Annual Report 2010 f

8/8/2019 Annual Report 2010 f

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Annual Report

September 15, 2010


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Kitsilano Neighbourhood House is a non-profit organization dedicated to meetingcommunity needs, cultivating a sense of belonging and connection to community for residents of

Vancouvers Westside.

Our VisionVancouvers Westside is a safe, healthy and vibrant community where everyone thrives.

Our MissionWe are dedicated to strengthening our community through leadership, collaboration and opportunity.

Statement of Diversity

We are children, youth, adults and seniors of all races, all religions, all cultures, all abilities and all

economic levels

We speak many languages

We are men and women of all sexual orientations

We value diversity

We endeavor to reflect the diversity of our neighbourhoods in our membership, our Boards of Man-

agement, our volunteers and our staff

We respect all neighbours

We expect that all who come to our House, all those who provide or receive services, will extend

the same respect to all those they meet here.

Message from the Executive Director, Catherine LeachDear Neighbours, Friends and Colleagues,

Communities thrive when its members have ample opportunities to come together in com-mon space for fun activities or to deal with serious issues. We also know that a communitywho knows its neighbours is perceived as a safer community and one where neighbourslook out for one another and show compassion and caring.

Staff and volunteers had the privilege of creating opportunities for over 5500 people tocome together, meet one another, find common ground and work, learn and play. This cul-minated in over 30,000 visits to Kits House programs last year. Community members

came to Kits House for many reasons including to access childcare, socialize with friends over hotsoup, work with other neighbours to address food security, provide input and expertise into our redevel-opment project, teach others how to use the computer, give their time to meet with homebound seniors,grow food, share food with friends, build our website, seek legal advise, get help with income tax, at-tend a support group, learn school readiness skills, find housing, meditate, learn tai chi, get support andinformation during times of crisis, learn new skills and teach new skills.

Key highlights of 2009 include the progress of our redevelopment project. Information gathered fromtwo open houses and 4 focus groups helped us gather suggestions, concerns and input that was instru-mental in guiding the redevelopment. We also successfully completed our 3 year strategic plan. Thisyear we will see the building of partnerships as we seek space to relocate our programs as we moveinto the construction phase of the redevelopment. The board and staff will engage in a visioning proc-ess as we create a new 3 year strategic plan. This plan will see us through to a new facility that is bet-ter able to meet the changing needs of our community.

No directors report would be complete without a huge thank you to all of our staff and volunteers. Eachand everyone of them, and there are over 350, put their heart and soul into their work and they allhelped Kits House reach its vision of Vancouvers Westside is a safe, healthy and vibrant communitywhere everyone thrives.


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Message from the Board Chair, Andrew Lyons

Another year of achievements and successes! Once again it has been a pleasure and an

honour to serve on Kitsilano Neighbourhood House (KNH) Community Board. Seeing the

continued growth and quality of the programs and services offered at KNH is a delight and

provides all the motivation one needs to remain committed to our goals of serving the com-

munity. We are grateful for the ongoing support that we receive from the community, our

partners and corporate neighbours. Looking ahead, we are energized about the potential

for our relationship to grow with our corporate neighbours and to establish new ones as weconnect with the Westside business community.

Our flagship event ,the Autumn Fair, was again a highlight of the past year. Fantastic weather, laughing

children (of all ages) and the Queen of Leaves all helped to make the event a huge success. But that

would not have been possible without the contributions of staff and volunteers. Again, many, many

thanks and we hope to see you again this October. All of our programs continue to thrive: the commu-

nity pot luck, knitting group, seniors drop-in, meditation group, summer camps, childminding, pocket

markets, community gardens and youth leadership. Information on these and many other programs can

be explored at http://www.kitshouse.org/programs/.

KNH is rapidly approaching a major milestone that will change the face of KNH and the Westside com-

munity. We are close to achieving final approval on the redevelopment of KNH. Pre-construction activ-

ity will start this Fall with full construction soon to follow. Many staff and volunteer hours have been

spent to work tirelessly in ensuring that a rejuvenated facility will be one for which we can all be proud.

I would like to welcome our new board members who have joined over the past year and thank them

along with our current members who will continue to serve on the Board. The Community Board re-

mains committed to serving the patrons of KNH and supporting the KNH staff.

Working with the dedicated staff and the passionate volunteers are the rewards of sitting on the board.

