Inspiring stories
Volunteers
Volunteers Are Stars
Volunteers Are Stars - Celebrating Richmond's Volunteers (rcrg.org)
Each year, the Volunteers Are Stars Awards happen in April, during National Volunteer Week. Except last year, when they didn't. Everything was planned, everything was ready, and then everything stopped. COVID-19 forced us to postpone the event, for what we thought would be a month or two. Time stretched on, and reality set in: the 2020 Volunteers Are Stars Awards had to be cancelled. A year later, things are improving - there's real, discernible light at the end of the tunnel - but we're still in the middle of a global pandemic. That means, once again, the Volunteers Are Stars Awards can't happen. At least, not in person. We can, however, celebrate Richmond's volunteers virtually. And so, with your help, that's what we're going to do.
Meet the nominees - Click the links below to read about the nominees in each category.
The winners will be announced at a virtual ceremony on April 21, during National Volunteer Week. A video of the ceremony will be posted here shortly after.
Nova Star Award Nominees - Individual Volunteers
Constellation Award Nominees - Volunteer Groups
Shooting Star Award Nominees - Youth Volunteers
Star of Richmond Award Nominees - Non-Profit Leaders
Rowing for the Richmond Food Bank
Rowing for the Richmond Food Bank - School Meal Program - CanadaHelps
Fundraiser by Fraser Roberts - Follow the link below to check out my progress!
http://share.garmin.com/Row2ph
In partnership with the Richmond School District, the Richmond Food bank supported 11 school meal programs in 2020, providing meals and snacks to more than 400 students each week.
Due to increased food safety measures and a greater need from the community, funding for these programs has increased in the last two years to an estimated total of $25,000. The Richmond food back is not government run or funded and relies solely on food and monetary donations and volunteers. My goal is to raise $15,000 to specifically help fund these school meal programs for the 2021-2022 school year.
People with disabilities
South Fraser Active Living group, Spinal Cord Injury BC
Much More Than Coffee: South Fraser Active Living Group - Spinal Cord Injury BC (sci-bc.ca)
One of SCI BC’s highest priorities is to nurture the formation of Peer groups throughout our province. When Peers come together, great things happen—knowledge and success stories get shared, lasting friendships are formed, and people discover the power of a collective voice as a tool to create opportunity and positive change. Over the years, we’ve been gratified to see many success stories throughout BC. Peer groups are flourishing in all corners—in our northern communities, the Okanagan, the Lower Mainland, and Vancouver Island. But by all accounts, we’ve never seen anything quite like the South Fraser Active Living Group, or SFALG. In just two short years, SFALG has evolved from a Peer coffee group to an advocacy force helping to bring accessible recreation and fitness opportunities to all Peers who live in Surrey, North Delta and the Fraser Valley.
Success Stories, Neil Squire Foundation
Page 1 - Success Stories Archives - Neil Squire Society
Principles behind the Mission - We are committed to social inclusion, economic equity, and a productive society that includes people with disabilities and gives them equal opportunity to contribute and participate.
Impact stories, Spinal Cord Injury BC.
https://sci-bc.ca/support-our-work/impact-stories/
Meet some of our peers, their family members, and our volunteers, and find out how Spinal Cord Injury BC has helped change their lives.
Rick Hansen Foundation BLOG posts
Welcome to the Rick Hansen Foundation blog! We post regularly on a range of topics and issues in the disability and accessibility community.
Explore past posts to read personal experiences of disability, tips for how to improve accessibility in your community, what you can do to be more inclusive, and more.
Vancouver Adaptive Music Society
Impact - Vancouver Adapted Music Society (vams.org)
Vancouver Adapted Music Society celebrates 30 years of supporting artists with disabilities in 2018. VAMS provides opportunities for people with physical disabilities to learn, record and perform music – a form of self-expression that’s also an opportunity to re-imagine what’s possible.
