Fall 2016
For special friends of
Covenant House
Unconditional
Generosity Shows
Unconditional Love
Recently Sister Nancy got a
call from the front desk that
someone was here with a gift
and wished to speak with her.
She went to reception where
waiting for her was an elderly
man proudly standing with a jar
in his hand and a garbage bag
of donations over his shoulder.
Sister Nancy noticed that the jar was
wrapped with tape, and on the top
there was some writing in felt pen:
his name, Don. And inside the jar were
as many dimes as Sister Nancy had
ever seen in one place. $60.00 dollars
of dimes. Don held up the jar and
said his collection of $60 was his gift
to Covenant House Vancouver,
to help youth living on the street.
And he gave her the jar.
Then he gave Sister Nancy his garbage
bag, which was filled with rosaries,
toques and packs of playing cards.
“This is all I have to give” he said to her.
And he was so sincere, as if he had
given us a pot of gold. Continued...
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Unconditional Generosity....
but rather joy at the opportunity to give
Sister Nancy felt like he had just given
everything he had to give.
her, and us, $60 million dollars.
Sister Nancy and I think that Don is
Sister Nancy can’t stop thinking about
teaching all of us about the nature of
Don. She said that we get gifts of
unconditional love — which is that
all kinds and all sizes from all kinds
even when you give, out of love, to the
of people and Don gave us his most
point that you feel it, when it might
extraordinary gift. He gave us every-
cost you a little bit or a lot, something
thing he had, joyously, sharing
grows inside of you. Your biggest and
what wealth he had with our youth.
best self grows inside of you — this
When I first heard the story, I was a
little concerned. Shouldn’t we have
Christmas
Backpack Program
Needs Your Support!
We are very grateful to have donors who support us in many ways
was so obvious on Don’s face in our
and if you are looking for a different way to help our young
lobby that day.
people our Christmas Backpack Program is for you! Every month,
Covenant House gives away more than 700 pieces of clothing and
instructed this man to save his money?
Was this fair, to accept a gift from
toiletry items to our young people, and we would not be able to
someone who seemed not too well off
Mark Munn, a Pastoral Counsellor
himself? But then I realized he was
here, shared this story with our entire
determined to help us. He was proud
Covenant House Team recently —
to give. He was not feeling guilt or
we hope that it touches your heart as
pressure to donate his money to us,
it did ours.
do this without the generous gifts we receive from donors like you!
Each Christmas we provide all of our
young people with a backpack filled
with new clothing, toiletries and small
We invite you
to come to
Covenant House Vancouver to see the difference
you are making in the lives of our young people
When was the last time you were
As in the example with Mary, this is
thanked by a stranger? We saw it just
what you do every day with your
last week during a tour with Mary,
kindness when you give to the many
who is a long-time donor of Covenant
deserving homeless and at-risk youth
House. As we walked through the
who come through our doors.
Women’s Crisis Program, a young girl
living with us said to Mary out of
the blue,
“I think you’re wonderful for
helping a total stranger like me.
Thank you so much for giving to
Covenant House and helping me.”
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We invite you to come for a tour
and see how you are helping change
lives for the better! To set up a
tour call us at 604-638-4438 or email
[email protected].
gifts. We hope that you will consider
supporting our backpack program this
Christmas, making the holidays special
for our young people. You can help by:
1.You can be a Christmas elf
this year by volunteering to help
sort donations and pack
Christmas backpacks! Contact
Amanda at 604-639-8920 or
[email protected]
2.Support the Christmas Backpack
Program with items, gift
For general information about our
Christmas Backpack Program
cards or monetary donations.
call Marissa at 604-639-8937 or visit
Contact Marissa at 604-639-8937
www.covenanthousebc.org.
or [email protected]
for details.
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Forever Yours Lingerie
brings joy
to our young ladies!
Recently we had a special night in the girl’s Crisis Program — the
girls were treated to a luxury they are not accustomed to receiving
she came out for breakfast, her
the lives of the girls by treating them
demeanour had changed; she was
with kindness, dignity, and respect
more confident and looked proud.
and providing them an experience that
The volunteers from Forever Yours
many women take for granted.
Lingerie left a huge bin of items for our
Sincere thanks to the team from
donation department for those girls
Forever Yours — you reminded me that
that were not able to attend. On this
even the smallest of gestures can make
night, a group of women, taking time
all the difference to a young person.
out of their lives, made an impact on
Jaclyn D, Youth Worker
when living on the streets…a professional bra fitting and customized bra sets! This may seem simple and less important than what
is usually donated to our youth such as food, shelter, and clothing,
however, this night was incredibly meaningful to the girls.
At 7pm, a group of volunteers from
I brought the girls up to the space
Forever Yours Lingerie, came rolling
to meet with their personal consultant
through the lobby door with giant
who greeted each of them by name
pink suitcases, lingerie racks and an
and quickly got to work with measuring
energy that was contagious. I showed
and finding the right bras. As each
them up to the second floor where
youth finished their fitting they were
the event would take place and they
escorted to the wrapping station
set the stage for the girls who were
by their consultant where their newly
anticipating their arrival.
owned items were wrapped with
What happened next was truly an
impressive sight to see. The women
worked together like a well-oiled
attention in pretty pink tissue paper
and placed in a beautiful bag topped
with a bow.
