Covenant House Vancouver

A few weeks ago, Aaron Hutchinson came down to Covenant House with an idea. He told me about how he felt when he saw a young person on the street asking for money. The thought of young Vancouverites in such troubled situations moved Aaron into action and he started thinking about what he could do to help them on a larger scale.

He toured our Drake & Seymour Street location and asked a lot of questions about our programs and services for young people up to 25 years of age. Aaron wanted to try to help them make positive changes in their lives and saw Covenant House as an organization that could help make that happen. And so, Aaron embarked on his ‘Change for Change' initiative.

He has involved 18 restaurants in the downtown core, dozens of friends, and Juno nominated band Marianas Trench. The goal: collect as much spare change as they possibly can (the group is aiming for 6000 pounds of the stuff!), and put it all together to make a larger impact.  Click here to see the Marianas Trench video promoting this fundraiser.

The ‘Change for Change' buckets around the city are filling up quickly and on February 7 the fundraiser will conclude with a weigh in party at Ginger 62 where all proceeds will go to Covenant House Vancouver. 

Thanks Aaron for all of your hard work!

Below is a list of participating restaurants:

Earlier in the year, Hollyburn  and Covenant House agreed to partner in a new and exciting way. Hollyburn agreed to provide a completely furnished suite in one of their buildings and Covenant House agreed to find and support a young person who could make the most of this "hand up".

After and extensive interview process, Covenant House selected a young person who is now currently living in one of Hollyburn's buildings, while still being supported by the staff and resources that we provide.

TD Waterhouse Private Investment Advice to host Gala for second year

This gala event will kick-off or "30 days for 30 nights" campaign which aims to raise enough money to cover the cost of running our shelter for the entire month of December; this year's goal is $279,000.

You will enjoy cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, amazing silent and live auction items and fabulous raffle prizes. Last year this event raised over $80,000 to help cover the day-to-day operations of our 54 bed crisis shelter for our busiest month of the year.

Please join etalk Daily and laineygossip.com's Elaine Lui, Master of Ceremonies, on November 26, 2009 from 5:00-8:00pm at Birks Vancouver. You can truly make a difference in the lives of homeless youth.

Contact Shelley Holmes at 604-482-5131, or Shelley.Holmes@td.com for tickets.

Tickets are $75.00 each.

To explore sponsorship opportunities or to donate an auction item, please contact Adil H. Chagani at 604-482-2425, or Adil.Chagani@td.com.

The Holiday Season is just around the corner and we would like to thank all our friends in the community for caring for our kids during this special time of the year! Your donations are always welcome and appreciated. We are open 24 hours/day for drop-offs at our 575 Drake (@ Seymour) location. 

For your convenience, please find below a list of priority items that are especially useful for our youth.

Special Items for Christmas stockings (new items please)

The Domino Effect "If one falls we all fall," a black and white themed fundraiser, is aimed at celebrating local and international organizations that have helped youth off the streets and out of poverty. It's a time for our community to come together and celebrate those that spend day after day helping young people out of the cycle of poverty.

There will be prizes, games, an acoustic performance and DJ's to get the party going!

Tickets - $16 will get you a Granville Island beer, a chance to win some prizes, appies and entertainment throughout the evening!

Tickets available through facebook, Smileys Public House or contact us at povertyactionteam@yci.org