After the big spends of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the hope is that you’ll have a little more room in your heart, and on your holiday shopping list, to give back for GivingTuesday today. To help you along, here are 5 of my favourite local causes (of course there are MANY more) in case you’d like to direct your giving their way this season:
5 GivingTuesday Ideas in Vancouver
1) Kids with Special Needs: Variety BC’s Tree of Hearts is back at the studios of Global BC, and your special message of hope will hang as an ornament on the tree when you donate. Every day, one lucky donor’s message will be read live on Global News Hour at 6:00pm. Variety – the Children’s Charity of BC provides direct help to children with funding for medical care and services, mobility and communication equipment and therapies, and education.
2) Art & History: Your donation to the Museum of Vancouver ensures that all of us have access to the city’s rich cultural heritage. Thought-provoking, inspiring and intriguing school and adult programs and award-winning exhibitions are delivered annually to over 70,000 visitors, showcasing extraordinary pieces and sharing the stories from Vancouver’s history.
3) Nature: Your year end, tax deductible donation will help Stanley Park Ecology Society conserve Stanley Park’s ecological health and inspire Park visitors with expert environmental education programs. Donate to support everything from wildlife monitoring programs and school programs, to the removal and management of invasive plants.
4) Education: You can help the Surrey Library expand its amazing collections and bring new programs to the community. The library raises funds to provide access to local and global information and ideas, and offer free community programming that encourages literacy and supports lifelong learning for all Surrey residents.
5) Youth Homelessness: Donate to Covenant House Vancouver today and your gift will be matched for three times the impact. As it gets colder and winter approaches, more and more youth will be seeking our help. With your support, they will be here to provide safe housing, warm clothing, counseling and important life skills. You can make a life-changing, charitable and tax-deductible donation today.
To find more causes to support, visit the GivingTuesday Canada website and do an organization search.
Everyone deserves a little holiday cheer this season and Kaboodles Toy Stores are doing so with their 5th annual charitable toy drive. On now until Christmas Eve, you can visit any of Kaboodles’ four locations to participate in this fun and meaningful toy drive.
Kaboodles Toy Drive
You will receive 10% off items purchased for the Toy Drive from now until December 24th, and all donated gifts will be delivered to the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau. The LMCB helps families in need by providing gifts to their children this Christmas. They have been dedicated to making Christmas a little more special for struggling families since 1930.
Visit Kaboodles in Point Grey, Cambie, Granville Island, or in Victoria to help them collect hundreds of gifts for struggling families this year.
Kaboodles will be offering special incentives and giveaways to those who participate in the Toy Drive each week. Follow the action (and watch the pile of donated toys grow each day) by visiting Kaboodles on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (#KaboodlesToyDrive).
Playmobil Giveaway
Another BIG incentive to support the Kaboodles Toy Drive is a Miss604 giveaway! Kaboodles has offered up a $100 gift card for me to award to one lucky winner.
Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
- Click below to get another entry by posting on Twitter:
[clickToTweet tweet=”RT to enter to win a $100 @Kaboodlestoys gift card + support #KaboodlesToyDrive this Christmas http://ow.ly/JOZM30mLcOp” quote=” Click to enter via Twitter” theme=”style6″]
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Monday, December 3, 2018. Follow Kaboodles on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for more details, deals, and news.
Update The winner is Robyn!
With bags of wrapping paper and packaging that pile up by the curb, wish list items ticked off lists, and to & from cards and tags that get forgotten until next year, there is a lot of excess waste during the holidays. Metro Vancouver has launched its annual Create Memories, Not Garbage initiative this year with the addition of the Merry Memory Maker online app to inspire low-waste gift-giving and holiday traditions.
I chose to make new memories instead of waste last year myself; that included an impromptu dance party, whole-hearted belly laughs, a bit of tension over sharing the green icing, an arsenal of rolling pins, and my mom putting flour on her cheeks to take “authentic” baking selfies. How, you might ask? I signed my family up for a baking class, which was an experience that has become a new tradition – and the best part of the holidays!
