Around Town: Himalayan Ride, Recovery & Resiliency Fund, Mobile Drop-ins

Six riders completed the gruelling ‘Altitude: The Ride for Himalayan Life’ in Nepal last week.

Cycling through Nepal. True, it’s hard to come up with a venture less ‘around town.’ But a film about the ride will be shown locally in November – so look for a date. It will be worth watching.

Six riders completed ‘Altitude: The Ride for Himalayan Life’ September 15. They rode 600 kilometres in six days over challenging roads, including passes with altitudes up to 18,000 feet.

Leading the team was Daniel Burgi, who founded Himalayan Life more than 20 years ago. Here is how it began:

While travelling in the Himalayas, I captured in my mind and with my lens those awe-inspiring vistas of towering mountains and glaciers, raging rivers, pretty villages and ever-smiling people. Then it happened, totally out of the blue: one of those life-transforming encounters . . .

I was about to board a train when suddenly I found myself encircled by a horde of some 20 rag-clad kids begging for food or anything. . . .

Go here for more of Burgi’s story.

Himalayan Life now works in many creative ways with impoverished youth:

The purpose of this ride is not to check off a bucket list item, but rather to touch in a small way on the reality of the lives of many families and children we serve: high altitude, thin air, uncertainty and challenge. It is also an opportunity to raise funds.

As Himalayan Life, we believe that the key to transformation in the Himalayas is education. We want to raise funds to help more children access education so they can experience the transformation it offers.

Congratulations to Daniel, Cam, Denise, Tim, Sonam and Mike for completing their arduous ride. More coverage on this impressive work as the date of the film screening is confirmed.

Recovery & Resiliency Fund

Time is short, but there are still a few days for churches and ministries to apply for the Recovery & Resiliency Fund – “multi-year flexible grants for charities and non-profit organizations disproportionately impacted by the pandemic to support their recovery and long-term resiliency.”

The application deadline is September 30.

An article on the Vancouver Foundation site describes how the fund represents “a shift in our grantmaking”:

As we begin to turn our focus towards pandemic recovery and long-term resiliency, what has become clear is the critical role the charitable and non-profit sector in BC has had in supporting community through such a challenging time.

Together, the Government of BC, Vancouver Foundation, United Way BC, and New Relationship Trust have partnered on the Recovery and Resiliency Fund to bring $34 million to help those organizations that have been hit hardest by the pandemic.

It points out four “disruptions” represented by their new approach:

First, we’re trying to disrupt the policy within the funding system that requires organizations to have charitable status to be eligible to apply for funding.

Second, we’re trying to disrupt the idea that this sector can and should do a lot with little.

Next, we’re trying to further centre equity in our grantmaking by prioritizing organizations who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

Lastly, we’re trying to disrupt the practice of placing applicants in a competitive process based on merit by introducing a randomized selection process.

Go here to see each of those points filled out and for more information, and here for instructions on how to actually apply for the funds.

I was assured by a Vancouver Foundation representative that churches are eligible for the grants. And as I looked at the “equity-denied” groups mentioned in their centrally-important Equity Matrix, I realized, once more, why churches are so beneficial to our society: Age; Indigeneity, Ethnicity, Race; Dis/ability; Economic Status; Sex, Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation; Nationality; and Other Groups Experiencing Marginality (Prison populations, people struggling with addiction).

I have posted a good number of articles about the positive economic influence of churches, especially regarding the Halo Effect and WayBase studies.

Youth Mobile Drop-in

Youth Unlimited started off the school year with a bang, introducing two creative new ways of engaging with young people on the North Shore and in Abbotsford. Here is their introduction:

As our first full week of the new school year wraps up, we are excited to share about the successful launch of two of our mobile youth drop-ins: The Truck in Abbotsford and the Youth Mobile Drop-In on the Northshore.

Pre-pandemic, we began the process of completely renovating and retooling an American firetruck, transforming it into a mobile drop-in center for youth. On September 10 the completed Truck – the result of hundreds of hours of work and blood, sweat and probably tears – was officially revealed and launched.

This same week, the newly remodelled Northshore Mobile Drop-in Centre was launched, a haven for youth during lunch time as well as for other programs.

We are so thankful for these powerful resources to be made available to youth, when and how they need it.

Greater Vancouver Youth Unlimited is “a charter member of Youth for Christ Canada, an international, non-denominational Christian ministry which, for over 75 years, has passionately engaged young people to live their full life potential as designed by God. Today, we have front line youth workers across Greater Vancouver based in Abbotsford, Chilliwack, East Vancouver, Langley, Maple Ridge, Mission, North Vancouver, Richmond and Surrey.”

Sep 2022

City Illuminated – September 17, 2022 - September 28, 2022 at All Day
Cultivating Transformative Reconciliation: The Canadian TRC Experience in Dialogue with the South African and Nordic Cases – September 21, 2022 - September 22, 2022 at All Day
Dr. Michael Higgins: An Open Inquiry into the Ongoing Clerical Sex Abuse Crisis – September 22, 2022 at 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
SIMinar: Explore Middle East – September 22, 2022 at 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
How to Respond to Anti-Semitism in Christian Biblical Interpretation – September 22, 2022 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Somerville Lecture: An Eschatology of Rest: Music and Contemplation as Care for A Restless World – September 22, 2022 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Embodied Spirituality Retreat – September 23, 2022 at 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Matthew Thiessen: Jesus and the Forces of Death – September 23, 2022 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Jeff Plankenhorn – September 23, 2022 at 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Walk the Wall (International China Concern) – September 24, 2022 at 12:00 am
Resilient Women Reset: Mini Conference – September 24, 2022 at 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Doctor-Assisted Suicide & Canada's Crisis of Conscience – September 25, 2022 at 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Memorial Evensong for HM Queen Elizabeth II – September 25, 2022 at 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
The Truth-Seeking Mission of the University – September 27, 2022 at 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Taking Action Against the Global Food Crisis – September 27, 2022 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Faith Driven Entrepreneur & Faith Driven Investor: Live – September 28, 2022 at 7:00 am - 1:30 pm
(Un)charitable: Is Charitable Status Being Politicized? – September 28, 2022 at 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Jazz Vespers: Quintessential Jazz – September 28, 2022 at 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
The Scriptorium Grand Opening, Featuring UBC President Santa Ono – September 28, 2022 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Jazz Evensong @ Brentwood: Les Djangophiles – September 28, 2022 at 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Dusty Sandals Partner Dinner – September 29, 2022 at 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
604 Chapel – September 30, 2022 at 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm
Paul Pigat – September 30, 2022 at 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Oct 2022

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Around Town: Himalayan Ride, Recovery & Resiliency Fund, Mobile Drop-ins

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