“The power of music can inspire people, bring people together, help to find ones self and enrich life for yourself and those around you,” says program coordinator Graeme Wyman. ”Music can also make a powerful impact to form and create a community as well as give a sense of control to someone’s life. These qualities and more are what we strive to create, develop and mature at the Vancouver Adapted Music Society.”
When the new expanded music studio is complete, we hope to bring many more people with disabilities through a musical experience that can inspire and transform both the musician and audience. Every time a VAMS musicians takes to the stage it shows the world that disability is not a barrier to creativity.
“When you have a disability you need an outlet more than ever” – Codi Punnet
Videos - Vancouver Adapted Music Society (vams.org)
Enjoy a selection of performances below and visit our newest videos on YouTube.
Art After Stroke event
Stroke Recovery Branch Programs - Stroke Recovery Association of BC (strokerecoverybc.ca)
Art After Stroke is a celebration of incredible works of art by stroke survivors including painting, sculpture, photography, music and comedy etc.
OUR GOAL is to raise awareness and funds for important stroke recovery programming.
We want everyone to know that there is life after stroke. After all, if you don’t know a stroke survivor yourself, then you do know someone who loves one.
The Courage To Come Back Awards
About - Courage To Come Back Awards
The annual Courage To Come Back Awards recognize people who have overcome illness, adversity or addiction and who have ‘come back’ and ‘give back’ to their communities.
Home - Courage To Come Back Awards
Hosted by Olympian, former Vancouver Canuck goaltender, and Mental Health advocate Corey Hirsch, the show will allow us to reach millions of viewers in their homes including, we hope, you and your loved ones. We’ll be celebrating the inspiring journeys of our five recipients, each of whom have overcome extraordinary adversity to come back, and who give back to their community.
2021 Recipients - Courage To Come Back Awards
In case you missed the 30 minute Courage To Come Back TV Show this year , you can watch the full show here: https://youtu.be/72UEV8mpW1I
22 Percent, A Podcast on Disability, Realwheels Theatre, Pivotal Performance
https://realwheels.ca/community-projects/22-percent-a-podcast-on-disability/ Looking for some bite-sized insight into the disability experience? Twenty two percent of all Canadians live with a disability… so we mic’d up our community to get the inside scoop. We invite you to listen to four short episodes ranging from thoughtful and serious to light-hearted lampoons. (PDFs readily available for the D/deaf by emailing: info@realwheels.ca) Catch one, two, three, or all four episodes at once. At 10 minutes each, they’re a tasty snack for your ears! Tune in, enjoy, and share with anyone interested in the experience of one in five Canadians living with a disability.
A Life Worth Living
Our Story - A Life Worth Living
Founded in 1994, The Year of the Family, A Life Worth Living shares life stories of people who live with disabilities, as well as their families, employers and the public through media. These personal experiences offer life-changing answers to questions.
Resource Library Archives - A Life Worth Living
How to use the resource library - This post explains how the resource library works. Every day we all are surrounded by stories from news, movies, print, social media to share around the water cooler. Rarely, if ever, do these stories teach, inspire or bind people together to promote disability inclusion such as our collection does.
Disability and Health Stories from People Living with a Disability, Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – USA
Real Stories from People living with a Disability
Looking Past Limits, TED Talk, April 8, 2011
Caroline Casey: Looking past limits - YouTube
Activist Caroline Casey tells the story of her extraordinary life, starting with a revelation (no spoilers). In a talk that challenges perceptions, Casey asks us all to move beyond the limits we may think we have. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate.
Disability Is Your Business | The Valuable 500
Caroline Casey, founder of the Valuable 500 - The global movement putting disability on the business leadership agenda. Two years ago, we launched the campaign to get 500 national and multinational, private sector corporations to be the tipping-point for change and help unlock the social and economic value of people living with disabilities across the world. Because the potential of 1.3 billion should not be ignored. Today we celebrate a huge milestone. We are now, officially The Valuable 500.
