Since 2007 alone, the Van Tel/Safeway Legacy Fund has granted more than $1.5 million back to the community. But that is just dollars. The magnitude of the real gift is much larger, as it lives on in the lives of every person touched by the hundreds of organizations that received funding, and in all the future grants to come, built on the 60-year history of these credit unions and the goodwill of thousands of their members.

Open each winter season, Aunt Leah’s lots sell high-quality Christmas trees and accessories, including stands, wreaths, swags and greenery, across Metro Vancouver. The lots are run by a combination of employees and volunteers and also provides training and employment opportunities to at-risk youth.

The work of Mom2Mom (M2M) Child Poverty Initiative Society is based on research in child development and neuroscience, which has shown that enriching children’s environments by lowering levels of family stress, and connecting mothers to their child’s school and to community, leads to positive changes in children’s learning and development. When these things are in place, children are happier, better...

At just 19 years old, youth in the BC foster care system “age out” of eligibility for services and supports and are assumed to become fully independent. The effects of this loss of support are devastating. Former youth in care are over represented in homelessness, poverty and the mental health and justice systems.

BC has had one of the highest poverty rates in Canada for the last 15 years. There are almost 600,000 people in our province desperately trying to make ends meet and keep their heads above water. The We Can’t Afford Poverty campaign is a community art-driven campaign to eradicate poverty from British Columbia, starting with raising social assistance rates.

Back in 2012, Central City Foundation approached Vancity and Vancity Community Foundation about financing the purchase of a building in New Westminster. Central City Foundation was interested in providing a low cost lease option to a local non-profit, Aunt Leah’s.

In 2006–2007, neighbours and community activists worked hard to preserve their much-loved Salsbury Garden, but were unable to save it from the pressures of development. Now, a decade later, a couple of those people have partnered with Vancity Community Foundation to create a Donor Advised Fund in the garden’s name.

The Centre is the only clinic in Vancouver with Indigenous doctors and provides access to traditional healers and a mental health counsellor. Earlier in 2016, the VanTel Safeway Credit Union Legacy Fund received an application from Lu’ma seeking funding to furnish patient examination rooms.

A non-partisan coalition that supports BC children, First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition has a lot to be proud of when it comes to stepping up for this province’s most vulnerable. In addition to overseeing the annual BC Child Poverty Report Card and Living Wage for Families campaign efforts, the coalition ensures a regular media presence in order...

When Lyle Truden and Jeff Rios were preparing to celebrate their wedding in 2013, they knew they didn’t need a bread maker, blender, or more towels. Instead, they recognized they were faced with the chance to do some real good. And so it was, they created the Lucille Harkness Memorial Scholarship Fund, providing wedding guests with the opportunity to assist...