Tag: fundraising

We received an urgent call. Here’s what we did.

On a frigid afternoon this past December, we received an urgent phone call. There was a mother cradling her newborn, desperately waiting outside Carnegie Outreach Centre to get a birth certificate for her baby. Could FIRST UNITED help spare Mom and baby a long wait in near freezing temperatures? Our response was immediate: yes, we […]

Thank you for making this an amazing Christmas!

A message from Amanda Burrows, Executive Director: I’d like to say a heartfelt thank you to you—our community of values-aligned supporters—for joining us this Christmas to make an impact on the Downtown Eastside. I’m delighted to share that this has been our biggest Christmas campaign ever, and it’s thanks to you. Together, for our programs […]

Thank You Thursday: Fourth Annual Shelter Gala Highlights

We hosted our fourth annual GivingTuesday Shelter Gala this week, and it was an incredible day of celebrating the resilience and strength of our neighbours in the Downtown Eastside. We’re so happy to share that we’ve received over $62,000 in donations for our GivingTuesday Shelter Gala! GivingTuesday is such a special day here at FIRST […]

Summer Newsletter: A Retrospective On Our Building

Honouring the History of Our Old Building We’ve dedicated this summer edition of First Things First to our former building—to honour its history and legacy in the Downtown Eastside. Read just some of the significant events and milestones that took place in our old building. Featured photo by Walter E. Frost 1973 (City of Vancouver […]

THANK YOU for making this happen

It’s the first week of the new year and our hearts are filled with gratitude! We’re blown away by how our community has come together, yet again, to make a difference in the Downtown Eastside. Our Christmas campaign has wrapped and we’re thrilled to share that for our programs and services, our supporters have collectively […]

#ThankYouThursday: Highlights From Our Third Annual #GivingTuesday Shelter Gala

This year’s #GivingTuesday Shelter Gala was a special one to say the least. We are thrilled to share that we’ve received over $55,000 in donations for our GivingTuesday Shelter Gala! THANK YOU to everybody who chipped in, shared our social media posts, blogs, and donation links. All of your donations to our GivingTuesday Shelter Gala […]

Martin’s Story

“You can’t understand being homeless or being an addict without hanging out with them or being one of them,” Martin says. He described the day-to-day struggles of homelessness and the exhaustion that many people who are living on the streets experience. “You’re trying to survive in the streets and you just can’t find a place […]

Our Third #GivingTuesday Shelter Gala

Our third annual GivingTuesday Shelter Gala is happening this month and we’re making it bigger and better than ever! GivingTuesday is a global movement to encourage generosity and giving back. It falls on the Tuesday after Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and promotes charitable giving. This year’s GivingTuesday is on November 29th, and the way […]