Big Sisters

Here at Big Sisters when we think of yoga – we think big! BIG ideas. BIG inspiration. BIG impact. We talk a big game and we can back it up. There are so many special things about Big Yoga™ for Big Sisters. We love the idea of using your practice to transform girls’ lives. We love beautiful David Lam Park. We love our community partners joining us with activities onsite—Inner Fire, Skoah, Ananta Wellness & Osteopathy, ivivva, and JamJar. We love YOU for committing to this event with your fundraising efforts and awesome energy of the day. You know what else? We love, love, love the opportunity to share six completely different styles of yoga led by some of the city’s […]

Canadian kids and teens are digitally savvy when it comes to social media and the internet—after all, they are digital natives. Unfortunately, many kids and teens do not yet understand the scope of their privacy and the potential risks associated with having an “open” profile online. In an effort to show kids and teens how to better protect themselves online and to understand privacy concerns, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has created this graphic novel, Social Smarts: Privacy, the Internet and You. The short 12-page novel follows a brother (Dave) and sister (Amy) who learn about the privacy risks related to social networking, phone passwords and online gaming. We are also given insight from Amy’s phone who […]

Did you know that your next event can support our mentoring programs? Our friend Alex Chisholm from Merchant Advance Capital recently hosted a casino fundraiser for Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland. She raised over $2,000 with the help of her friends and colleagues. Thank you Alex for taking the time to support Big Sisters. Your donation is helping to improve the lives of young girls. “When my partner and I first decided to host a casino night, we had envisioned a couple close friends, a bottle of whiskey and a rainy Vancouver night. As our little get-together seemed to pick up traction from our poker enthusiast friends, the premise behind the event grew as well. What a wonderful opportunity […]

We can’t do the important work we do without our amazing volunteers. That’s why, every year, we choose three Big Heart Award winners. At this year’s annual Spring Lunch fundraiser, two winners took home the Big Heart Awards. These awards recognize volunteers and businesses or foundations that make outstanding contributions of time, energy and financial support to Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland. The 2017 recipients were Carmen S. Thériault for Outstanding Contribution by a Volunteer and Amir and Yasmin Virani Family Foundation for Outstanding Contribution by a Business or Foundation. Carmen Thériault is a senior partner at Norton Rose Fulbright. She has been actively involved in the community for a number of years. Her many activities involve being a […]

Did you know that about 1 in 7 young people in BC—or 14%—will experience a mental illness at some point? Many mental illnesses—between 50% and about 70%—show up before the age of 18, so they can have a huge impact on a child’s development. Mental illnesses can affect how well kids do in school and how they form relationships with other kids and adults. Caring adults provide young people with a sense of belonging, acceptance, empowerment and connection- factors that are known to foster mental health and emotional well-being. While there are many ways to go about treatment for mental illness, one thing remains: everyone needs support which can include family, friends, counselors or mentors. Our research has found that […]