Grant recipients
at the event included…

Urban Promise
Director Bruce Robinson said, “So few funders will give money for ordinary, non-flashy things – like sports equipment, cooking materials. But that’s what we needed, and that’s what Central City funded.”

H.A.V.E. Café
Amber Anderson, Executive Director of the café, displayed pictures of the equipment that Central City purchased, including a giant chopping machine called a robocoupe. “It’s taken hours off our labour,” she said, explaining that they’d burnt out three regular sized food processors before getting the grant for professional equipment.

Tradeworks Custom Products
Toni Glick operates the laser engraver that Central City helped purchase for the program. Tradeworks has made a huge difference in her life: “I was new to Vancouver, a single mom, older woman—Tradeworks helped me re-enter the workforce.”

Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House
DENH staffer Kaitlin Kazmierowski explained that all the organization’s activities include healthy meals, so new kitchen equipment from Central City has been a key part of their success.

Gather and Give
A van from Central City enables Gather and Give to deliver 110 “starter kits” a month—basic kitchen and bathroom supplies to help people get started in a new home. Melaney Gleeson-Lyall, Director of Operations, says that the organization will soon be working with the City of Vancouver to supply kits for the new SROs that the city is opening.

Dugout  Bob Burrows (left) with CCF Board Member Fred Inglis
Dugout manager Jackie Smith brought photos and newspaper clippings from the 40 years that the Dugout has been running; Central City has funded the organization since the beginning. “Without Central City we would cease to exist,” says founder Bob Burrows.

Just Work
Shelimar Lakowski, Production Coordinator, showed off the pottery made in the new kiln that Central City funded. The old kiln was so unreliable that workers had to check it regularly, breathing in noxious fumes. Funding from Central City also purchased a new ventilation system.

Central City Foundation Donor appreciation event

On a cool clear evening in early March, Centre A in the heart of the Downtown Eastside was filled with a lively crowd of Central City Foundation’s friends, supporters, neighbours, donors, grant recipients and community partners. What a perfect evening: wonderful guests, tasty food, and countless examples of the creativity and generosity of our community.

We wanted to appreciate our donors with more than wine and cheese—we wanted to show them the amazing ways in which their money has made a real difference in the lives of their neighbours. So we invited our grant recipients to come to the event and show off their work. Volunteers and staff from about 23 organizations came and set up displays around the room.

As party guests explored the displays, the air was buzzing with excitement. Grant recipients passionately and proudly explained how their programs make a difference, and donors listened intently. The funded organizations connected with each other too, something they don’t usually have an opportunity to do, given their hectic schedules and demanding workloads. Workers shared stories and ideas, successes and challenges, and even took a few minutes to enjoy some refreshments.

Not only did the guests get to talk with our grant recipients, but they also got a close-up look at things like 40 years of photos from the Dugout, unique ceramics from Just Potters and engraved hand-made wood products from Tradeworks Custom Woodproducts. Another grantee, Potluck Café, provided the hors d'oeuvres.

Many of the donors started off the evening with tours of Lu’s Pharmacy and Phil Bouvier Family Centre, which they rode to in vans that Central City had funded for Battered Women’s Support Services and Urban Native Youth Association.

One corner of Centre A was home to a display about our biggest new project, The Crossing at Keremeos—including a replica, built by Tradeworks, of the boardwalk at The Crossing, where donors’ names will be engraved. Tradeworks also created the gift that will be given to The Crossing’s fundraising campaign volunteers—a bamboo box with an engraving of The Crossing on the lid, and a pen inside made from reclaimed wood from the trees blown down in Stanley Park during the windstorms.

In the words of Jennifer Johnstone, “We are constantly inspired by this community’s resilience and creativity, by the ability to find inventive solutions to seemingly intractable problems. The programs that we fund—our partners—support youth, support women and children, support families, and support our neighbours: we honour and celebrate each of you. Thank you to the fabulously loyal and committed donors, large and small, new and longstanding who continue to support Central City Foundation and our inner city community.”

Huge thanks to…
Alexandra Paproski, for planning and coordinating this event
Deanna Wing, for taking care of countless details
Miriam Sobrino, Atira Women’s Resource Society, for speaking at the event
Pat Paproski, for providing wonderful jazz all evening
Our hosts, Centre A for providing such a fabulous community venue

And all our friends, supporters, neighbours, donors, grant recipients and community partners for celebrating with us!