Collingwood Neighbourhood House (CNH) proudly recognizes its long-serving staff members. At this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), CNH staff and contractors who have reached the milestones of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 years of service to the neighbourhood house were thanked by the Board of Directors.
This year, we recognize and celebrate Tanya Findlater for 20 years of service. Here’s what Sanjeev Karwal, Director of Youth Services, had to say about Tanya:
“Tanya moved to Vancouver from St. Catherine’s Ontario in 2002. She started her work at CNH as the summer program leader for the Youth with A Purpose program. From there, Tanya started working at the Youth Centre on Friday and Saturday evenings, where she still spends the majority of her time.
“Over the last 20 years, Tanya has had many roles at CNH, such as running the buddy program for newcomer youth at the local schools, leading adult recreation drop-ins, and working with the kids at the Families Branching Out program.
“Two of Tanya’s greatest assets are, one, how well she connects to and supports the youth, and two, her unlimited supply of energy.
“Over her span of work at CNH, Tanya has appreciated working, learning and unlearning from a diverse group of youth and staff, the upwards mobility in her positions and the opportunity to address the needs and gaps for youth in the community. Some of Tanya’s favorite memories include: Handing out hot chocolate and candies in front of CNH on Halloweens, the boys and girls sleep over events, competitive floor hockey games, and when former participants come back to visit as adults.
Collingwood Neighbourhood House (CNH) proudly recognizes its long-serving staff members. At this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), CNH staff and contractors who have reached the milestones of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 years of service to the neighbourhood house were thanked by the Board of Directors.
This year, we recognize and celebrate Yoko Tomita for 20 years of service. Here’s what Emily Rees, Director of Community Development, had to say about Yoko:
“Congratulations Yoko Tomita, Arts and Culture Manager. Yoko came to CNH as a Community member, volunteer, and mural art contractor. Over the past 20 years Yoko has contributed to and led projects to create murals, banners, mosaics, and shared her visual art skills with the community.
“Renfrew-Collingwood neighbours and CNH staff have become extended family to her, and that is why she loves working here. Yoko expressed, that it has always felt like a privilege to work at CNH and she has learned so much about serving community in order to create a better place to live. In fact, it is CNH’s privilege to have Yoko as part of the community and we have all learned so much from her.
“Yoko would like to thank January Wolodarsky, Andrea Berneckas, Paula Carr, Jennifer Gray-Grant and everyone in the Community Development Department, past and present for the endless support, friendship, and learnings.
Thank you, Yoko for all you have shared and taught us!”
Today, November 30th, is a Canada-wide Day of Action for Child Care. As the Province moves forward with the implementation of their $10 a day Child Care BC plan, it’s important to recognize that quality, affordable child care cannot happen without the educators.
CNH will continue to be an advocate for professional wages and benefits based on a provincially funded wage grid because child care educators not only play a vital role in providing quality care and expansion of spaces, but they are essential in the education of young minds!
Visit https://youtu.be/FXNXxLadtJY to watch a video of four of our educators tell us why they chose the Early Childhood Educator (ECE) profession, what they love about their work, and what they are hopeful for, for the field of ECE.
We highlight the work of CNH’s amazing child care staff. Parents very kindly shared with us what their child’s educator means to their family and words of support for the ECE profession. These kudos are also being shared with our educators.
Some of our incredible child care staff
“I have found all ECEs to be kind, fair, great negotiators(!), caring, fun and respectful of our young ones. They encompass all the qualities a parent could ask for when entrusting them with the care of our precious children”
“Preschool teachers are exceptionally important in children’s lives, especially during their most impressionable years. They provide children with a support system, encouragement and build a great foundation for their future”
“I cannot overstate how much we appreciate the work that you all do in providing care and contributing to raising healthy and happy kids”
“The low level of pay available to these childcare workers versus the training they need and the precious people we put in their hands is greatly out of balance and I have seen firsthand where programs have lost AMAZING employees to better paying jobs”
“The bonds he has developed with these teachers and staff have allowed him to grow and develop into the wonderful toddler he is today. The staff are incredible, and always willing to learn how to adapt to our son’s needs. The training, education, and continual improvement required to care for the diverse needs of all children requires a special person. Their contribution to the growth of our children is extremely valued and we are very thankful”
“They are all calm and honest, not passing judgment onto a parent or made to make them feel less. They are very understanding and honest and most of all friendly. All the staff that interact with C, are always smiling and seem genuinely to love their job. They always greet us with a smile every morning and even say goodbye after we leave. C is getting to be around people with good values and respect for one another. Plus, he really likes it I’m sure. Even if he does cry a bit when dropped off in mornings, ha-ha!”
