downtown
September 5, 2013 Volume 12 • Number 36 50¢ Newsstand Price
INSIDe
MARKETING VISION SESSION
Adressing homelessness – page 2
September 24
RSVP by September 20 to admin@kcbia.com
also
kcbia.com
Retirement planning – page 3 YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD, YOUR NEWSPAPER
Celebrating families and community Family Tree Family Drop-In Centre is hosting its 2nd Annual Family Fun Day on September 7 from 9:00am to noon at Prince Charles Park. The United Steelworkers Local 7619 will be providing a pancake breakfast, which will be followed by music, games and crafts for the kids, as well as draws and a silent auction. “We just want to bring more awareness about what we do and engage families,” says Family Tree’s executive director Susan Wright of the family-focused event. “After a yummy pancake breakfast we’ll be doing fun activities that have been enjoyed for generations like hula-hooping, an egg toss, tug-o-war – simple, fun games kids love. It’s a way we can bring the community together, celebrate our kids and have fun.” The event reflects what the agency does well: creating space for families to connect. At Family Tree they believe it takes a village to raise a child. They offer a variety of peer driven programs five days a week to bring families and professionals from the community together, offering support in a warm and inviting atmosphere. The program that was first started by two moms has grown steadily over the years and continues to reach further into the community all the time. “I first met Susan when she spoke at one of the United Way lunches held on the Highland Valley Copper mine site during a campaign a few years ago. She spoke with such passion and conviction about the work her agency does and the variety of services and connections to other agencies that Family Tree provides,” says Laura Drennan with the United Steelworkers Local 7619. “We felt immediately that this was an agency that we wanted to have a connection with and help in any small way that we could. The Women of Steel Committee at the mine decided that they would
On a typical day at Family Tree’s Family Drop-in Centre kids and their parents connect and play in a warm, friendly, inviting atmosphere.
be one of the beneficiaries of their annual “From the Heart Campaign” where donations of basic hygienic products, Easter goodies and monies raised through a raffle are collected on the mine site. Through our interaction over the following years we have stayed connected to Family Tree and find ourselves running into Susan and her staff regularly at various functions around the city. Susan had mentioned a Family Tree Fundraiser/
BBQ and we asked if we could help by providing the food and drinks. It couldn’t have been a better fit, both for Family Tree and our activists who love to help agencies such as hers.” You will find Laura and her fellow Steelworkers flipping pancakes at Family Fun Day, so get there early if you want to fill your belly. The breakfast – continued on page 2 Let us take care of your special event. We offer full service catering. Now taking reservations for fall and Christmas.