Browsing “Charity”

If you remember back in November we held our annual donor drive and we previewed our blank 2009 donor plaque. Well, we just got it back and now everybody who made a donation to our not-for-profit (Vancouver Is Awesome Inc) in 2009 has their name laser etched into it! This plaque will be proudly hanging on the wall of our office forever. Click it to see a large version and, if you donated, your name!

We rely on donations from the community to help support us and we can not thank you all enough for your incredibly kind donations which help us continue to do what we do. Without your continued support we would not be here.

If you’ve only recently discovered us or you didn’t get a chance to donate during the drive, please consider clicking below to make a donation by credit card or Paypal. We accept them year round and are incredibly thankful for whatever you can offer to help.

Our friends over at cefa (Core Education & Fine Arts™) are holding a clothing drive right now…

Some things you won’t learn from this flier are that the clothing is going to The Crabtree Corner, a non profit organization that helps single mothers and their families in transition. All of the clothing is washed by cefa’s students and their families and given to the recipients with a personalized letter, none of the items will be resold. Lastly, all of the non-cefa children that donate (and their families) get passes to a movie that will be held at one of their locations. Give and receive. Nice.

Learn more at the cefa site.

This Saturday night (December 26th) we will be having a local kids super fun Shaolin Shadow boxing day party at The Astoria 769. E. Hastings St. where we will playing all your favorite Wutang jams! With lots of deejays and giveaways from Boulevard skateshop + Kitsch skateboards + maybe surprise Wutang giveaways! + drank specials (the cheapest in town) + Rum and Eggnog starts at 9pm goes till 2am.

Hosted by our pal Geoffrey Dermer!
Oh ya and its only 5 bucks!

We will also be celebrating our friend Lee Matasi’s birthday at midnight! we will be having some cake and champagne and playing songs that Lee likes!
Plus we will also be  raising money and taking donations for Leeside skatepark all night long!

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There are a variety of options when it comes to getting rid of your Christmas tree after the holiday season. One is to take it to the UBC Botanical Garden where they’ll mulch it up and use it to line the pathways there. Not only does this re-use the trees but it helps their non-profit stretch their budget by not having to buy as much mulch as they would otherwise. A $5 donation is put towards operating costs and whatever’s leftover gets donated to a local school. This is what we call “win/win”.

For eleven years, Trinity street has been one of the best displays of Christmas spirit in Vancouver.  In 1999 following the death of two residents in a home invasion in their neighbourhood, the residents of Trinity Street decided to take the streets back, and did so by lighting up their streets in a friendly Christmas light competition. Eleven years later, the streets are safe, and they are now raising money for Harbourview Daycare.  Votes are cast on site and are two bucks each, you are encouraged to vote as many times as you’d like.

The lights will be on display until Jan. 2nd, but the day to really go is today!  Between 6-9 will be the annual Winter Walk.  There will be carolling, a visit from Santa, and hotdogs!

The blocks taking part are 2400-2900 of Trinity street, which is on the North side of Mcgill near Renfrew close to the PNE.  When you go, make sure you do not drive down the street, it’s best experienced on foot, you also cannot vote from your car!

I’m going to be posting up photos every day because this sort of thing is what VIA is about…. and one other small detail that I just have to share with you….

IT’S IN MY HOOD KID!!!

Another reason why we won the HOODWAR!!!

This is definitely awesome: the Toni & Guy Vancouver team recently teamed up with Dress for Success to transform the lives of 8 women from the YWCA and EMBERS organization. Watch the video below and learn more HERE.

Megaphone Magazine is throwing a party tomorrow night at Cafe Deux Soleils with bands Fanshaw, Poema Flamenco and Vows (featuring members of Analog Bell Service) hosted by comedian/activist/author extraordinaire Charles Demers whose book “Vancouver Special”, published by Arsenal Pulp Press, will be featured on V.I.A. shortly.

Info on Night of Joyful Voices HERE.

A while back I made THIS post telling you about the Polaris music prize and east coast band F**ked Up taking it this year. Well, the band went and spent some of the $20,000 that they won and brought in some heavy hitting artists to record a new version of DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS to benefit some charities! The Vancouver tie in here is that Tegan and Sara are two of the aforementioned heavy hitters and one of the charities that the proceeds of the song will benefit is Vancouver’s DTES Power of Women Group. Want to know more? EXCLAIM EXPLAINS.

I posted this awhile back but wanted to remind you of the awesomeness. If you’re interested in making some money subletting your place during the Olympics and feeling good about it by donating half of what you’ll be getting to charity then look no further!

Home For The Games is an Olympic accommodation website with a charitable twist – half the nightly proceeds benefit charities – Streetohome Foundation and Covenant House Vancouver – working to alleviate homelessness. There’s no cost to list or book a room on their site. Hosts (that’s you, the owner/sub-leaser) set their own rates and receive a charitable tax receipt for the portion that goes to charity. In their own words, they’re “harnessing the energy of the Games to foster generosity and a cultural exchange, while supporting those less fortunate”.

I told you about THIS gingerbread competition last week, they’ve released the designs online and are taking bids! Check em all HERE. Gala event goes down December 10th at the MOV…

The BC SPCA Vancouver Branch will be hosting it’s annual Santa Paws Toy Drive for the Animals. From December 5 to December 12, the Vancouver Branch will be collecting various toys and Science Diet food for the hundreds of animals the Branch sees come through it’s doors. The toys donated are an intergral part of our animals’ daily welfare, and helps the animals cope with shelter life providing them with mental stimulation while in our care. Items can be dropped at any Vancouver Tisol location or at the Vancouver Branch’s Community Animal Centre located at 1205 E 7 Avenue.

On December the 12th , from 11am to 3pm, we will also be holding pet pictures with Santa at the Vancouver Branch’s Community Animal Centre located at 1205 East 7 Avenue, Vancouver, BC. Photos are $5 each or three for $10.
Wondering what kind of toys we are looking for? Here’s a detailed list:

Dog Toys

* Large Kong
* Balls
* Stuffed Toys
* Blankets
* Rope Toys
* Rabbit Toys
* Untreated wicker baskets
* Plastic baby rings
* Small straw brooms

Cat toys

* Batta balls, and other cat toys that roll or can be tossed
* Woven grass matt
* Willow ball
* Dumb bell ring
* Yellow pages for shredding
* Cottontail Cottage
* Cat Toys
* Please – NO CATNIP
* Rolling and batting toys
* Cat teasers
* Cardboard scratching boxes
* Small stuffed toys with legs
* Pipe cleaners
* Peek a boo puzzle box
* Cat dancer
* Mylar Balls
* Laser pointer

CBC Vancouver held an Open House on December 4th to show off it’s (finally) renovated building and collect donations for BC Food Banks.

(CBC News Room!)

The day’s activities had something for everyone from starting as early as 5:30am!

The biggest attractions were the news room/tv-studio tours and the live performances both broadcast on radio and in-studio shows. Anyone could take a walk through the Read more