With Thanksgiving on this weekend, it's nice to know local food banks will have more to offer low-income families, thanks to the efforts of dedicated volunteers who spent Sept. 20 collecting donations from Burnaby homes.
Every year, a loosely affiliated church group puts on the Thanksgiving food drive across B.C.
In Burnaby alone, volunteers collected 6,302 pounds of food. The provincial total was 409,624 pounds, which is lower than last year's total of roughly 450,000 pounds.
Volunteers leave flyers on people's doorsteps, explaining that they will be back for food bank donations, and anyone wishing to contribute can leave items on the doorstep for pickup.
The food is always distributed in the communities where it was collected, so local donations help local families.
Hall of fame
New Westminster's Fraser River Discovery Centre is inducting Burnaby's Mark Angelo into the hall of fame.
Each year, the centre picks one person for the hall of fame, and Angelo was chosen for his life's work - decades spent on conservation and restoration efforts of waterways. Angelo also started Rivers Day, which has grown to one of the world's largest environmental celebrations. Angelo said he was excited and honoured to be included in the Fraser River Hall of Fame.
"The Fraser is a river that's dear to my heart. I've been active on the Fraser for many years," he said. "The Fraser River is certainly the heart and soul of our province."
The formal event is set for Thursday, Nov. 6, from 6:30 to 9 p.m., and tickets are $125, available by calling 604-521-8401 or emailing [email protected].
ESL for families
There's help on the horizon for Mandarin-speaking families struggling with English.
The Burnaby Public Library is teaming up with Education Quest Society to host a workshop on coping strategies families can use for acquiring English. The event covers challenges for ESL students, effective learning resources and methods parents can employ to help their children learn English. The workshop is on Friday, Oct. 10 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Bob Prittie Metrotown library branch, at 6100 Willingdon Ave. Admission is free, and the workshop will be in Mandarin.
Church hosts music night
Save the date for a night with Celtic musicians Blackthorn at the All Saints Anglican Church on Oct. 23.
The church is at 7405 Royal Oak Ave., and the event starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15.
People can pre-register with the church for an open-mike session before the music starts.
Refreshments will be served. For info, call 604-433-0815 or email [email protected].
