Hello all, I am so excited to announce this upcoming event that combines two of my favourite things: adventure and my work! This May 24th, I have the opportunity to rappel down one of the highest buildings in Vancouver, the Hyatt Regency, while raising money for BGC South Coast.

 BGC South Coast (formerly known as the Boys and Girls Club), is a non-profit organization that services over 12,000 children, youth, and families each year. BGC has four areas of service that include Camp, Clubs, Employment, and Counselling. Through these four areas, BGC provides out of school care, a unique camp experience in the Howe Sound, employment guidance, and youth and family counselling, among many other things.

 I work as a youth counsellor through the counselling stream. My team at Odyssey II focuses primarily on substance-use affected youth between the ages of 12-24. Some of the areas that my youth have been impacted by include mental health, substance use, trauma, abuse and/or neglect, gang affiliations, and the current housing crisis. We work to mitigate barriers to services by providing outreach counselling in the community, and I have youth who I meet with anywhere from the Northshore to the Downtown East Side to Surrey.

 On top of counselling, we run a drop-in space twice a week where we create a feeling of community through games, art, and food. At our Odyssey II space we also have a food bank that the counsellors stock weekly thanks to our partnership with the Vancouver Food Bank. Clothing and some household items can be found onsite through our donation area.  Throughout the year we will put on special holiday events and facilitate social recreation opportunities like ziplining and skiing. Another part of my job includes community outreach like attending other community drop-ins or schools, and participating in advocating for pro-social change for our youth and community.

 My youth are some of my favourite people to be around. I have never worked a job where I have laughed as hard, been as silly, and been so truly impacted by the genuine nature of these wonderful human beings. I feel so fortunate to work for an organization that actively strives to improve and reflect upon itself so that we can show up better for those accessing our services.

My goal for this fundraiser is to be able to raise $1000 so that I may rappel down the Hyatt, however any and all monetary donations will be beyond my expectations and will most definitely go to the most deserving of people. Thank you 😊