Our community is showing itself to be a generous-minded one. And there is absolutely no dearth of foundations, organizations, and institutions into which money, volunteer work, or other significant contributions can be made. Here are three that warrant all the help they can get; that are doing wonderful work to make our community stronger.
The Western Front has its 44th Anniversary Gala Dinner and Art Auction on March 4, 2017. Auctioneer (and artist) Hank Bull will do his usual superlative, cajoling job to help raise funds for the Front’s music and art programs. Several artists will be in attendance, and many generously donated works will be available for bidding and purchase. The Western Front was established in 1973, and has since become one of Western Canada’s leading facilitators of the contemporary arts. Concerts, visual presentations, workshops, and residencies are all part of what goes on here, and the funds raised at the gala are vital to sustaining it all.
As part of its 50th anniversary, in 2015, Vancouver Community College (VCC) held a gala dinner at which 50 chefs, all with some kind of association with the college, were in attendance to cook. Out of that event has sprung Flourish, the inaugural fundraising gala dinner, March 9 at VCC, featuring dishes by David Hawksworth, Angus An, Hamid Salimian, and several others, including reigning Chopped Canada champ Clement Chan. Funds raised are purposed to awards, training materials, and bursaries for VCC students. Food, of course, plus wine provided by the Naramata Bench Wineries Association, dancing, and a fashion show ensure this will be a jam-packed, fun evening.
The Children of the Street Society launches the BC Annual Stop the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Youth Awareness Week with its Celebration of Success gala, also March 9. This is the 6th annual event, which celebrates the organization’s many successes in positively impacting the children and youth of this province. The mission is to provide early intervention and proactive strategies in preventing sexual exploitation of our most vulnerable citizens. Education, mainly through the over 500 workshops the organization conducts each year, is the main tool, and there are dozens of volunteers who make the more than 25,000 participants come away with something tangible and valuable. An eclectic group of silent auction donors this year includes Fable Kitchen, The Commodore Ballroom, Telus, Sophie’s Cosmic Cafe, the Sylvia Hotel, the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, and the Vancouver Canadians. This only shows how widespread the support for Children of the Street Society really is, and this year’s gala and auction will raise funds vital to the ongoing successes, measured in lives saved.
