Hi all,

So Lyle wanted some suggestions/ideas about what we should do for our reunion. 

Hopefully in the last ten years we have all accomplished something and have grown as individuals, either personally, professionally, spiritually, etc. To reflect the kind of people we have become (hopefully for the better :)) and to make an impact as a group I thought it might be a good idea to think about organizing some type of donation as part of our grad reunion where all donations raised go to a charity such as the Breast Cancer Society, or the Children's Hospital, or even something more local. The donation would be on behalf of our grad class and it would go to a good cause.

I think another grad class in the last year has done this (the donation went to raise money for the CT Scanner for the Kootenay Lake Hospital) and I thought it was a great idea!

Those are my two cents......

Looking forward to your comments.

Ajla

Hey Everyone,

I think this is an excellend idea.  I definately think it should be a local charity for Nelson. It is the communicty we all came from, so it would be nice to give back to it.

I think if we can move fairly quickly on getting the majority of the class signed up as quickly as possible we can start thinking about what we are going to do and when.  We can also set up a paypal or something to collect money for the reunion itself, as well as set up a collection fund for any charity we vote to contribute to.

In my mind we would have the whole class signed up by Mid January (That way we can put the word out about the site at Christmas when we see each other) and then start discussing some ideas about what/where/when and have a conclusion by the end of February. This will give us several months to book things, and collect any necissary funds from everyone coming.

Cheers,

Lyle

Nelson residents and skateboard enthusiasts have been trying to raise funds for an outdoor skatepark for years (maybe even decades). There've been public speeches and parades down Baker street trying to raise awareness for the need of an outdoor skatepark for the kids in Nelson's community, so kids can get off the streets and away from bylaw officers.

It's not enough just having an indoor skatepark anymore, an outdoor one is badly needed. Some place for kids to go exert their energy, where they can be monitored in case of injury or other circumstance. The community is asking specifically for this, it might be worth looking into for a charity to raise money for.

Here's a link to their latest effort in trying to raise money for this project. Alas, looking at the other numbers of votes for some of the other projects, I doubt Nelson's Outdoor Skatepark is going to succeed. Fingers crossed.

http://www.avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf5830/vote

 This is the guy to talk to, probably, and the name of the organization in charge of the skatepark vision.

Robert Levesque

The Kootenay Lake Outdoor Skatepark Society

I believe this is a worth while charity, anyone else who thinks so should speak up:)

~Aimee

Hi!

Yes- I think that's a good one. There are a couple other organizations that need support as well:

-Second Chance Animal Shelter-apparently it is constantly full.

-Capitol Theatre (Is going to be stripped of the Gaming Grants that fun it next year)- and services 40+ kids every summer, not to mention adults throughout the year,and has influenced bunch of our class over the years

-What about a scholarship/foundation of some sort? We could together the base money to invest & then in 20 years it'll be a pretty good lump sum? Either that or for families whose kids are sick or hurt and need money for travel/treatment/services? ( I don't know the details on know to do this but I know classes have done this in the past...)

Liz

I personally think it would be better  use to do a donation to some sort of cancer research or something medical. I think it is more likely to help people out to have a cure for cancer than it will to have something like an out door skate park. My views might have been different if I had ever been into skateboarding, but I wasn't. Or if there is a branch of Kid Sport in nelson, another deserving charity. Kid sport pays for the fees/equipment for kids from poor families who wouldn't normally be able to play sports because of their financial situation. But whatever you all decide...

I agree that the best choice would be donating a local project/charity. I think Aimee has a great idea, what could be more fitting than supporting local youth in the community where we grew up. I will have to look into the plans before I throw in my vote but that is an idea I would definitely support.

I agree, we should keep it to something local that affects Nelson directly, whatever the choice may be.

As for the kid sport thing, from what I understand, most kids whose families can't afford to put their children onto sports teams, end up skateboarding because it's a low cost sport. Maybe the two are actually linked?

I just remember skateboarding being a huge hobby for our generation growing up in Nelson. All my friends did it, not to mention looked up to the older generation of people who did it their too. I feel bad for the kids who are harassed by Nelson Bylaw officers. They get their boards taken away, and get fined, only because they have no outdoor park to skate at. Imagine coming from a family with not much money, getting a skateboard for a gift, being so psyched to go out and ride, then getting it taken away because you were skating in the rec center parking lot because there really isn't anywhere else designated as a place to skate outside. It sucks.

Any charity thats directly attached to Nelson is a great thing to contribute to, so no matter what I'm sure this donation will mean a lot to any organization. I'm sort of biased to this idea only because my older brother was a skater and was one of Josh Evin's very good friends. Josh is a pro skater from Castlegar, for those of you who don't know. He passed away this last summer in a motorcycle accident. He was a huge driving factor for getting funding for the outdoor skatepark project.

I also like Liz's idea for the theater funding. I spent many summers in production at the Capitol Theater, and wow! Such good memories:)

~Aim

I think the skate park and Capitol Theatre ideas are good ones! The Nelson Food Cupboard or the KL Hospital Foundation (that's the one that bought the scanner right?) would also be good!

As we're thinking about which organization/group/cause to support, I think it would be helpful to consider "why?"  - Are we doing it for memories' sake? Is it because we know of a need in the community right now? Is it to leave some kind of Grad 2001 legacy?? Maybe all this and more?

I don't have the answer- but I can't be at the meeting where it'll be discussed, so them's my thoughts! :)

Thanks for thinking outside of ourselves whoever started this plan!

Hey everyone......great ideas!

So far my vote would lie with the outdoor skatepark project, donating to Kootenay Lake Hospital Foundation or Nelson Community Services, which provide great services to families and children, including counseling.

I know Josh Evin's family personally, and I think they would be very touched if we could approach them and let them know of our ideas, as they are always looking for ways to keep Josh's memory alive in our area, as he was a great mentor to kids and adults alike in our area, and Nelson really does need more outdoor spaces for kids/ youth to feel safe and come together to be amongst their peers. I also think this would leave a more lasting mark on the community, as it would be seen and used more than if we make a donation to an organization or charity.

Is this where we will be voting for dates also? June will not work for me personally as my baby is due then........but August would be wonderful, as the weather will be better and I love the Kokanee Part idea for a family BBQ.

Thanks to all for organizing and planning!

I would like to suggest Friends of the Family. 

This organization was very generous to my huband and I when our twins were born 2 months early. The twins were in the Neonatal ICU in Kelowna for 5 weeks, I was living in a hotel and my husband was driving back and forth on weekends.

Friends of the Famiy gave us money that we put towards our hotel costs and fuel.  They took a huge stress off us at an already very stressful time.

I know that Friends of the Family as helped other people in our grad class in the past for their own situations- and for that reason I am suggesting our donation to go this group.