It is your efforts which motivate us and we are proud to serve you.

Finally, we look forward to continuing our work together in supporting our neighbourhood and ensuring itremains a thriving, healthy, safe and vibrant community for everyone.

Message from the Board Treasurer, Roger FosterThis last year has been a very busy and exciting year for Kitsilano Neighborhood House(KNH) and the City of Vancouver. The Olympics was a huge success and it showed thatVancouver is a world class city by hosting a world class event. One particular highlight ofmine was the fact that the Olympics were considered to be the greenest Olympics everheld. KNH has made it a key proponent of its redevelopment plans to make KNH thegreenest Neighborhood House. Very exciting.

As the treasurer I continue to monitor and report on the financial position and financialperformance of KNH. For the twelve month period ending March 31, 2010 KNH had

revenues in excess of expenses of $58,602 as opposed to expenses in excess of revenues of $5,847for the year ended March 31, 2009. This improvement is due to the improving financial performance ofour child care programs which have the most financial impact on the financial well being of KNH. KNHalso continues to make significant improvements in its financial reporting process. The motto being youmust be able to monitor and measure your financial performance before you can improve upon it. Thestaff at KNH are responsible for making it a priority to meet regularly and to review the financial perform-ance of its various programs; they should be congratulated.

I am looking forward to the up coming year and building upon the successes we have built to date.


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Communities thrive when its members have ample opportunities to come together incommon space for fun activities or to deal with serious issues. We also know that a community who

knows its neighbours is perceived as a safer community and one where neighbours look out for one

another and show compassion and caring. Kitsilano Neighbourhood House worked with community to

provide many opportunities for people to come together in 2009 2010 including:

Finding Home WorkshopsKitsilano Neighbourhood House Mandarin Speaking Grandparents

Kitsilano Neighbourhood House Strengthening Connections project

identified a gap in communication and services for a large group of

Chinese grandparents who attend our Family Resource Program with

their grandchildren.

The Finding Home Workshop series focused on learning what cre-

ates a sense of home and what are some key priorities for this group

of Chinese grandparents. The sessions were facilitated with the helpof Mandarin speaking volunteers to assist with translation.

During a dialogue discussion

on Why Home Matters, par-

ticipants expressed that their

concept of home is in transi-

tion. We are no longer the masters of our home. We are

helpers to our children and grandchildren. Many felt isolated

due to their language barrier, Since I dont speak English,

Im scared to go outside and get lost.

Top priorities for discussion included Understanding each

other and Creating Home in Canada. This exploratory dia-

logue gave participants an opportunity to express their feel-

ings, share knowledge, identify ways to create a sense of

home in Canada,

and gain a

stronger connec-

tion with each

other and their

new community.

Playing Mahjong is the best because it helps us feel athome. Many Chinese grandparents enjoy playing Mah-

jong, and were willing to teach a group of English speaking

seniors from Kits House how to play. At the first gathering,

Finding Home participants shared their stories, and sug-

gested a reunion for Chinese New Year. Over 20 Chinese

grandparents attended the Chinese New Year lunch at Kits

House. Through celebration and sharing of cultures, par-

ticipants were engaged and created stronger connections

with their new community.

TIPS FOR HELPING US FEEL ATHOME

Smile, feel close to us and bewarmhearted

Be very polite by opening thedoor for us and say thank you

when we open the door for you

Share with each other how we

live and solve everyday prob-

lems

Teach each other our favourite

games

I feel that I am making contri-

butions to Canada by coming

here and looking after my

grandchildren

We hope our grandchildren will have a

better life


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Kitsilano and Area Literacy Plan Service providers, residents and literacyadvocates came together from January 2009 to December 2009, to focus on community literacy. Aliteracy task force was established with participation from the Vancouver School Board, VancouverLibrary, Vancouver Coastal health, Kits House, Westside Family place, volunteers and other literacystakeholders. Throughout the planning process, relationship building and community capacity building

were emphasised. In addition to working within the community, we were also supported by the Van-couver Literacy Support Committee and the online community of literacy practice developed by Lega-cies Now.

