Vancouver Foundation

Grants at a Glance Here are a few of the projects Vancouver Foundation and our donors recently supported p a g e 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 Photos: Courtesy Inclusion Festival; iStock All-inclusive Unity is our strength, diversity is wealth. The slogan for the Inclusion Festival held at Burnaby's Ernie Winch Park echoes the ethos of volunteer co-ordinator Marleni Gomez. Gomez travelled here from Peru in 2012, and was immediately captivated by what she calls "the Vancouver lifestyle": caring for the environment, cultivating and maintaining strong community ties, and taking time to enjoy life. Inspired by her new city, Marleni created the family-friendly Inclusion Festival as a way of encouraging locals to come together in celebration of ethnic, economic and social differences, and to allow people from different walks of life to experience and learn from each other's rich cultures. With the help of a $500 Neighbourhood Small Grant from Vancouver Foundation, the second annual festival – which took place in June 2015 – attracted more than 600 people, twice as many as anticipated. Gomez has already started planning for next year's festival, opening doors between neighbours and organizations, fostering understanding and appreciation between cultures, and creating a more tightly knit community than ever before. Deconstructed digs Habitat for Humanity's ReStore has earned a reputation across North America as a socially conscious retail space housing high-quality building supplies and home accessories – but what many don't know is that most of the store's products are repurposed, returned or donated items that would have otherwise ended up in landfills. In fact, ReStore has spearheaded a slew of eco-minded initiatives across its nearly 1,000 North American stores that aim to engage the public in environmentally friendly practices and educate building professionals about city bylaws related to diverting waste. The non-profit's latest endeavour is the Deconstruction Program, which salvages detritus from demolished homes, then sells the material or repurposes it for public projects that demonstrate how garbage can be given new life. A $50,000 Greenest City Grant from Vancouver Foundation is allowing ReStore's Vancouver venues to take the program one step further by helping to fund the ultimate deconstruction project: an entire house made solely from repurposed materials, which will be given to a family in need. Who knew a bit of recycling could do so much good?

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