Hello BOB blog readers!

Here is a letter from the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Gardens.  Let’s help make them one of the “Great Public Spaces” in Canada!  The real competition is a few places in Toronto..  Now we love Toronto..  But we love Vancouver more!  And we want to show off one of our gems.  So vote away!

Lovin’ our city,

The BOB Team

Dear wonderful folks at BOB,

We’ve been nominated as one of the The Great Places in Canada in the “Great Public Spaces” category!

There are first, second and third place winers based on votes, we believe….we need your help to be number 1!!  The three categories are “Great Streets,” “Great Neighbourhoods,” and “Great Public Spaces.” We’re in Great Public Spaces.

http://www.cip-icu.ca/greatplaces/en/place.asp?id=5930

You can only vote once each time you go on the site AND have to wait a while between visits. Please pass this to all your network and ask for their support for us. The voting goes on until the end of February; this is going to be a long campaign

Kathy

Executive Director

Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden

www.vancouverchinesegarden.com

In December we co-hosted a fabulous holiday open house with Tradeworks Training Society. With over 70 guests attending from the agencies and businesses we work with, it was a smashing success! Here are a few highlights:

Dafna Ohana of the Job Shop put together some beautiful party platters. She used to work in catering and you can tell! Just one of her many talents.

Friends new and old attended the event. At left is Gabe Mo-Williams, the latest addition to the BOB family. His proud parents James and Ada are in the centre, flanked by former BOB CEO Shirley Chan on the left and Maureen Collier of BOB & Tradeworks on the right. Gabe was happy to meet everyone but found the party rather tiresome.

It was great to see so many people mingling and enjoying the spirit of the season.

Rob Holland and Seann Dory from Solefood Urban Farm came to the soiree. Rob kindly shared his story for the crowd, telling us how meaningful it is for him to continue working on the farm and how he got started there with help from the BOB Businesslinks urban farmer training program.

Heather Sinclair, formerly of the Job Shop, recently moved to IAM CARES Society. Here she is with Louise Hibbs of IAM CARES Society and Danielle Kottmeier, formerly of IAM CARES and now one of our own here at BOB!

The gang from Open Door were very cheerful and festive! They really enjoyed the choice dim sum we brought in from local restaurant Jade Dynasty.

Irwin Oostindie from W2 Media Cafe took time out between events to join us. Here he is with our very own Liz Charyna.

Liz presented Barb Mount from Impark with an award for the leadership they have shown in partnering with BOB to create a culture of diversity hiring. In the last year they have hired 11 individuals through us for everything from CSR to data entry. Their commitment to working with BOB has  improved the lives of many while also creating positive change in the culture of their call center. Trimpac-Sysco also received an award for hiring local residents, and we honoured Tradeworks Training Society and the Salvation Army Belkin House for their commitment to partnering with BOB and other agencies to create meaningful change in people’s lives.

The whole BOB team – Emily, Andrew, Liz, Danielle and Lani – still cheerful at the end of a long night!

January 2012

Celebrating Our Community Partners

In December we held our annual holiday open house in cooperation with Tradeworks. It was a delightful and well-attended event—the perfect place to celebrate our community partners!  We honoured employers Impark and Trimpac-Sysco for their outstanding commitment to hiring local inner-city residents and working with BOB to support them. We also recognized two fellow agencies—Tradeworks Training Society and the Salvation Army Belkin House—for their outstanding contribution to the lives of local residents and the spirit of communication and cooperation they show in partnering with BOB to improve the lives of their clients and members.

Impark

Impark has continued to be a leading partner in diversity hiring. Thanks to Barb, Van and Leah, they have hired 11 individuals for various positions from CSR to data entry. Their commitment to working with BOB has not only improved the lives of many but it has also created a positive change in the culture of their call center.

Trimpac-Sysco

Trimpac has been a steady partner and have hired 7 DTES residents over the last year. Operations Manager Jonathan Burke has shown a strong dedication to working with BOB to fill positions in his warehouse. In addition they have continued to support their staff positively with the help of our supported employment team.

Tradeworks Training Society

Many of our clients are referred directly to us through the great folks at Pathways and the Job Shop, both of which are outstanding programs of Tradeworks Training Society.

Arleen Dauncey from Tradeworks Women’s Workshop & Ross Gentleman, Executive Director of Tradeworks Training Society

Salvation Army Belkin House

BOB would like to recognize Belkin House for their great work in the community providing housing and transitional assistance to those who need it.  We appreciate their partnership and referrals to BOB’s program.  Thanks to Stephen Bell, Rebecca Bell and Eva Galvez from Belkin House who were present to accept the certificate.

New Job Postings

Visit www.bobics.org and look under ‘HR Services’ to apply.

Intakes for the Cycleback Bicycle Repair Program are ongoing.

Impark: Customer Service Rep (part-time)

Events

SHINE Supper, January 23rd

All SEP clients, past and present, are welcome to join us for dinner at the BOB office from 4-6pm! RSVP to Emily at 778-328-7660

From all of us here at BOB…Happy New Year!

Check out this great community effort to fund raise for the kids at Admiral Seymour Elementary in Strathcona! The 200 block of Union Street is getting together on December 2nd to host a fabulous event including film, music, food and local boutiques. It all starts at Hogan’s Alley Cafe at 6pm. Tickets are only being sold in advance, so be sure to get yours right away!

Thanks very much to everyone who participated in our survey.

As most of you know, government funding for employment programs is changing, and unless we can find a way to fund this work, we will no longer be able to offer supported employment services to people that really need the support.   Your feedback will help us build a case for potential funders, and help look at how our services can be most effective.

Liz and Emily drew names from the survey submissions and three lucky folks were awarded prizes for taking the time to give their feedback:

Rod Whalen won a $25 gift certificate to Army & Navy. Congratulations Rod!

Sarah Hallgren from Open Door Group won a Hope in Shadows Calendar donated by vendor Patricia Fulford. Patricia is selling Hope in Shadows this season; if you would like to pick up a calendar she is Vendor #23 and can be reached at 778-331-2589. If you purchase 5 or more calendars you receive a discount, and she offers a delivery option!

Isla Patterson from PACT Employment Services won a beautiful B.O.B. mug made by Laura from Enterprising Women Making Art, as well as some delicious Stumptown Coffee donated by our delightful neighbors at Everything Cafe.

Congrats to all the prizewinners and thanks again to all of you who participated. Although the prize draw is over, we are still accepting survey responses. If you are a business, agency or client who has connected with B.O.B. over the years we would love to get your feedback. Contact Emily at 778-328-7660 or emily.smith@bobics.org to request a copy of the survey.