Changes & the charitable sector
Apr 28, 2013 / 5:00 am
When I tell people I grew up in West Kelowna, the question that often follows is, “You must have seen a lot of change, eh?” And indeed it’s very true. When I attended Westbank Elementary, there was no couplet highway, mega-stores or double-laned highway to the Lower Mainland....
Giving back: Part 2
Jan 20, 2013 / 5:00 am
In my last column, I talked about finding a rewarding way to give back to community. This week’s topic is choosing the cause you will support. We all make careful choices about where we put our time and money. There are hundreds of causes and organizations saying “pick me!”...
Giving back: Part 1
Jan 6, 2013 / 5:00 am
Photo: Contributed In this column and the next one, I will share ways of ensuring a satisfying experience when giving back to community. This week, I focus on important questions to ask yourself. Next time, we turn our attention on questions to ask of the causes and...
Hampers for Holidays
Dec 23, 2012 / 5:00 am
Photo: Contributed This time of year, many families struggle with expenses. It’s not just being able to buy presents and serve a turkey dinner; with utility costs going up, many families fear they won’t get through the winter. Every little bit of help can make a...
360 Degree Young Professionals
Dec 9, 2012 / 5:00 am
There are many ways for young professionals to contribute their time, energy and talent to their communities. However, not all volunteer opportunities are designed to meet the unique needs of people in their 20s and 30s. Non-profit organizations in Kelowna are evolving in order to gain access to...
Inn from the Cold
Nov 25, 2012 / 5:00 am
As a former shelter worker, I was often asked “what happens if the shelter is full?” That question comes up every day at Inn from the Cold, Kelowna’s winter homeless shelter . “The first night we opened this year we were at 29 guests and our capacity is 35 guests....
Those who serve
Nov 11, 2012 / 5:00 am
Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, “it is high time that the ideal of success should be replaced with the ideal of service.” Photo: Contributed On Remembrance Day, we take time to acknowledge the contributions and sacrifices of those who have served (and...
Community Living Month
Oct 28, 2012 / 5:00 am
This column was submitted by the Kelowna and District Society for Community Living in acknowledgement that October is Community Living Month in British Columbia. Eleanor Roosevelt said: "The most important thing in any relationship is not what you get, but what you...
'Hope'
Oct 14, 2012 / 5:00 am
This column was guest written by Aimee Jensen, a social work student from UBC Okanagan, who spent her summer working at United Way, thanks to a Canada Summer Jobs Grant from Service Canada. Ten years ago, Kelowna resident Jackie Douglas was living a life with addiction. At the...
Essentials for women
Oct 6, 2012 / 5:00 am
The United Way is pleased to welcome NOW Canada as one of our newest Community Partners! When a community need is urgent, and resources are limited, non-profit organizations innovate to make change happen. That’s exactly what is happening in the Essentials Program at NOW...
Reducing stigma
Sep 16, 2012 / 5:00 am
Photo: Contributed Chris Schneider Chris Schneider wants to show people how to think, not what to think. This Assistant Professor of Sociology from UBC Okanagan especially wants students, and society at large, to think critically about issues like crime, stigma,...
Campus community
Sep 7, 2012 / 5:00 am
Photo: Contributed Abdulrahman Alnaar arrived at the UBC Okanagan Campus on September 21, 2009 to study political science. An international student from the Kingdom of Bahrain, he had volunteered extensively through his high school back home (with mentoring and...
Getting involved
Sep 2, 2012 / 5:00 am
Photo: Contributed Beryl Itani has dedicated much of her time over the years to causes like Snowfest and Sunshine Theatre, but is perhaps most widely known for coordinating volunteers during the 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park Fire in Kelowna. Now retired, she still...
Medwatch miracles
Aug 19, 2012 / 5:00 am
Photo: Contributed Sue Selzler has become a passionate advocate for the program that saved her life. The West Kelowna senior is speaking out about the Medwatch Program, with the hope that other people will benefit in the same...
Give a memory
Aug 5, 2012 / 5:00 am
Photo: Contributed Many of my childhood summer memories involve doing something fun with my family. Those summer days and nights seemed endless, filled with camping trips, days at the beach, and long bike rides. Family life has changed in the past few decades....
No hungry children
Jul 22, 2012 / 5:00 am
In a community as prosperous as Kelowna, it is hard to believe that kids can go hungry, and yet child hunger is the biggest issue facing the Kelowna Community Food Bank. Forty percent of the food bank’s clients are under the age of 15. Good nutrition is essential. Nutritionally...
Go green and give
Jul 8, 2012 / 5:00 am
It’s a time honoured tradition with a twist. Along with the usual fundraising activities at the United Way, there is a new and exciting way to raise money that benefits the environment as well. United Way is tackling the growing problem of electronic waste and literally turning it into...
Making memories
Jun 24, 2012 / 5:00 am
When I was a kid, summer camp was a total blast. Being away from home and running around the woods with a band of other kids is one of my favourite childhood memories. I had the opportunity to try things I had never done before, like sailing and archery. We stayed up all night playing a wild...
Gardens to go
Jun 10, 2012 / 5:00 am
There is something very gratifying about knowing that the carrot or beet you are eating was nurtured by your own hands. Increasingly, social service programs are recognizing that people need access to fresh fruits and vegetables, as a component of good health and well-being. Community garden...
Words and Wine
May 27, 2012 / 5:00 am
I used to believe that literacy meant a person could read. That was before I got to know the folks at Project Literacy Kelowna Society (a United Way funded Community Partner Agency) and learned that literacy is a much broader spectrum of abilities beyond reading and writing. Many of us take...
The views expressed are strictly those of the author and not necessarily those of Castanet. Castanet presents its columns "as is" and does not warrant the contents.
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