That’s right, the much anticipated W2 Media Cafe is open for business! They’re serving yummy Saltspring coffee and a variety of other delicious offerings. Come for the food & drink, stay for the community, politics, media and art!

The media cafe is collectively run social enterprise with a mandate to provide accessible technology for media and communications to all those to all those who need it. And that need is a pressing one: according to W2′s statistics, at least 6,000 DTES residents are without telephone, internet, or computer access. We see this in BOB’s Supported Employment Program, where many of our clients describe having no phone or computer at home, and get only limited access to communications technology through inner-city community resources that are often very busy and only open during standard business hours; many see this lack of access to technology as an obstacle to achieving their goals in life and on the job. It can also make it hard to find a job, secure permanent housing, and assert one’s voice to advocate for political change.

Fojan, an acting student, is making delicious coffee and helping with W2 programming

In terms of community, W2 hired all local DTES and East Van residents to staff the cafe. BOB’s BusinessLinks program assisted the W2 team with with hiring outreach and candidate selection, and sponsored barista training for 12 folks to get FoodSafe certification, customer service training, a programming overview of the media cafe, and more. Cafe staff are getting great opportunities to build skills and pursue activities beyond the cafe counter; several of our BusinessLinks graduates enthusiastically report getting involved with event coordination and program development for projects like the W2 Letterpress Studio and kids & youth media camp.

Debbie is a mother of 3 made temporarily homeless by unwanted apartment renovations in East Vancouver. She plays goalie for the DTES Women’s Street Soccer team and is going to Paris to play in the 2011 Homeless World Cup. She and her family are now well housed. She cites her employment at the cafe, as well as the community she connected with there, as a key part of her return to housing stability. Congratulations Debbie!

Tech geeks, artists, and anyone interested in DIY electronics will appreciate the interactive light display largely DIY’d by W2′s Tech Director WillStacey. You control the interface from within the cafe. Adjust the display pattern and the RGB scale, and look up to see the results! More exciting interactive art and technology installations to come through their Media Artist in Residence Program. Sensitive to the needs of the neighborhood, the cafe also provides free community meeting space, publicly accessible washrooms and lounge, a community media lab, and much more.

BOB is pleased to be part of supporting the start-up of W2 Media Cafe through our Loans Program. We congratulate all the founders and staff on the cafe opening, and look forward to seeing more great things come out of this ambitious project founded on grassroots principles of social inclusion. Well done!

At the end of April BOB moved to a new office at 87 East Pender.

BOB Staff in our New Digs

As you might expect, it was a big job involving the whole team as well as other members of our community. First we hired a project manager through PM Volunteers to help with the logistics.

Dan Suratos, Project Management Volunteer Extraordinaire

Once we got organized, we rented re-usable Frogboxes and packed everything up.

Frogboxes hold a LOT of stuff!

And then we had to get it all up the stairs at the new place!

Up, up, and away!

As you can see, we worked as a team and tried to maintain a good sense of humor. But the best part of all is that we decided to take advantage of the great services  available in our neighborhood and used inner-city businesses from start to finish.

Want to know how we did it? Check out the following business listings and consider their services next time you’re moving. You too can get the job done while supporting the inner-city community!

My Black Sista’s Painting Company

Corinthian Clark is the proud proprietress of this inner-city based painting company. Corinthian did a beautiful job of painting our new office, with great attention to detail, prompt service, and accurate quoting. And her painting company is a social enterprise devoted to empowering women in trades! 604-724-0287 or corinthianclark@yahoo.ca

Take the Green Challenge

During our move we needed to lighten our load and get rid of some junk, so we called Take the Green Challenge! Their business is an inner-city focused social enterprise, employing people with disabilities and providing eco-friendly waste disposal. They provide undeniably friendly service and give free quotes, too. 604-992-5316

Frogbox

We rented these convenient, eco-friendly, re-useble, heavy duty, hard plastic stacking moving boxes for the duration of our move. Frogbox also kindly donated a storage box as a door prize for our New Directions Party. Wondering what puts the frog in Frogbox? 1% of their profits go to saving or restoring frog habitat! 1-877-FROGBOX

AJK Moving

These enthusiastic guys worked tirelessly to tote our desks, filing cabinets, and Frogboxes up and down stairs. They were an indispensable part of our move. 604-875-9072

Recycling Alternative

They had no trouble making an extra pickup on short notice for ALL the extra paper we had to recycle. Recycling Alternative actively cultivates an inclusive workplace, employing folks with and without barriers to work together and learn from one another. 604-874-SAVE

These are all shining examples of the variety of socially and environmentally responsible businesses that are actively involved in the inner-city. The diversity and quality of services they offer is remarkable. The next time you need to move, you know who to call.

