Here at Covenant House Vancouver we provide so much for the youth; a safe place to stay, a warm bed, and three meals a day, as staples, but we also offer the youth structure, knowing that it will aid in them in their journey to wellness.  A question I often hear from the people who don’t work at Covenant House is, “Do you think the small stuff that you do for the youth makes differences in their lives?”  I can honestly answer that question with a resounding, “Yes, it does.”

I came on shift a few weeks back, to find one youth a little down. While talking to the youth I remembered he liked to knit and a few days earlier had shown me some beautiful yarn he had purchased in order to knit a scarf. I suggested to the youth that he go get his yarn and knit. The youth proceeded to inform me that the yarn had been washed, and as a result had become entangled. I asked the youth to go show me the entangled yarn. He brought the yarn to me and I proceeded to slowly untangle the mess. It took about 2 hours, but when I was done I presented the youth with 3 balls of yarn that he could work with.

As I came on shift today, this youth was just coming into the shelter with another buddy from the Rights of Passage program (ROP), as that is where he now lives. He stated to the other youth, “That is the worker I told you about, the one who took the time to fix my yarn for me.”  He again thanked me and stated he is still wondering why – wondering why I took the time to unravel the yarn.  All I said to the youth was, “Because I could, that’s reason enough-right?”  He answered with a warm smile and a gentle nod.  So… do the small things make a difference in the youth’s lives?  You bet they do...

On June 4 more than 400 people filtered through the doors and into iMining's wine tasting event at Mahony and Sons tavern. With fifteen generous corporate sponsors, a ticket sell out, and the BC Lions cheerleaders, the Felions, prowling for would be raffle participants, iMining's not-for-profit event raised $38,500 for Covenant House Vancouver, $8,500 more than the initial target.

iMining and its management have long supported Covenant House Vancouver and view the partnership as steadfast and long-term. "We are extremely proud to be able to host such successful events in support of this important local charity," said Robert Eadie, President and CEO of iMining.

"Were it not for the generosity of socially responsible companies such as those who partnered with iMining to make the event such a wonderful success, we would not be able to fulfill our commitment to reducing youth homelessness in Vancouver," says Marty Staniforth, Senior Development Officer at Covenant House Vancouver.

Covenant House Vancouver sends a HUGE thank you to iMining and to everyone who supported this event!