Seniors
Richmond community members share advice on “aging positively”
Richmond community members share advice on 'aging positively' - Richmond News (richmond-news.com)
Lisa Couling’s advice for “aging positively” – the theme of National Seniors Day in Richmond – is to get outside, sweat once a day, hang out with young people and learn new things… The first year after she retired, Couling said she was slightly disoriented because her identity was very much tied to her work. After leaving full-time work, she was just viewed as a “retired person.” But she said part of having a good retirement includes making a plan for retirement well in advance, including focusing on hobbies and special interests – for Couling, this is working out regularly at the gym with a tight-knit group and being involved. “I like to be open and positive about opportunities around me,” she added.
Vancouver senior makes most of second chances by giving back to community
September 8, 2019, by Sandra Thomas
Vancouver senior makes most of second chances by giving back to community - Vancouver Is Awesome
Vladimir Tsvasman is the Lifetime Senior Volunteer of the Year.
MEMORY LANE: Full-time volunteer works for the birds, Laura Anderson, April 13, 2017
https://www.nsnews.com/living/memory-lane-full-time-volunteer-works-for-the-birds-3050136
At Maplewood Conservation Area, the goldfinches fly and rest and flicker about their daily rounds, undeterred by the driving rain, oblivious to observation. During his 25 years with the district, Kevin rose to manager of the Ecology Centre and manager of natural parkland. Along the way, he volunteered with the Vancouver Natural History Society, now Nature Vancouver, and Western Canada Wilderness Committee. A forest was planted in Murdo Fraser Park by North Shore stewardship organizations in recognition of Kevin’s contribution to ecology in North Vancouver. Like so many people with a vocation, Kevin, now a full time volunteer, is as active as when he was working. Most days he can be found at the Maplewood Conservation Area. He leads walking tours, talking about birds and natural history. He works with Dirk Oostindie’s son, Irwin, on the Wild Birds Trust and is readying the plant nursery, mostly native varieties, for its opening sale on Saturday, May 6. At Maplewood, and everywhere, the birds fly and rest and flicker about their daily rounds, oblivious to observers, and to their own vulnerability. Oblivious also to Earth Day, coming up on Saturday, April 22. It is the job of humans, as stewards of the earth, to recognize Earth Day. Kevin Bell will mark the day by doing what he loves: walking in the forest, observing the birds going about their lives.
My top 5 tips for building mental resilience: Sheila White, 97 https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1859701315790The
B.C. resident stays active and connected to her community throughout the pandemic.
Senior Marathon Runners
Senior B.C. marathon runners look to finish two major races in one week | CBC News
Running a marathon is already a true accomplishment. Running two major marathons within six days of each other as a senior takes it to a whole new level.
Indigenous and Metis peoples
FIRST STORIES: Tales from Turtle Island hosted by Matthew Dyck
FIRST STORIES - Tales from Turtle Island on Apple Podcasts
Join us around the fire to hear the voices and stories of the original peoples of Turtle Island as told by Indigenous storytellers from across the land. Brought to you by Iskotew Indigenous Cultural Services and Expedition V.O. First Stories is created and produced by Matthew Dyck. With support from The Gulf of Georgia Cannery, The Richmond Public Library, and the Province of British Columbia.
The Story of Cedar
Story of Cedar, Cedar Hat Weaving & Bark Pulling Cowichan Coast Salish - YouTube
From the moment of birth, to the time of passing, cedar has traditionally played a vital role in the life of the First People of the Pacific Northwest.
Dream Canoe Launch, August 29, 2021
Launch of the Dream Canoe really was a dream come true | Vancouver Sun
For 15 years, knowledge keeper Wendall Williams has been nurturing a dream — to awaken a canoe that will carry members of the local community for healing journeys on the waters of the Salish Sea. Today, from a modest berth in Crab park, the dream canoe was finally launched.
Williams, who is Haudenosaunee and Anishinabe from Six Nations and Garden River First Nation said the inspiration for a canoe dedicated to cultural healing to serve urban community members, began when he met Squamish elder and canoe keeper Bob Baker. The Dream Canoe is a partnership with the The Indian Residential School Survivors Society, the Saa’ust Centre for families and survivors of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Kílala Lelum (Urban Indigenous Health and Healing Cooperative), and The Dudes Club.
