June's Community Conversations!
- Spencer van Vloten
- Jun 11
- 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,
Thank You!
We Took The First Step!
I've now been selected as an official Park Board candidate! If you support safer, healthier, more accessible parks and community spaces, read my Vancouver Sun Op-Ed & consider joining the team. Whether you can volunteer or just want to share your input, your support brings community voices to the table and shapes the future of our parks and recreation system.
Community Engagement & Resources
Be A Health Mentor
UBC Health is recruiting volunteer Health Mentors for the 2026–2027 academic year. Health Mentors are patients and caregivers with lived experience navigating the healthcare system who are interested in helping educate future health professionals.
Mentors meet with a small group of students throughout the academic year to share experiences, build relationships, and support more compassionate, patient-centered care.
Bring Your Voice To Vancouver Fringe
Are you passionate about arts, culture, and community? The Vancouver Fringe Festival is seeking new members to join its board of directors, in both financial and general positions. This is a chance to help guide one of Vancouver's most beloved arts organizations, support independent artists, and contribute to the future of live performance in our city. Learn more about this opportunity.
What Do Vancouver Families Need?
Foundry is coming to East Vancouver, and Vancouver Coastal Health is looking for parents, guardians, and caregivers of youth12–24 to share their experiences through a paid 45-minute interview. Feedback will help shape future youth and family services in the community. Those unable to participate can complete a survey for a chance to win a $100 gift card.
Funds, Programs, & Awards Now Open
Ripples Of Belonging Community Grants
Do you have an idea for a community event to help reduce isolation and generate social connection? Ripples of Belonging offers $500-$1000 to fund community events that are organized by people with lived experience of mental health and/or substance use challenges. This is a great opportunity to help build community.
Experience Urban Sustainability
Explore Vancouver in a whole new way with Urban Future Walks, a free 2-hour experience from UBC. Discover hidden stories, sustainability innovations, and the future of city life through an interactive walking tour. Participants help shape research, and eligible adults can enter a draw to win a $100 prize. A fun, eye-opening way to see the city from a fresh perspective.
Become An EcoRanger
Love nature and enjoy connecting with people? Join the EcoRangers program with the Stanley Park Ecology Society this summer. Volunteers work as roving naturalists in Stanley Park, sharing knowledge about local wildlife, ecology, and park history with visitors. Gain hands-on experience in environmental education, public outreach, and interpretation while spending your summer outdoors.
Canada's Volunteer Awards
Canada's Volunteer Awards recognize volunteers, non-profit organizations, and businesses for their contributions to the voluntary sector across the country. The Awards highlight the many ways that volunteering strengthens our communities.
Changing The System: Shape Parks, Arts, & Child Care In BC
Your voice can help shape the future of British Columbia. From improving park experiences and strengthening support for arts and culture to informing the future of child care, these public engagement opportunities give you a chance to influence decisions that affect communities across the province.
Have you visited a BC Park recently? Whether you camped, hiked, paddled, biked, or simply enjoyed the outdoors, BC Parks wants to hear about your experience. Your feedback will help shape future improvements to park facilities, trails, services, accessibility, and visitor experiences across the province.
The BC Arts Council is seeking feedback from artists, arts organizations, cultural workers, and community members to help develop its new Strategy and Action Plan. Input will help guide future priorities, funding programs, and investments across B.C.'s arts and culture sector.
The Province is seeking feedback on the future of child care in British Columbia. Parents, guardians, early childhood educators, child care operators, and community members are invited to share what's working, where improvements are needed, and what priorities should guide future investments. The online survey is open until July 9 and will help inform the next phase of ChildCareBC.
In Focus: Fund Your Creativity
Bringing creative ideas to life takes resources. Check out these funding opportunities that can help support artistic projects, community initiatives, and professional development.
Assists independent media artists with the creation of specific projects. Projects and works must be independent of commercial industries for film, video, and gaming.
Supports artists and photographers through quarterly $1,800 grants.
Supports racialized artists and arts workers who identify as having lived experience of disability to explore media art through self-directed learning, research, and creative experimentation.
Assists individuals in their pursuit of a craft career, through funding which will support them individually and the development of crafts in BC.
Provides a grand prize of $10,000 to recognize and celebrate outstanding, original music creators of Indigenous descent.
Trivia: A Day To Remember; Heroes To Thank
While the first World Cup game in Vancouver will take place on June 13, many other major moments in the city's history have already made the date significant.
It's the day George Vancouver arrived (1792), the day coal was discovered at Coal Harbour (1859 - pictured above), the day the City Archives opened (1933), and the day the city burned in the Great Fire (1886).
Speaking of that last example - did you know that Squamish people paddled across from communities on the North Shore to rescue survivors who were struggling in the inlet. They also provided food, shelter, and assistance in the aftermath. In 2017, the City of Vancouver formally acknowledged the role of First Nations families in saving lives during the fire, noting that many more people likely would have died without their intervention.
More Community Updates! Thanks For Reading.
PS: Did you know that we remember information better when we tell someone about it, rather than just reviewing it on our own? Start a convo!
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To find more community resources, click here! Also feel free to email me at spencer@bcdisability.com
-Spencer van Vloten
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