebook and YouTube Live.
Hosted by four-time Olympic gold medalist Hayley Wickenheiser, this year’s free family-friendly virtual event will feature a series of segments including, musical entertainment, virtual tours, indigenous and cultural acts, a “Family Hour” for kids and seniors, dance lessons, a rodeo tribute, and a virtual firework finale to end the night. The livestream will feature musical performances by local Surrey artists and Canadian groups including Colin James, 54-40, Bif Naked, Toque, Said the Whale, and Madeline Merlo.
Surrey Canada Day. Photos by John Bollwitt.
The broadcast will pay tribute to those affected by COVID-19 and honour the courageous local frontline health care workers and essential service providers. Additionally, Virtual Surrey Canada Day is working alongside corporate sponsors to raise $10,000 for the Surrey Food Bank to support the City’s vulnerable population.
This weekend you can get drive-thru mini donuts in support of PNE fair concessionaires! On August 22nd, the PNE would have opened for its 110th season, but due to COVID-19, this end of summer tradition will be greatly missed. It’s played a special role in the collective memory of our province, but one of its best ways to literally taste the nostalgia of the fair is through those deliciously sweet mini donuts.
Drive-Thru Mini Donuts for the PNE Fair Concessionaires
A Taste of the PNE – The Mini Donut Edition When: May 22-24, 2020 from 1:00pm to 7:00pm Where: Enter off Hastings St, west of Playland Tickets:Buy online in advance! Includes two tickets to the 2021 opening day of the PNE Fair.
For many, the Fair is symbolized by nightly concerts under Vancouver skies, SuperDogs, the Wooden Coaster, baby pigs and 4-H cows, and, of course, that crazy Fair food. But the PNE Fair has a significant impact beyond summertime memories, the 15-day event generates $85 million in economic impact into our region, and supports hundreds of local, family-owned small businesses who make up the concessionaires and exhibitors seen throughout the grounds each August.
Today, in an initiative aimed at supporting those businesses and showing our “Fair spirit” the Pacific National Exhibition is proud to announce the first in a new drive-through series – A Taste of the PNE – Mini Donut Edition.
This celebration of the almighty mini donut will feature the four concessionaires seen annually at the PNE Fair: Those Little Donuts, Tin Lizzy Donuts, CinCity Donuts and the PNE Fundunkers.
The Mini Donut Edition is the first in an anticipated series of events celebrating some of our Playland and Fair favourites.
The program, developed in consultation with Vancouver Coastal Health, will be a drive-thru experience with safe distancing protocols and food preparation standards.
Ticket holders will drive up to each of the participating donut stands, located in a row on the Fair’s traditional “Revel District” area at Hastings Park and pick up donuts to go for a bundled price. Prices are $20 for 24 donuts (plus two tickets to the 2021 Fair) or a Family Pack can be purchased for $35.00 for 48 donuts (plus two tickets to the 2021 Fair).
Abbotsford Update
Following the recent success of the PNE event, Agrifair is bringing the Mini Donut Drive Thru featuring “BC’s Best Mini Donuts” to Abbotsford June 19-21, 2020 (Father’s Day weekend).
Partnering with four food vendors, the mini donut drive-thru is offers the unique opportunity to grab bags of mini donuts from each, so you can compare and decide which is your favourite. A standard pack of 24 donuts (6 from each vendor) is $20, a family pack of 48 donuts (12 from each vendor) is $35. Book your tickets and find more info through TicketLeader.
Welcome to Phase 2 of BC’s Restart Plan! Starting today, carefully and cautiously, some services will begin to open up again the province. As of May 14th, BC Parks re-opened for day use. While everyone is still encouraged to stay within their own community, I have selected 5 BC Parks to explore in the Lower Mainland where you can enjoy few faces and big spaces.
5 BC Parks to Explore in the Lower Mainland
Camping is not permitted, some facilities and services may not be operational.
Cultus Lake Provincial Park: Open for day-use only, playgrounds are closed. Cultus Lake Provincial Park is characterized by a large, warm freshwater lake and scenic forest-clad mountains. Due to a storm early in 2020, avoid Maple Bay Day-Use Area and Delta Grove.
Peace Arch Provincial Park: Open for day-use only. Its location straddles the 49th parallel, with its planning and development done in conjunction with Washington State Parks.
Sasquatch Provincial Park: Green Bay day use area is open, all other day use areas closed. Located north of Harrison Hot Springs, Sasquatch Provincial Park is characterized by a series of pocket lakes, a unique second-growth and birch forest, and scenic mountain ridges.
Stawamus Chief Provincial Park and Protected Area: Stawamus Chief Park is open for day use including climbing, however the main Chief Trail (Backside Trail) is closed. Stawamus Chief Provincial Park protects the 700-metre massive granite cliffs that stand at the southern entrance to Squamish on the scenic Sea to Sky Highway.
Golden Ears Provincial Park: Open for day-use only. Playgrounds are closed. One of the largest parks in the province, with an extensive system of trails through a coastal western Hemlock forest with rugged mountainous backcountry.
On the South Coast, parks such as Porteau Cove, Mount Seymour, Cypress Provincial Park, Chilliwack Lake, and Shannon Falls do not yet have a re-open date posted. You can check a park’s status online here to see if it has a projected opening date or note.
Usually the emails I receive from RollerGirl.ca promote upcoming events like their Pop- Roller Disco or a roller derby Summer Slam. This week, the email subject line was straight to the point: “Vancouverites are Roller Skating!”
While their flagship store in Vancouver store is currently closed, they are busier than ever shipping skates all over Canada and offering no-contact pick-up in Vancouver. With Dr Bonnie Henry saying we should all enjoy time outside, I decided to ask these expert where to find the 5 best places to roller skate in Vancouver:
Stanley Park Anything with wheels has been moved from the Seawall to Stanley Park Drive to encourage physical distancing for the time being. It is smooth but does have some hilly portions leading up to Prospect Point. However, when the Seawall reopens, that is a long, flat, and beautiful route.
The Arbutus Greenway New concrete for kilometres!
The super smooth concrete around Science World For practicing dance skating and basic skills.
Rolla Skate Club events and classes (when we can do so again!) Roller disco parties, skating lessons, fun times.
The Central City Funpark Now open! Metro Vancouver’s largest indoor amusement park.
Every skate park in the city (when open after COVID-19 restrictions) Yes, roller skaters are taking on the skate parks, and it’s a lot of fun!
About RollerGirl.ca
RollerGirl.ca was founded by Lisa Suggitt (aka RollerGirl) in March 2003. Lisa has been an avid roller skater since the age of 5. She loves to take her roller skates to the skatepark, for a fast skate around the Seawall, or just play around some smooth concrete with friends and good tunes. She played roller derby for 10 years, coached the early days of the Terminal City Roller Girls and started the Vancouver chapter of Chicks in Bowls. Lisa is a roller skate fanatic and loves to share her passion with the world.
On July 22nd 2007, after 4 years of operating online exclusively, they opened a brick and mortar retail store in Vancouver. They quickly outgrew the space and, on April 1st 2011, moved the business to a bigger location on Vancouver’s trendy Main street area (185 E 11th Ave, Vancouver).
RollerGirl’s mission is to help cultivate a strong new roller skate culture. This involves making roller skates and roller skate parts accessible to everyone, providing information and support to roller skaters, and supporting roller skating organizations across the country and abroad when possible.
They have extensive procedures in place to ensure that your roller skates and gear will fit perfectly the first time, but if an item needs to be exchanged for a different size or model they have one of the best return policies in the industry.