“It’s a long day for my kids. It’s a profound relief, and a delight, to see them so excited to get to out-of-school care in the morning, and then always wanting “5 more minutes” when I pick them up at the end of the day. I know that they love this program because it’s a safe and enriching place for them to play”
“We value the educators at O’s daycare for providing genuine care and connection for all the little ones in their parents’ absence. I recall struggling when first sending him to daycare, and I was compassionately reassured that his needs would be met (including being held and hugged when pandemic measures encouraged social distancing)”“It takes a village to raise a child and that cannot be more true about the teachers at Terry Tayler. We couldn’t do it without their support, compassion, patience and care. They welcome us at every drop off and pick with a big smile no matter how well-behaved or difficult our child was that day. It is hard to be away from your child all day but knowing that our children are happy and well cared for at daycare makes a huge difference. Teachers are educating our future doctors, engineers, artists, business owners and so much more. That is a huge job and they deserve a fair wage!”
“We can’t express enough how grateful we are for the early childhood educators that teach and care for P. Knowing that she has a safe, stimulating, and nurturing environment to go to everyday allows us to have peace of mind. It allows us to focus on what we need to do to contribute to the health and vibrancy of our household and community. P loves going to daycare and we know she feels safe and nurtured by the committed educators who teach her. We are so lucky to have to have these amazing humans in our community! We have the utmost respect and appreciation for the skills, knowledge, capabilities and empathy of the early childhood educators at your centre. We believe that our current early childhood education system under compassionates those providing such an important service to our community and we strongly support fairer wages going forward. Quality, affordable childcare for all!”
“Please consider that those who are spending large amounts of the day, often more waking hours than their primary caregivers, provide not only a watchful eye, but are also our children’s first professional educators. They provide rich learning opportunities, while building our children’s confidence and ensuring they are cared for both physically and mentally”
“As a parent who’s benefited from the $10/day program, I can see how it has allowed our family to redirect the funds to other important areas in our life but this monetary benefit has not been experienced by the ECEs”
“Early education is so important to us – Teachers play such an important role in a child’s earliest years, when they’re just picking up the foundational elements of life, and aren’t able to (or need to) rely as much on friends and other students, like they can in later years. It’s laying the foundation for their education – Daycare is about so much more than simply learning basic skills – Our kids learn critical social and emotional skills and a partnership is formed between the child, their parents and the teacher. When this is done successfully, it lays the groundwork for it to continue throughout the child’s education. – They help lay the foundation for education and discovery, for the rest of a child’s life – for a successful future. They bring expertise in children’s development – they specialize in working with children the age of ours. They are pros at assessing, observing, and documenting their development. They focus on the child’s strengths and adapt their environment to their needs and likes. – We see them building a warm and positive relationships with our children – important to us because children need to feel safe and cared for. They also help the kids build positive relationships with other. They teach them so many important life skills – cooperation, sharing, being creative, using their imagination… They create a welcoming environment for children to make them feel right at home. They have patience for our children. They help us understand what is going on with our children.It has been so great to see them socialize with people outside of our home and family – this has made them very social people, which we so appreciate! They don’t get scared around new faces or around large groups”
The Collingwood Neighbourhood House (CNH) Board of Directors is proud to provide a scholarship of $750.00 in honour of a long-term staff, Nina Vacca.
Nina passed away in 2021. Nina arrived to Canada as a refugee and was a lifelong learner; she pursued her Early Childhood Education Certificate later in life.
Nina worked at CNH as a manager of the LINC Childcare Program; she was also a childcare worker in the Families Branching Out Program and Family Place. She always showed a lot of love and care in the work she did with children.
Her contributions and work did not stop with her caring for children at CNH: she volunteered in her community every year to organize events for the Chilean community.