And be sure to drop by and check out BOB’s new digs, upstairs at 87 East Pender!

BOB is proud to introduce Wes Regan as the new Executive Coordinator of the Hastings Crossing BIA. This role involves working with diverse stakeholders to build community capacity and address the needs of inner-city residents and businesses, a task Wes approaches with enthusiasm and commitment. We thought you might like to get to know him better, so we asked him to give us a few words about what he hopes to accomplish in his new role, as well as some information about the breadth of experience he brings to the position.

A word from Wes:

“There are several things that I’m eager to be a part of through this BIA, but perhaps more than anything I’m very excited to see how the Hastings Crossing BIA model can serve the more traditional needs of businesses while also playing a role in the social economy of the Downtown Eastside. There are amazing social enterprises at work in this community and they are playing an increasingly important role in local economic development and the livelihoods of residents. Being able to find common projects that support local businesses and provide opportunities for local residents through social enterprises, co-ops or community groups is something that can really make this BIA unique, and I’m stoked to be a part of something like that.”

Wes brings a remarkable amount of professional experience and accomplishment to this position. He worked at BOB from January of 2010 until March 2011. He first started at BOB through Simon Fraser University’s Co-op program where he was placed as Communications Liaison. Having successfully completed two co-op placements Wes was then offered the new position of Business Development and Communications Associate. Wes’ work in this new role supported a number of business development projects, but most notably the Urban Farm Network and the Hastings Crossing Business Improvement Association. With the successful formation of the Hastings Crossing BIA he was offered the position of Executive Coordinator, and contingent on potential funding coming in for the UFN, he will remain an independent contractor with BOB to continue overseeing projects related to its formation.

Wes was born in Inuvik, North West Territories, where his parents owned and operated their own aviation company for over 20 years before moving to Kelowna, BC, where he spent his formative years. He moved to Vancouver in 1998 to pursue a career in acting and music, and toured as a performer throughout the United States, Japan and Canada. In 2004 he began studies at Langara College where he completed an Associate of Arts Degree in Geography, and he now serves as a director on the Board of the Langara College Alumni Society.

Having worked his way through college at Langara, and then through his studies at SFU, Wes has held a variety of positions in communications, marketing and management. He is soon to graduate from SFU’s Faculty of Environment with a BA in Human Geography as well as the Undergraduate Certificate in Urban Studies, and a minor in Political Science. He looks forward to putting his education to work in projects that help build community capacity and contribute to a better world.

He is passionate about the environment, social justice and equity, community economic development, urban design and development and the lifelong pursuit of knowledge. He enjoys cycling, squash, golf (an extremely guilty pleasure for an environmentalist) basketball, soccer, hiking and is a consummate lover of good food, good wine (and craft brewed Cascadian beers!) and good company.

Wes will continue to be actively engaged with the inner city community through this Executive Coordinator role with the Hastings Crossing BIA. Now that you know a little more about him, we hope you get a chance to meet him in person and further develop the strong community connections that exemplify the DTES and the Hastings Crossing neighborhood.

Are you an employer wanting to find out more about hiring from the inner city? BOB is pleased to announce that our next Employer Breakfast will be held on Thursday, March 31st from 8:00 to 9:00 am at the BOB office (163 East Pender).

Our topic for this month is 10 Mile Hiring: Local is Best, and presentations will include survey results about the social impact work has on the lives of inner city residents. Continental breakfast provided by Potluck Catering will be served.

We invite interested employers to bring a colleague and join us for this fun, informative, and delicious event! Please RSVP to Liz Charyna at liz.charyna@bobics.org or 778-328-7669.

The Hastings Crossing Business Improvement Association is a unique BIA that operates within the inner-city from Richards Street in the west to Main Street in the east along stretches of Hastings and Pender. It’s unique insofar as it adheres to the same principles of revitalization without displacement that BOB and the City of Vancouver have also adhered to. I’m just sitting down to witness the first Extraordinary General Meeting and the BIA members are starting to trickle in. There are some in opposition of the budget, and what’s interesting is that it isn’t because of the levy. It’s mostly because of a belief that the western and eastern portions of this very small geography are too different in the eyes of a few businesses. This despite the fact that there are the same challenge, same style of buildings and retail space, and many similar businesses in both areas. Yes the east side is a little more challenged by issues of open drug use and vacant storefronts but 30 years ago this was as much the retail heart of Vancouver (as well as its manufacturing core) as anywhere. This BIA aims to revive that spirit while also addressing social issues that are so prevalent in the area by utilizing the broad range of services and products offered through social enterprises.  BIA President Heather O’Hara just started speaking so I’m going to listen up, more to come!