Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/591861
A Legacy Fund at Vancouver Foundation is an excellent way to support your favourite charities and help future generations at the same time. We can show you how a Legacy Fund offers flexibility and peace of mind. For more details, contact Kristin in Donor Services at 604.629.5186. Faces of Philanthropy p a g e 1 8 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 Teens in focus Gordon has given much thought to youth issues. Between teaching at UBC, skateboarding, and the responsibilities of a senior planning position at Vancouver City Hall, he also finds time for making documentary films. For Gordon, it's not about pursuing a secondary career in cinema so much as documenting the nuances and character of the city he loves. His second docu- mentary effort, rough a Young Lens, released in 2006, is a revealing glimpse into Vancouver youth culture – a pastiche of interviews conducted with 15 teenagers from King George Secondary School, in the heart of downtown. "ey were really articulate kids, and I discovered a lot about the positives and nega- tives of living in such a densely populated area. ere's not a lot for some of these kids to do when school is over and the recreation centres close. Some of them still feel pretty margin- alized at times," says Gordon, who is now working with col- league Mark Pickersgill on his fifth documentary, a history of Vancouver's live music venues. Gordon has a concept for how his youth fund could be deployed to make a difference. He believes the 10-and-under age group is already served well by playgrounds and school- yards. However, it's not always the same for the 12-to-18-year-old set, which can sometimes be left to hanging out on the streets, in shopping malls and in other impromptu gathering spots. ough neither a location nor plans have been drafted yet, Gordon envisions a public outdoor space somewhere in the city that would include a skate park, plaza and other teen-friendly infrastructure. As for why he chose to establish the funds with Vancouver Foundation, Gordon says it was a natural fit. e Foundation enables donors to determine the timing, type of fund and method of financing to best suit their needs. "Vancouver Foundation makes it very easy to establish a per- sonal legacy fund," Gordon says. And a legacy is exactly what Gordon hopes to leave for the young students and youth of Vancouver. I remember in 1965 being quite interested in skateboarding but none of my friends were into it. Instead, I took it up in mid-life and I actually got quite good at it. " "