Vancouver Communauté Nouvelles

The City of Vancouver's Awards of Excellence Ceremony will be held tonight (February 28) at the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre (181 Roundhouse Mews) from 5:30 to 8 p.m. The awards recognize individuals, groups, and organizations in five categories: accessible city, greenest city leadership, civic volunteer, diversity and inclusion, and healthy city for all.

A Burnaby Grade 5 student is ready to groove in Santiago de Cuba next month with Vancouver’s School of Groove, a school devoted to the music and rhythm of Cuba, Brazil, Mexico and West Africa. Griffin Ford will be in Cuba March 16 to 27 for the International Pepe Sanchez Trova Festival. The trip is a cultural exchange but will also provide the Canadian group with a chance to donate much-needed supplies and musical instruments to schools in Cuba.

Well hello summer! You’re finally here, forcing your unyielding heat and lengthy daylight hours on anyone who will listen. As the season rolls in, you are probably contemplating where you should go for your summer vacation. Have you ever considered volunteering abroad?

Part of community impact is engaging in the civic life of communities, and that starts with electing national and local leaders. Holding elections hinges on the help of volunteers, so this area is one that’s ripe for employee involvement.

Voluntourism has a bad reputation. It's supposed to help vulnerable communities, but often it seems like the only people to benefit are the volunteers, who get new content for their resume and photos for their Instagram.

Co-founded by Chad Smalley and Kevin Chua in December 2015, Involver - Social Volunteering is a platform that connects volunteers to social causes and help corporations and non-profits run data-oriented structured CSR programs economically.