As a result of over two hundred and twenty people providing feedback and ideas, four goals wereidentified as priorities for our community. The action plan for the Kits/Westside area includes engagingresidents to support literacy work through volunteering, supporting newcomer English as a second lan-guage (ESL), literacy and working to sustain literacy work in the community. The action areas work onthe strengths and opportunities within our community while addressing community needs. Thesegoals are currently guiding the community literacy implementation stage.

Our communitys plan is part of a provincial wide initiative to look at literacy needs at the communitylevel; with over 80 communities throughout British Columbia participating. Our Community Literacy

Plan can be found at kitshouse.org.tp://www.kitshouse.org/2010/05/06/kitswestsiditeracy-plan/.

Literacy is made of apersons skills and abili-ties that come from life-long learning: reading,writing, numbers, com-puting, and other formsof knowledge. Literacyhelps people shareideas, find informationand learn new things sothat they can function

well in their communityand reach their per-sonal goals. -Westside Literacy TaskForce 2009

Kits House Garden Brings Community Together

Growing relationships through growing food: that has beenwhat this years garden collaborative has been allabout. The group is made up of community members,neighbours, friends of friends, Village Vancouver membersand Westside Food Security Collaborative volunteers. Eve-

ryone comes together each week with the vision to encour-age the connections between people, plants and food whilelearning from each other and with each other to grow foodfor ourselves and our community.

Last year, the garden grew beautifully and abundantly, sup-plying the garden volunteers with a weekly harvest. Thisyear, we wanted to take that one step further by nurturingrelationships between the garden, the volunteers and thecommunity. Just watching the connections that have been

made each week by donating to community organizations, involving other Kits House program areas and thepride that has developed within the gardeners has been amazing and inspiring. These connections will lastthrough the winter and spill into other opportunities outside of the garden.


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Good Neighbour Award Recipient 2009, Sally Speers

For many years Sally Speers has impressed us with her ongoing dedica-tion to her community via her tireless volunteering. Sally coordinates the

Fruit and Veggie Deal program which offers and delivers fresh fruit andvegetables for a reasonable price to those living at Steeves Manor and inthe community. Sally has also given her time to keep Steeves Manortenants updated with current H1N1 information and helped to dissemi-nate flu shot information as well as organizing and coordinating the flushot clinic. Sally sits on the Westside Food Security Collaborative work-ing group and works with other members of the community to create afood secure community. Sally always is ready to smile and her sense ofhumour is always appreciated!

Good Neighbour Youth Award Recipient,

Alfred Sin

Kits House children's program depends on young volunteers such as Al-

fred Sin who bring their energy and enthusiasm to the many kids who visit

the House every week. Alfred, a 10th grader from Prince of Wales Secon-

dary School has been a volunteer for the Kits House Out-Of-School Care

program for close to two years. What started as a school requirement to

complete 10 hours of volunteer work a term, turned into a regular volunteer

gig for Alfred who found the energetic kids in the program an enjoyable

change from homework and studying. At the Out-Of-School Care program,

Alfred looks after the children, helps with activities, resolves conflicts and

supervises play time. An undoubted friend and mentor, Alfred is an integral

part of the children's program providing leadership and friendship to the

kids every week. He has also volunteered at Kits House's annual Autumn

Fair, a yearly celebration of the harvest season. He has also connected

many of his classmates to the volunteer opportunities at Kits House. This

year Alfred joined the Autumn Fair Planning Committee. As an integral part of the planning, Alfred

has helped with mapping the fair, assisting with a volunteer orientation and is a co-lead for the carni-

val games subcommittee. His energy, dependability and dedication has made him a valued volunteerhere at Kits House.

Each year The Association of Neighbourhood Houses of BC hosts the Good Neighbour

Awards. Kits House volunteers are nominated by staff, volunteers and community members.

If you would like to nominate a good neighbour please contact Emily at

[email protected].


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The Westside Seniors Peer Counseling Program provides free, confidential peer counseling and sup-

port to seniors in our community who are feeling depressed, anxious or isolated. With the dedication

of all our volunteer peer counselors, the program is able to reach people who may not otherwise be

able to get the support they need to cope with significant life changes. The following article was writ-

ten by Kits House volunteerKeith Brownabout his role as a Seniors Peer Counsellor.

The peer counselor/client relationship is the hinge upon which the counselor is able to help the client

consider a different perspective from his/her previous scenarios. This relationship is definitely thera-

peutic in nature and must be seen as such by the peer counselor. It is this relationship which intro-

duces the element of hope for the client. Hope means the client will not have to endure, in the same

way, the pain he/she has been experiencing.

