Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/591861
Neighbourhood Small Grants Take the concept of the old "take a penny, leave a penny" trays that used to sit on cashiers' counters and apply it to practi- cal skills. at's the basic premise of the Surrey Skill Share Fair – learn a skill, share a skill. No pennies required. It's an event that Fair co-ordinator Peter Leblanc developed after he attended the Whatcom SkillShare Faire in Washington state. "I attended that a couple of times and I found it a fascinating event – an opportunity for different people to come together from the community and teach [each other] about something they knew about," he recalls. "I just enjoyed the event so much and thought it would be good to have something like that in Surrey." He suggested the idea to two of his friends, David Dalley and Janine van Ryn, and they were game to help out. anks to a $1,000 Neighbourhood Small Grant from Vancouver Founda- tion, they were able to hold the inaugural event in October 2014. During the free event, visitors could attend a variety of pre- sentations and workshops to learn a new skill or hobby presented by community members. ere was something for everyone with 18 options including beekeeping, reiki, bike maintenance and even learning to sing a cappella. Jennifer Swanson was one of the presenters. She shared two of her skills – podcasting and public speaking. Her booth proved to be a popular one because of both the novelty of being interviewed for a podcast and the universality of public speaking as a skill. "ere were all ages – everything from little children to seniors," Swanson recalls of the people with whom she was able to share her expertise. "I felt it was a community-building event and it was something that was accessible to anyone. It didn't matter if you had money or not because there were things that you could par- ticipate in," she says as she reflects on the event. p a g e 1 4 I V a n c o u v e r F o u n d a t i o n l F a l l 2 0 1 5 Neighbours in Surrey discover they have a lot to learn from each other By Valerie McTaVish Sharing 101