No Snow? No problem.

Looking for fun things to do while we wait for the snow to fall? Here are some fun ideas on a budget while we wait for pow.

Community Kitchens
Fun interactive cooking class where participants learn how to prepare healthy, delicious meals on a budget. (Subsidies available if you are financially restricted, all inquiries are confidential). Contact Sara to book your spot foodbank@mywcss.org or 604 935 7717.

Feb. 3rd Traditional Chinese Cooking
Feb. 24th Raw Coconut Cream Pie
Mar. 1st Raw Dips and Spreads
Mar. 14th Baby's First Foods

Hockey 101
Are you 18-35? Thursday Jan 30th, 7:30-11pm skating + fondue + prizes! Coaches, skates, helmets and dinner provided. 10$ entry. call 604 935 8410 or go to www.lunawhistler.com for more details. 

Check out the Re Use It Center
Shop and get some great deals on everything from clothing to housewares. There are some serious treasures down there!

Community Workshops at the Re Build It Center
Feb. 8th 1-3pm- Wood Furniture and Cabinet repair
Feb 22nd 1-3pm Build Your Own Silverware Coat Rack

Sessions are 25$. Phone or visit store to book space.

AFOW Donates $17,000 to WCSS for Life Skills, Food Bank and Healthy Choices in Schools Programs

The American Friends of Whistler (AFOW) recently donated a total of $17,000 to be shared among three Whistler Community Services Society (WCSS) programs; $5000 to the Food Bank, $5000 to the Support Network of Whistler (SNOW), and $7000 to Healthy Choices in Schools.  The generous support of the AFOW helps WCSS work toward their mission which is to “Provide programs and services that support social sustainability in Whistler”.
According to Gary Raymond, President of AFOW, “We continue to be impressed with the professionalism of WCSS as an organization and their continued focus on the true needs of Whistler residents.” WCSS reports that Outreach workers had a total of 1276 one-to-one meeting with clients looking for a safe confidential listening ear in 2012-13. Through these meetings, Outreach workers assessed people’s needs and made referrals to appropriate programs and services.  The needs vary, but healthy food and life skills are consistent areas in which people need assistance.
The $5000 for the Food Bank will go towards purchasing fresh fruit and vegetables for food bank users as well to support WCSS Outreach workers in leading hands-on cooking classes provided free to financially restricted participants. The informal lessons on nutrition and cooking using simple inexpensive ingredients will increase people’s knowledge of how to feed themselves on a tight budget.  A second program focused on life skills, the Support Network of Whistler (SNOW) received $5000 to provide participants with life coaching, yoga for mental health and a speaker series. All programs have space reserved for financially restricted participants first, but if not filled classes are open to the general public. The SNOW program is a support group which focuses on goal setting, budgeting, career building and stress management and is facilitated by a certified life coach. As an extension of the life skills program, WCSS is also planning a Spring Speakers Series led by local experts on topics such as effective communication, infant/toddler care and mental health awareness. The funding from the AFOW will also go towards ‘Finding the Balance Yoga’ program which exists to provide participants who may have mental health, physical trauma or addiction issues a way to increase their stress management skills.  Feedback from a past participant was extremely positive, “I recently suffered from a concussion and was having trouble dealing with my rehabilitation and I don’t have enough money to spend on extras like yoga. The instructor did a wonderful job of teaching me how to calm my mind and I really saw improvements in my overall health as yoga became an outlet.” The $7000 grant for the Healthy Choices in Schools program works towards enhancing the lives of Whistler residents, this time at a young age. WCSS provides Outreach Workers to local schools where they conduct age appropriate classes on: drug & alcohol education, bullying prevention, internet safety, minimizing risk taking behaviour, building self-esteem, and eating right for health.  WCSS also leads peer mentor training in elementary school for grade 7’s as well as in Whistler Secondary.The ongoing support from the American Friends of Whistler (AFOW) is essential to meet the needs of Whistler residents, and WCSS is grateful to have the opportunity to provide social services as a direct result of the grant.

Welcome Dinner Fun!

Thank you to all the community partners, sponsors and volunteers who made Whistler Community Services Society annual Welcome Dinner such a success! For 5.00$ attendees had a great meal made by local businesses with local produce! Some were even lucky enough to walk away with some seriously-cool prizes from the Re Use It and Re Build It Centers. New comers had a chance to mingle with long-time locals as well as to meet other new residents that will be spending the season in Whistler. What a fun way to get to know your community and get psyched for the Winter. Bring on the snow!

New to Whistler? This week is for you!

Every year Whistler Community Services Society (WCSS) runs a week of events designed to welcome seasonal workers to Whistler. This was the idea of Jill Ackhurst, who felt that newcomers never met locals and needed to find a connection to their new community to understand it is a place that families live and work. She wanted locals to connect with these seasonal workers and introduce them to their own passion about Whistler as a place to live. This year WCSS Welcome Week events run from November 18^th to November 23^rd and offer many opportunities for locals and newcomers to get to know each other.

Pancake Breakfast, presented by the Rotary Club of Whistler Millennium on Monday, November 18^th is the first event of Welcome Week.  Everyone is welcome to enjoy pancakes and sausages from 10am to noon at the Whistler Village Fire Hall for only $3. All proceeds support Welcome Week events, so even if you aren't a newcomer please come out for a great breakfast.

Ski Movie Night, presented by the WCSS Re Use It Centre will be screening'Into the Mind' by Sherpas Cinema, winner of the iF3 Award for Best Editing and Film of the Year on Monday, November 18th, 7:30pm. With stunning cinematography and ground-breaking storytelling techniques, the Sherpas blur the lines between dream state and reality, and immerse you into the mind of a common skier as he attempts to climb and ski the ultimate mountain. Doors open at 7:30pm, Maurice Young Millennium Place. Get your tickets in advance at ‘Skiis & Biikes’ in Village Marketplace or Maurice Young Millennium Place for $5 and at the door if they haven’t sold out.