Musqueam First Nation hosts canoe races, August 15, 2021
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2021/08/14/musqueam-nation-canoe-races/
MUSQUEAM (NEWS 1130) — The Musqueam First Nation is hosting canoe races for the first time in over 40 years Saturday and Sunday. Kelly Louis, organizer and owner of the Musqueam Nation Canoe Club, says he and his dad decided to revive the traditional canoe races. “What inspired me and my dad is, it’s cultural, and it’s pure and good,” he says. “It keeps our youth away from drugs and alcohol, because due to generational trauma from residential schools, a lot of youth witness drugs and alcohol, and start at a young age, so we want to put a stop to that and having them training year round so they can compete in these races. Not only that, it teaches traditional values and traditional knowledge.” Louis says they’re expecting hundreds of people at the races, with about 14 clubs participating across different categories. “We’ve had enormous support from our community and administration, and Chief and Council. A huge, huge backing, and fans following us to other communities for their races, and Musqueam Chief and Council and Administration help to fund and organization of the races.”
Pulling Together Canoe Society
About | pullingtogethercanoesociety
Vision: To lead the way in the elimination of prejudice & stereotypes
Core values: Fun!, Unity, Respect, Cultural Diversity & Empathy.
Mission Statement: “Recognizing the past by Pulling Together to enhance understanding between Public Service Agencies and Aboriginal Peoples by Canoeing the traditional highway, strengthening our future relations.”
The Story of Pulling Together
Where The Canoe Takes Us: The Story Of Pulling Together on Vimeo
Pulling Together Canoe Society & Frames Film Project directed by Kryshan Randel
Synopsis - Canada’s treatment of its First Nation’s people has increasingly come under scrutiny by the United Nations and challenged by movements such as Idle No More. Yet for the
past thirteen years, Police and Government Public Service agencies have partnered each year with First Nations Communities with a focus on the youth. Together, they embark on eight to ten day canoe journeys through hundreds of kilometers of British Columbia’s waterways. The goal is simple: reconciliation by learning and understanding of each other’s cultures. Each journey is fraught with emotional, spiritual & physical challenges, ending in a shared story filled with song, dance and laughter.
The Forgotten Ones - Voice of the Metis in BC
We are proud to be Metis. Metis Nation of BC - We offer services to support and connect our community with their culture.
Ideas, insights and expertise
Public Salon - Introducing Vancouver to itself.
Videos of past salons
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf1r6NC_C2CLud5YIJe6SdQ
https://publicsalon.org/about/
The Public Salons originated from dinner gatherings hosted by Sam Sullivan and Lynn Zanatta for over a decade. These dinners were attended by up to 10 people from very different walks of life who each spent 5 to 10 minutes speaking about something they were passionate about. One of the few regulars at these dinners was friend and mentor Prof. Abraham Rogatnick who was the first to recognize that these dinner gatherings were actually salons. Salons came from 18th-century France and featured a cross-section of French society that would gather to discuss ideas. The impact on society was literally revolutionary! Prof. Rogatnick often encouraged Sam to bring the benefits and pleasures of the salon to a broader public. It wasn’t until after Abraham passed away that Sam and Lynn committed to fulfilling the wish of their friend. And so was born the idea of the Public Salon. Originally they were lunchtime events. Eventually they moved to evenings at the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre where they averaged audiences of 500. Shaw Television Channel 4 offered to broadcast a 1/2 hour Public Salon Television Show four times a week and this greatly increased the public awareness of the ideas of the speakers.
The Public Salons would not be possible without the many volunteers and the sponsors who are committed to making them a success.
Songs and poetry
Lovely Day - Tribute to Bill Withers by "Paris Select Band" - YouTube
Recorded and filmed by each one of us separately during quarantine.