My inspiration was my grandma, who was probably like yours: A champion hugger, kind with a bit of sass, and in possession of recipes for the most delicious holiday treats. Her holiday baking was legendary. She would start weeks in advance of December 25th with the nut rolls, move onto sugar cookies and those birds nest cookies with the jam on the top, then onto apple bars and sometimes even homemade doughnuts. All of these recipes were in her head, learned by heart over her many years, and unfortunately, they disappeared when we lost her a few years ago.
Since baking has always been a part of our family’s holidays, my mother, sister, niece and I took it upon ourselves to start a new tradition: We would do the baking! Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
Metro Vancouver’s largest free outdoor lights display is on now! Lights at Lafarge runs nightly until January, with hundreds of thousands of lights illuminating one of Coquitlam’s star attractions. Located just steps from Lafarge Lake-Douglas SkyTrain Station it is a wonderful opportunity to get outdoors and enjoy the festive season with friends and family.
Winter Lights at Lafarge Lake
Dates: November 24, 2018 to January 20, 2019
Times: Nightly 4:30pm to 11:00pm (past midnight on New Year’s Eve)
Where: Lafarge Lake, Town Centre Park Coquitlam
Admission: FREE!
Top tips for a night out in Coquitlam »
Follow the 1.2km trail around the lake and enter a variety of themed light zones. Walk through the lighted 90-foot-long framed caterpillar, take pics at the Arbour Walk lighted archway, visit the Fantasy Forest with an elfin tree house, and tip toe through the Woodland Garden with overhead starbursts and tulip lights over the ground.
#ExploreCoquitlam Giveaway
I’ve had so much fun partnering with the City of Coquitlam this year and we’re both very excited to host a photo contest for Lights at Lafarge. When you visit the attraction, you’ll find three picture frame signs in the area, both are marked with #ExploreCoquitlam.
- Take a photo with a frame and post it on social media using #ExploreCoquitlam & @Miss604
- You’ll be entered to win an awesome prize package!
The Prize
All you need to do is visit this the free Lights at Lafarge display by January 20th, find a frame, and post a photo tagging #ExploreCoquitlam & @Miss604 and you’ll be entered to win!
I will draw one winner at random from all entries received (combined on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter), on January 21, 2019 at 12:00pm. Follow the City of Coquitlam on Facebook and Twitter for more information.
Miss604 is a proud sponsor of Lights at Lafarge
UPDATE! The winner is DAISYGO on Instagram!
The Portobello West Holiday Market is celebrating its 12th season at a new location this year! Get your Christmas shopping underway at the Roundhouse November 30 to December 2, 2018 and shop from over 70 local BC artisans. There will also be free photos with Santa, food trucks on site, distilleries, live entertainment and more.
Portobello West Holiday Market
When: November 30, 2018 12:00pm to 8:00pm & December 1-2 11:00am to 5:00pm
Where: Roundhouse in Yaletown (181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver)
Tickets: $5 at the door. Free for children 12 and under.
Win a Prize Pack
Portobello West’s generous holiday market vendors have put together a prize package for one lucky Miss604 winner!
The prize includes items from:
The winner will also receive two tickets to the market and a Portobello West tote! Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
- Follow @PortobelloWest & @Miss604 on Instagram for a bonus entry
- Click below to get another entry by posting on Twitter:
[clickToTweet tweet=”RT to enter to win a @PortobelloWest Holiday Market prize pack (value $900+) http://ow.ly/V8VU30mK3tZ” quote=” Click to enter via Twitter” theme=”style6″]
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Tuesday, November 27, 2018. The winner must be able to pick up their prize in person at Portobello West between November 30 – December 2, 2018.
Follow Portobello West on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more info.
Update: The winner is @rebeccamytong on Instagram!