The client was referred to the Senior Peer Counseling program by his son. Reasons for referral: lone-

liness, health changes, and depression. The client was also trying to cope with loss of eyesight, di-

gestive problems, and was on numerous medications including one for balance problems stemming

from Parkinson.

By using the senior peer counselling skills of paraphrasing, reflecting, summarizing and confronting I

was able to use what the client said to me to help him reflect on his present life situation. We also ex-

plored some relaxation methods, which helped put some responsibility on the client for finding some

solutions to his difficulties rather

than just expecting an outside

fix. Upon entering the room for

my ninth visit, before I could say

anything the client said to me,

Things have changed. Ive de-

cided to change my attitude. Irealize my attitude toward my

problems could make a differ-

ence. Just when I had been

expecting another visit of recy-

cling all of the difficulties we had

been discussing I was surprised

and pleased to witness the al-

ways available resiliency of the

human spirit. This change was

due to a number of factors but

was helped along by the rela-

tionship with a senior peer coun-

sellor and the training they bring

to each situation. It was reward-

ing to see a person take charge

of making a change for the posi-

tive in their life. Such is the role

of the senior peer counsellor.

Seniors Peer Support Volunteers


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Kitsilano Neighbourhood House Programs, 09/10

ChildcareLicensed Childminding (Highbury and 4th location)Kitsilano Neighbourhood House Community Preschool (Highbury and 4 th location)

Dunbar Kids Club: Kindercare and Out of School Care (Dunbar location)

Kitsilano Kids Club: Kindercare and Out of School Care

Kitsilano Kids Club Summer ProgramWestside ECD Network 4 Community Table

Family ProgramsParents & Tots Drop-In

Kids Up Front

Strengthening Connections Newcomer Parents & Tots Program (UBC partnership)

Mama and Papa Goose

Nobodys Perfect Parenting Workshop

Youth ProgramsPre-Teen Artistic Adventure Camp

Youth Volunteer Skills ProgramYouth Advisory Committee

Youth Networking Table

Seniors ProgramsOsteofit

Westside Seniors Links Program

Westside Seniors Peer Support Program

Westside Fall Prevention Network Steady Feet

Tuesday Seniors Drop In

Out trips

Knitting Circle

Steeves Manor Community Resource Centre (3rd

and Alma location)Westside Seniors Empowerment Coalition

Community

Autumn Fair

Information and Referral

West Coast Childcare Resource Center Caregivers Drop In

Income Tax Clinic for those on a low income

UBC Law Students Legal Advice Program

Westside Food Security Collaboration

Gamblers Anonymous

Alanon

Single Moms GroupWomens Support Group

Fruit Tree Project

ClassesTai Chi Chuan

Karate

Tesshinkan Kobudo

Karate for Kids

Laughter Yoga


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GovernmentContracts$402,320

39%

Earned Income$426,947

41%

United Way$103,77310%

Foundations,Grants,

Membership,and Interest

$68,8016%

Donations andFundraising

$39,9434%

Revenue

Childcare Services$440,461

45%

Infrastructure,Administration,Training, andDevelopment

$172,12718%

Seniors Services$151,229

15%

Family Services$117,721

12%

CommunityPrograms

$72,2167%

Youth Services$28,016

3%

UseofFunds


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2009-2010 Kitsilano Neighbourhood House Staff Listing

Catherine Leach, Executive DirectorJulia de Winter, Operations ManagerJennifer Longson, Building Welcoming Communities Program CoordinatorEmily Palmer, Literacy, Communications & Volunteer CoordinatorSandra Petrozzi, Family Programs CoordinatorLisa Paul, Childcare CoordinatorJulie Wall, Seniors CoordinatorAllison Reynolds, Front Desk Support WorkerMegan Raschig, Front Desk Support WorkerMichael Petrachenko, Accounting ClerkBabara Kendall, Community Support WorkerMegan Harrott, Community Support WorkerAlejandra Lopez Bravo, Community Support WorkerRaewyn Tudor, Community Support WorkerChelsea Calder, Community Youth Engager & Garden Collaborative LeadBrigette Bouchard, Family Program AssistantJackie Boutsarakis, LCM AssistantPierrette Cournoyer, LCM AssistantDeanna Canning, OSC AssistantLindsay Kesler, OSC Assistant