Thank yo u
Coast Capital Savings for supporting Rights of Passage
Coast Capital Savings is
supporting the young people
in our Rights of Passage
program with a generous gift
of $20,000!
Youth in Rights of Passage live in
a supportive, family like atmosphere
(sometimes for the first time in their
lives) where they participate in a
6 step life skills program, further their
education, and gain employment
experience. When young people leave
machine, communicating to each other
A few girls that night had difficulties
about their roles and duties, and began
in the past finding the right items
prepared to live as independent adults
emptying a plethora of undergarments
from our donations department and on
and leave street life behind forever.
from their pink cases. With joy and
this night, when they were given the
excitement, the volunteers unpacked
bras that fit them just right, I could see
each item with care and displayed
them light up. One young lady had
them on the tables and racks like one
been wearing a bra that was literally
would see in a lingerie store.
held up by strings. The next day when
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Rights of Passage they are fully
Every year, Coast Capital Savings
invests 7% of their pre-tax profits
towards local community causes.
Thank you to Coast Capital
Savings for believing in our
young people!
Since 2000, that’s resulted in more
than $60 million.
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Susan’s
Legacy
Since Susan’s passing on November 5th,
thankful and appreciative of how we are
2015, her family visited the rooftop
able to honor Susan’s legacy through
garden and ROP. During the tour, many
the garden and her relationships with
staff shared their stories of Susan with
youth and staff, and how everyone
her family. When youth in ROP who
is so passionate about their work with
knew Susan were told of her passing,
homeless and at-risk youth.
they gave her family hand-made cards
You often hear how Covenant
House Vancouver wouldn’t
be here if it wasn’t for the
kindness and generosity of our
volunteers and donors. Susan
Gibson is a shining example.
with personal, warm-hearted messages
and included a photo of Susan on
her last day of volunteering. One young
lady in ROP requested and spoke to
Susan Gibson and her
grand-daughter, Lau
Susan spent 5 years volunteering
Susan volunteered weekly until she was
as a gardener for the rooftop garden
diagnosed with terminal cancer and
Susan’s family about her many positive
From all the youth, staff, and volunteers
at Covenant House Vancouver, we
thank Susan for her dedication and
generosity and for leaving a legacy
to our young people.
experiences with the respected elder.
If you would like to learn more
The family was so touched and while
leave a legacy, please contact
about how you or a loved one can
some were in tears, they were able to
Linda Foster at 604-639-8913 or
feel close to Susan again. They were so
[email protected].
at our Pender location and as an
fell ill in 2015. Susan knew right away
assistant in Rights of Passage, our
she wanted her legacy to include
transitional living program. As a
helping the young people even when
volunteer, she saw first-hand how
she was no longer with us. As part of
having a safe place to call home and
her legacy and lasting memory, she
providing unconditional love and
left a very generous gift to Covenant
absolute respect to youth can change
House, in particular for the rooftop
Across Canada and the US, dedicated
At Covenant House Vancouver we
their lives for the better.
garden and the youth in ROP.
men, women and children are
are proud to announce our Sleep Out
Chelsea Minhas, Manager of Rights of
Susan’s grand-daughter, Lau Mehes,
sleeping out to raise critical funds and
movement is growing and we are
Passage, recalls “Susan was a dearly
shares that “Covenant House and
awareness for homeless youth. Our
adding new Sleep Out events this year:
loved volunteer in ROP. She was known
gardening were two of my Gramma’s
for her famous fruit salad, doing the
big loves in life. The opportunity to
alterations on youth clothing for job
combine the two allowed her to
interviews, and purchasing a lamp
cultivate a love of nature, beauty, and
for each youth bedroom so they had
dedication with the youth at Covenant
adequate light to complete their school
House. These values she held dear.
work. She was a strong advocate for
Working with the youth in the Rights
our youth, and was keen to make
of Passage and making sure the
sure that ROP always had everything it
garden was cared for gave her a great
needed from plants to spruce up the
sense of purpose, and relationships
rooftop garden, to microwaves for each
she valued deeply.”
Our Sleep Out Events are growing!
participant’s will take to the streets
with only a sleeping bag and a piece
of card board to ensure homeless
kids have a safe place to stay.
Sleep Out: Executive Edition
Sleep Out: Young Professionals
Sleep Out: Mother’s Edition
Sleep Out: Student Edition
To learn more about participating
or to support a Sleep Out Participant
please visit our website:
www.covenanthousebc.org/
how-you-can-help/sleep-out-movement
suite, and movie passes at Christmas.”
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575 Drake Street
Vancouver BC V6B 4K8
www.covenanthousebc.org
Tel: (604) 638–GIFT (4438)
Crisis Program: (604) 685–7474
Fax: (604) 685–5324
Immediacy Sanctuary Value Communication Structure
Choice