August's Community Conversations!
- Spencer van Vloten
- Aug 15
- 5 min read
Hello community leader!
Each month in Community Conversations, we look at issues, events, resources, and opportunities in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland.
If you're interested in receiving updates like this by email, sign up for my newsletter below! Also feel free to contact me if you're aware of any opportunities you'd like included.
All the best,
Campaign Update
We're Getting Close!
The election is only two months away! Supporters have designed some amazing posters for my Vancouver Park Board run! If you see one out in the community, let me know. And if you have any issues or questions to raise about our parks and recreation system, or you want to get involved in the election or join the team please reach out to me at hello@spencervancity.ca and let's talk.
Community Engagement & Resources
Community Leaders Wanted at Trout Lake
Looking for a way to give back to your community? The Trout Lake Community Centre Association is looking for new members to join its Board of Directors. Volunteers help guide the association’s programs and activities, participate in community centre planning, and serve on committees covering everything from parks and arts to preschool and strategic planning. Applications are open to people from across Vancouver.
Join The Forest Practices Board!
Love BC’s great outdoors? The Forest Practices Board is looking for a new part-time Board Member! The Board serves as BC’s independent watchdog for responsible forest and range practices, helping promote good stewardship, accountability and care for our public lands. The role is open to people across BC, with a range of professional, community and volunteer backgrounds encouraged to apply.
Seniors - Get Involved!
The Renfrew-Collingwood Seniors’ Society is seeking community-minded volunteers to join its Board of Directors. For 50 years, the Society has supported older adults and elders in Vancouver’s Renfrew-Collingwood community. The Society welcomes applicants with a variety of professional, volunteer, and lived experiences. Previous board experience is not required.
Have You Lived In A Basement?
Researchers at UBC are studying the real experience of renting a basement suite — the affordability, the everyday conditions, and what it means to call a basement home. If you're currently living in a basement or have previously lived in a basement and are interested in sharing your experience, you can contact project researcher Anam Bashir at anamb@student.ubc.ca. Participants will receive a $25 gift card.
Funds, Programs, & Awards Now Open
Free Counselling Across BC
Free online short-term counselling for individuals, couples, and families is available across the province. Each client will get 20 free sessions with a master's level practicum student supervised by Registered Clinical Counsellor Shannon Husk. For more information about this opportunity, please contact Shannon at shannon.husk@telus.net
A Salt Spring Retreat for Writers
The Writer-in-Residence program offers Canadian writers a one-week self-directed residency on Salt Spring Island. The residency provides a space to write, rest, read, research, and reconnect with your creative practice, while becoming part of a small but engaged literary community. To conclude their residency, writers will lead an event based on their work.
Get Up to $3,500 for Skills Training
Applications are now open for the 2026/27 StrongerBC Future Skills Grant. BC residents aged 19 and older may be eligible for up to $3,500 to cover the cost of short-term skills training at public post-secondary institutions across the province. The grant helps people build practical skills in health care, construction, clean technology, life sciences, mining, marine industries, and more.
Inclusive Programs Now Open
Women and Gender Equality Canada is accepting applications for the Women’s Economic and Leadership Opportunities Fund 2026. This new fund supports projects that improve women’s access to leadership and economic opportunities, including efforts to address barriers in STEM, skilled trades, and other fields. Projects can focus on areas such as workplace practices, participation in decision-making, gender norms, networks and access to resources.
In Focus: Funding For People With Disabilities
BC Rehab Society Grants
The BC Rehab Foundation offers individual grants to help British Columbians with physical disabilities access equipment and supports that can improve mobility, independence and quality of life.
Funding may be available for items such as power and manual wheelchairs, ramps, lifts, walkers, specialized seating and assistive technology, as well as some recreation therapy opportunities.
Education Bursaries
The Cerebral Palsy Association of BC is offering a variety of financial resources to help people with cerebral palsy pursue their goals and participate in their communities.
Supports include camperships for kids attending special needs camps, funding for assistive equipment, education bursaries for post-secondary students, and information about other bursary opportunities available to people with disabilities.
In Focus: Exciting Opportunities For Youth
Two great opportunities are available for young people looking to build practical skills, gain hands-on experience, and take the next step toward their future.
Paid Land-Based Training for Youth
Environmental Youth Alliance is accepting applications for Roots & Shoots, its paid land-based job training program. The eight-week program helps youth develop skills in horticulture, ecological restoration and plant medicine, along with employability skills.
The program is open to youth ages 18–25 who identify as Indigenous, Black, a Person of Colour, 2SLGBTQIA+, and/or living with a disability. Participants receive a living stipend of $18.25/hour, with bus passes and lunches also provided.
Free Training, Coaching & Certifications for Youth
YWCA BC is recruiting participants for its next Strive cycle, starting August 31. Strive is a holistic life skills and employment program for youth ages 16–29 who are transitioning or have transitioned out of care, helping participants build skills and confidence through 5–7 weeks of workshops and training followed by five weeks of one-to-one coaching.
Participants receive free counselling, a training allowance, employment-related certifications, access to WorkBC case management, and access to the YWCA Health + Fitness Centre. Workshops are held in person at YWCA Career Zone in Downtown Vancouver.
Trivia: BC's Own.....Dinosaur?
A native to BC, Ferrisaurus sustutensis ("Iron Lizard from the Sustut River") was formally named in 2019. It lived about 67 million years ago and is the first dinosaur species uniquely identified from BC fossils.
Standing at roughly 5'9" and weighing 330 pounds, this plant eater and relative of the Triceratops was discovered in northern BC in 1971. Its name comes from the Latin for iron (ferrum), referencing its discovery near a railway line on the Sustut River.
More Community Updates! Thanks For Reading.
PS: Check out these delightful images from the 2026 International Pet Photography Awards
Contests, Competitions, & Awards
Volunteer
Events
Jobs
To find more community resources, click here! Also feel free to email me at spencer@bcdisability.com
-Spencer van Vloten
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