Angelo Moroni, OSC AssistantKatherine Mosley, OSC AssistantNicolas Narvaez, OSC AssistantMelis Garipoglu, OSC AssistantElsa Kim, OSC assistantJoanna Lye, OSC AssistantAubrey Medwid, OSC AssistantMegan Schmidt, OSC AssistantSarah Kraus, OSC Assistant -on callBeverlyn Guinto, OSC Assistant -on callAdrianne Poulos, OSC Assistant -on callColter Wish, OSC Assistant -on callAmrit Aujlay, OSC Assistant -on call

Selina Chew, Peer Support Worker & Program LeaderMarie-Claire Bergman, Preschool & LCM AssistantCatherene Bankz, Preschool AssistantKathleen Carbert, Preschool AssistantSung Sook Woo, Preschool AssistantAnn Mcqueen, Preschool TeacherKira Froese, Program LeadDiana Liatiras, Program LeadVinyse Barber, Program Lead & PeerSupport WorkerPatricia Paz, Strengthening ConnectionsAssistantErin Franklin, Summer Student

Courtney Shrumm, Summer StudentErin Taylor, Summer StudentLeanne Bird, Youth Engager


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Kitsilano Neighbourhood House Community Board 2009-2010

Andrew Lyons Roger FosterChair Person Board of Governors Representative Board Member TreasurerChristy Clarke Margaret McGannVice Chair Person Board Development Lead Board Member Marketing LeadKataneh Sherkat Rebecca ScottBoard Member Community Liaison Board Member EventsJohn Bader Brita Cloghesy-Devereux

Board Member Building Committee Representative Board Member Community Liaison

Donations 2009-2010

Individual Donations Corporate Donations

M. Kagan Marty PospischilCook Family Rubys FoodsBourque Family Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co.Linke Family Whole FoodsLai Family BC HydroSusie OReilly Lau ChiropracticStepnoski Family Ecomarinede Winter Family Bard on the Beach

Lee Gallagher Ten Thousand VillagesSteeves Family Toy BoxAnonymous KidsbooksEstelli Reyes Orb ClothingMs. Brereton Fast Forward ProductionsScott Miller Vancouver CanucksAndrew Grant Ride on AgainChristy Clark Loonie KingRuth de Winter Heart Attack & Vine

StarbucksGovernment Funding CKNW Radio

SempervivaBC Housing YogacaraCity of Vancouver Thomas Haas

Government of Canada Purdys ChocolatesHuman Resources Development Canada Windsor LumbarMinistry of Children and Family Development Bond RepoMinistry of Citizens Services Womens Mental Health GroupEmbrace BC Duthie BooksMinistry of Housing & Social DevelopmentVancouver Coastal Health FoundationsVancouver Community NetworkVancouver School Board 2010 Legacies NowWelcome BC CanWest Global Foundation

Coast Capital SavingsReal Estate Foundation of BCUnited Way

Community Partners

Pacific Spirit, Westside Family Place, UBC Acadia Block, Local Schools, Jericho Garrison, Kitsilano CommunityCentre, Kitsilano Public Library, Kiwassa Neighbourhood House, South Vancouver Neighbourhood House, Set-tlement Workers in Schools, UBC Legal Aid, Village Vancouver, United Way, Kits House Staff and Participants,Vancouver School Board, City of Vancouver, Success, Westside Food Security Collaborative, Steeves Manor,South Granville Senioirs Centre, Musqueam First Nations, Westside Youth Networking Table, Check Your Head,Me to We, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Katimavik, Justice Institute of BC, Royal Bank, Environmental Youth Alli-ance, Jewish Family Services, Association of Neighbourhood Houses, Vancouver Parks & Recreation, Vancou-ver Coastal Health, Gab Youth Services, The Centre, Senior Service Providers, Westside Service Providers,Welcoming Communities Steering Committee, UBC AMS Connect, KNH Programs Childcare, Family, Youth,Community and Seniors, Volunteer Vancouver, govolunteer.ca, ESL schools, Kits Mental Health Team, Choices

program for disabled adults, Jobs West, UBC Internship Program, YWCA, Cook the Hood, 3H Craftworks,Sprouting Chefs


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Documents

Annual Report 2010 f