At CNH we want to celebrate Nina’s legacy by offering this scholarship to refugee and immigrant women.
To apply, please complete the application online at https://bit.ly/nina-vacca-scholarship-2022 or get an application form from reception at CNH (5288 Joyce St) and email it to info@cnh.bc.ca.Deadline for applications is July 22, 2022 at 5 pm.
Collingwood Neighbourhood House (CNH) is accepting nominations for its Board of Directors. This is an exciting time to join our Board as we move on from the pandemic to continue and develop as a vibrant organization.
Applicants should live and/or work in Renfrew-Collingwood, have a broad understanding of the neighbourhood, feel committed to becoming engaged in improving all aspects of our neighbourhood, and be able to bring expertise and perspectives that increase our organization’s capacity to be equitable and inclusive.
We are interested in hearing from people from all backgrounds and ages but are especially interested in applicants who are between the ages of 21-29 or are 55-plus. We are also interested in hearing from individuals who live with a disability. This year we have a particular need for those who have experience in health care, religious/spiritual associations, and knowledge of government. We are also particularly interested in candidates with relevant lived experience or who are representative of a historically marginalized group.
The CNH Board of Directors is committed to an anti-oppressive, anti-racist approach to its work and welcomes those who thrive in a vibrant, welcoming environment.
Our Strategic Plan has three strategic priorities:
– Connect with and be more accessible, equitable and inclusive for people in the community.
– Build community capacity to advocate for the future of the people in Renfrew-Collingwood.
– Invest in our organizational foundation to support our sustainability and growth.
Applicants should be able to spend 8-10 hours per month on Board-related work and be able to commit to a three-year term, starting this October. The deadline for applications is July 8; members of the Board’s Nominations Committee will be contacting applicants July 9-23. If you are interested, please contact Board President Leila Trickey at president@cnh.bc.ca.
We are so grateful to every single CNH staff member for all that they have done during the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. They have been extraordinarily flexible and creative and have done everything possible to keep their colleagues and our participants safe and healthy. They have created new programming, to meet needs that emerged during the pandemic, they’ve trained new volunteers, who stepped forward to help out, and they have been very supportive of one another. We are so grateful to have such a professional, compassionate, hard-working team. We are grateful to every single person on our staff. Thank you! Today we celebrate the staff of the Youth Services department.
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We are so grateful to every single CNH staff member for all that they have done during the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. They have been extraordinarily flexible and creative and have done everything possible to keep their colleagues and our participants safe and healthy. They have created new programming, to meet needs that emerged during the pandemic, they’ve trained new volunteers, who stepped forward to help out, and they have been very supportive of one another. We are so grateful to have such a professional, compassionate, hard-working team. We are grateful to every single person on our staff. Thank you! Today we celebrate the staff of the RISE Community Health Centre.
We are so grateful to every single CNH staff member for all that they have done during the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. They have been extraordinarily flexible and creative and have done everything possible to keep their colleagues and our participants safe and healthy. They have created new programming, to meet needs that emerged during the pandemic, they’ve trained new volunteers, who stepped forward to help out, and they have been very supportive of one another. We are so grateful to have such a professional, compassionate, hard-working team. We are grateful to every single person on our staff. Thank you! Today we celebrate the staff of the Operations department.
We are so grateful to every single CNH staff member for all that they have done during the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. They have been extraordinarily flexible and creative and have done everything possible to keep their colleagues and our participants safe and healthy. They have created new programming, to meet needs that emerged during the pandemic, they’ve trained new volunteers, who stepped forward to help out, and they have been very supportive of one another. We are so grateful to have such a professional, compassionate, hard-working team. We are grateful to every single person on our staff. Thank you! Today we celebrate the staff of the Early Years department.
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We are so grateful to every single CNH staff member for all that they have done during the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. They have been extraordinarily flexible and creative and have done everything possible to keep their colleagues and our participants safe and healthy. They have created new programming, to meet needs that emerged during the pandemic, they’ve trained new volunteers, who stepped forward to help out, and they have been very supportive of one another. We are so grateful to have such a professional, compassionate, hard-working team. We are grateful to every single person on our staff. Thank you! Today we celebrate the staff of the Community Services department.
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