Whistler Volunteer Fair and Business Expo is a chance for local businesses and non-profit organizations to showcase their products, services and volunteer opportunities.  Locals and newcomers are invited to socialize at this event from 3:00pm-5:30pm in the foyer at the Whistler Conference Centre on Thursday, November 21^st. Entry is free of charge and if you visit all of the booths, you’ll have your name entered into a draw for prizes.

                                

Jill Ackhurst Community Welcome Dinner, presented by WCSS starts at 5pm at Whistler Conference Centre Sea to Sky Ballroom on Thursday, November 21st.  This event, featuring local foods cooked by top Whistler chefs from the major hotels and restaurants was the idea of Jill Ackhurst, former WCSS Board Member.  She thought a ‘welcome to the community’ dinner for the new workers would be great because she noticed that many young employees didn't know that there was a real community of local people and all they saw was the village and fellow workers. For only $5, this event gives you an amazing meal and the opportunity to sit at a table with a couple of local residents who can answer all your questions about Whistler. Tickets are being sold in advance at the Visitors Information Centre. If you would like to be a table host, please contact welcomedinner@hotmail.com. In 2003 Jill Ackhurst died of cancer at the age of 57. The world lost a wonderful person and the dinner honours and remembers her spirit.

WCSS partners with other organizations to put on Welcome Week which includes events such as: Complimentary Yoga Classes, Games Night, Stand Up for Mental Health Comedy Night, Film screening of “Ski Bums”, “The Pool Party”, Meadow Park Sports Centre Open House, and Women’s Self-Defense Workshop. For a full schedule of events please check out our website http://www.mywcss.org/pages/whistler-welcome-week.

Re-Use-It Price Comparisons, We're doing pretty good!

The Re-Use-It Centre has a couple of important goals our staff thinks about every day.  The first is to provide funding for all the great & important social programs run through Whistler Community Services Society (WCSS).  The second is to help create a sustainable community by recycling and keeping as much as possible out of the landfill.  In order to meet our first goal we need our prices to be competitive.  So off to the city we went to check out the other thrift & consignment shops - both for profit and not-for-profit.  Well as we happily discovered, we are the cheapest around!  That is great news for both our shoppers and for those we support in our programs.

One of the biggest challenges we have at the Re-Use-It Centre is space.  Where all the other thrift shops we visited had an abundance of space to spread out and show everything off, we have to pack things in a little tighter.  That means you have to hunt sometimes for the perfect treasure!  Another challenge we face in Whistler that we are sure is a problem the other stores would love to have is the volume of donations we have to get through on a daily basis.  This is a big reason why we can keep our prices so low.  We have a very generous community that think about us when they are moving or cleaning house!  Thanks Whistler!  Additionally, our staff does a great job at managing this mountain of donations everyday so we can get all those great things onto the floor for you to enjoy.

Thanks Whistler for supporting our community charity.  You are important and are making a big difference in the lives of those who live right here and to the planet for keeping our little slice of beautiful life a bit more sustainable.

Cheryl Skribe, Manager:  Re-Use-It Centre, Whistler, BC

Comparison Shopping Trip to Vancouver:
Wednesday October 2nd, 2013 * Value Village, Wildlife Refuge are privately owned For-Profit stores.  Value Village & Wildlife Refuge rely on donations. **Sports Junkies is a privately owned For-Profit Store based on consignment sales only. *** RE-Use-It, Salvation Army & My Sister's Closet are Non-Profit Stores with 100% of the profits going toward supporting Charity.

Today is 'World Mental Health Day'...what does Mental Health mean to you?

For those of us here at WCSS that work closely with clients who live with mental illness it means being ready to provide nonjudgmental support, resources and referrals. A safe, confidential listening ear can go a long way in supporting someone while they navigate the Mental Health care system.  The current stats say about 20% of the Canadian population will personally experience a mental illness in their lifetime. Therefore, it isn't a surprise to outreach workers that the number one referral they make is to the Counselling Assistance Fund which provides low cost options for therapy. Unfortunately, many people feel shame about asking for help which often leads them to self medicate or wait to seek help which can have leave them in much worse shape.The stigma attached to mental illness needs to be changed and can only be done if everyone makes an effort to accept their family, friends and coworkers who may be faced with a mental health challenge.  So, on this day recognizing 'World Mental Health Day' please take a moment to consider how you can support someone in a nonjudgmental way.
Some resources on the web:
Kelty Mental Health Resource Centre - BC's information source for children, youth & families
Canadian Mental Health Association - fast facts about mental illness
Here to Help - mental health and substance abuse information

Ride for Dreams

Follow Dave on his 3000 km Bike Ride from Whistler, BC to California to raise money to help financially restricted youth in Whistler the opportunity to attend camp.

In partnership with Whistler Community Services Society (WCSS) http://www.mywcss.org and Comor Sports Whistler http://www.comorsports.com we plan to expand WCSS's existing Summer Camp Fund program. The program currently helps send kids to summer camp that wouldn't otherwise get to go. The goal is to expand it to a year round program to help kids with sports related goals (camps, coaching, traveling to contests,etc)

Along the way Dave will be blogging (written and video), and shooting lots of photos. These will be posted on his personal website: http://www.daveweale.com and in the updates section of this campaign. If you would like to support Dave and his efforts please visit http://www.mywcss.org/pages/donate.

Check out where he has been so far. Go Dave!