Student wellness

Langara College offers students
health information at the annual
Health and Wellness Fair. P3

PRODUCED BY LANGARA JOURNALISM STUDENTS | WWW.LANGARAVOICE.CA

Sanctuary for art

Italian-Canadian folk artist
peforms at the Historic Joy
Kogawa House. P4-5

langaravoice.ca

Pocket uprising

Workshop challenges women's
oppression through sewing.

NOV. 22, 2018 -

VOL. 50 NO. 7 > VANCOUVER, B.C.

The evolution
sports photography
P8

Sports photographer Rich Lam, taking photos of students donating their hair for cancer at UBC. MATHILDA DE VILLIERS PHOTO

Blanket BC gives warmth

Group celebrates 10-year anniversary of donation drive

By KATE GARDINER

na cold night in 2005,

Gregory Ould was leav-

ing a movie theatre in

Vancouver when he no-
ticed a homeless man in an alcove.
When he asked what he could do
to help, he received an unexpected
answer. The man wanted a blanket
to survive the night.

‘That interaction sparked the cre-
ation of the Blanket BC Society,
which has since distributed over
400,000 blankets to those in need.

Ould started the charity with
the help of his son Ben, who was
nicknamed the
by Marvel comics’ Stan Lee at Van-
couvers popular convention, Fan
Expo.

Last weekend marked Blanket
BC’s 10th annual Drive on the
Line donation event, which collect-
ed close to 500 blankets and $8,000
in cash donations.

“British Columbia and Blanket

BC are such beautiful communi-

“Warmth Warrior”

ties,” Ould said. “By providing the
warmth from your heart and vol-
unteering your time, you create a
beautiful community.”

The Drive on the Line event
took place on Nov. 16 and 17 with
volunteers, or “blanketeers” collect-
ing blankets and cash donations
at eight stations along the Canada
Line.

“It was honestly just meant to be
a small father-son project,” Ould
said, who never expected to see the
10-year anniversary.

Donation boxes were filled with
quilts, throws, mittens and toques,
with some donors driving from
other cities with bags of cozy goods.

“I saw it advertised and I thought,
well, I have some old blankets ly-
ing around. If ’m not using them,
someone should,” said Paul Cheng,
a first-time donor from Surrey. “I
dont mind the drive if it’s for a
good cause.”

“Every single person can make an
impact. It just takes one person to
shake things up and make a differ-

ence,” said Aman Kaur, one of ap-

proximately 200 volunteers at the
event.

Ould said he encourages students
to reach out and volunteer with
Blanket BC or other charitable or-
ganizations.

“Giving back is the best thing
you can do. It’s the most worthy

” ’
cause, “he said. The number of residents facing
homelessness.

The number of people staying in
shelters.

Men represent three-quarters of the
total homeless population.

Donations are collected at Canada
Line stations. KATE GARDINER PHOTO

SOURCE: VANCOUVER. CA

Parents
ask Y’?

Community will
be left searching
for childcare

By JOE AYRES

ocal parents will be forced
to find childcare alternatives
when the Langara YMCA
closes for renovations in early 2021.

Susan McVea is a parent who
uses the Langara YMCA for
her children’s swimming lessons.
McVea prefers the Langara YMCA
over the community centre closer
to her home because of the consis-
tency the location offers.

“One of the reasons why we're
here instead of the community cen-
tre which is closer to where we live
is just because we show up on the
same day, same time, it doesn't mat-
ter who the instructor is, what level
they're in, it’s continuous,” McVea
said.

The YMCA is trying to find
spaces to run its
programs off-
property during
the renovations,
but it won't know
which programs
will be available
until 2020 as it
waits to see what
rental spaces will
be available.

Kelly Walker,
acting vice-president of market-
ing and communications for the
YMCA of Greater Vancouver said
the building needs to close to con-
tinue to provide the community
with programs and services.

“We will still be able to meet their
needs but we do need to temporar-
ily close in order to actually have a
building to house those programs
in for the long term,” Walker said.

The location, which serves 12,000
people per year, will re-open in
2023 with a 50 per cent expansion.
‘This expansion will have a variety
of new facilities including three
pools, a cafe with outdoor seating,
childcare services for infants to
school-aged children and a rooftop
social area.

Tanya Broesch, a psychologist
specializing in child development
and parenting practices, said for
many parents the experience of
child raising can be isolating. Com-
munity centres serve as a practical
solution to this issue as it allows
parents to work and socialize.

“In large cities, community cen-
tres serve the function of social
support and connection,” Broesch
said.

Tanya Broesch
PSYCHOLOGIST