Tag: Staff recognition

From participant to director: Sanjeev Karwal celebrates a 20-year milestone with Youth Services at CNH

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 Sanjeev Karwal for 20 years of service. Here’s what Jennifer Gray-Grant, Executive Director of CNH, had to say about Sanjeev:

When Sanjeev Karwal was a child, on weekends he would push his bike across Euclid Street to join his friends as they played on the warehouse ramps in the light industrial space. A few years later, the space had been cleared and he attended the ground-breaking ceremony for Collingwood Neighbourhood House’s (CNH) main site.

In 1995, when CNH opened its new site, Sanjeev, his brother and friends started playing basketball at CNH. For Sanjeev, the visits evolved throughout high school into opportunities to attend other programs and then volunteer, notably with the Youth Centre and the after-school Buddy Program. Twenty years ago he was hired as a youth worker at the Youth Centre and now serves a dual role in Youth Services as a manager and as a director.

“I really appreciate the journey I have had at CNH,” Sanjeev said. “I’ve been able to learn, develop and grow with the organization. I’ve also had the opportunity to lead and be part of so many meaningful and rewarding projects, where I’ve been able to be creative and use a variety of skills and assets.”

One of those skills included helping to convert an old restaurant, along with numerous CNH volunteers, into a Halloween haunted house complete with clowns, dancing ghosts, masked ghouls and a terrifying graveyard. That effort landed the group on the nightly news as two television stations came out to film the frightening scenes.

Another of his cherished memories is joining the Pulling Together Journey one year. On the journey, Indigenous youth paddle canoes, sleep in tipis and engage in traditional Indigenous cultural practices. Sanjeev said that at the end of the 10-day journey along the Fraser River, the canoes left the river and headed towards Spanish Banks. At the same time, canoes coming from the ocean also paddled towards Spanish Banks, as planned. He said it was amazing how the 25 canoes joined together to paddle in a circle, welcoming one another, before pulling up to the shore.

Sanjeev said it has been really satisfying to watch, over the years, as children and youth come to CNH to enjoy programs, maybe train to become volunteers and, in some cases, serve on the CNH Board of Directors or, like Sanjeev, start to work at CNH.

For Sanjeev personally, that cycle is happening again. CNH was established in 1985, the same year Sanjeev was born. Family members brought a toddler Sanjeev to CNH’s small storefront on Kingsway, for various programs. Now, Sanjeev is bringing his own son, Bodhi, to CNH for childcare. And so it begins for the next generation.

For information about careers at CNH, visit www.cnh.bc.ca/about/careers.

December 5, 2023
Thomas Wong: 25 years of ‘extraordinary compassion’ at CNH

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 Thomas Wong for 25 years of service. Here’s what Jenny Shen, Navigation & Peer Support, Walking Club & Tech Support Program Manager, had to say about Thomas:

A remarkable individual, Thomas Wong, also known as Master Thomas, has been an integral part of CNH for more than 25 years.

Thomas is a master in many areas. From Qi Gong to Tai Chi, Tai Chi Sword to Chinese calligraphy, he’s a seasoned instructor. Did you know he was already a black belt in karate in his early twenties? But what sets Thomas apart is his extraordinary compassion towards his students. He knows each of them and always takes care of those who are vulnerable or have special needs. His classes are so popular that, to this day, at the age of 75, he holds the record for running the most classes at CNH.

If you stroll outside of the main CNH building, you will come across a bench with four elegant Chinese characters: Spring, summer, autumn and winter, painted by Thomas. It conveys a profound pearl of wisdom: Our lives, like the changing seasons, have their own unique beauty.

Thank you, Thomas, for sharing your talents, wisdom, and beautiful spirit with us for 25 incredible years. We look forward to many more seasons of inspiration and growth with you.

To learn about current career opportunities at CNH, visit www.cnh.bc.ca/about/careers.

November 7, 2023
Walda Gorn: 25 years in child care at CNH

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 Walda Gorn for 25 years of service. Here’s what Diana Taykandy, Operations Child Care Program Manager, had to say about Walda:

Walda began her journey at CNH just over 25 years ago. In 1997, she started as a practicum student in our preschool program. Once she completed her Early Childhood Educator (ECE) coursework, she returned to CNH to complete 500 hours of volunteer work to obtain her license to practice in childcare. At this time, Walda volunteered in both of our preschool and infant/toddler programs.

Eventually, a part-time position became available in our infant/toddler centre and Walda applied. With her experience at CNH, it was no surprise she was hired for the role. Shortly after, a full-time position opened with our childcare team and for years, Walda worked happily in the infant/toddler program, learning, growing and always caring for our under-threes. Over time, it became clear that Walda was continuously willing to learn, discover and improve her programs. She was also keen on honing her own skills and knowledge in the industry.

In 2013, Walda became a program coordinator at CNH and that’s where we still find her. We are so fortunate that Walda did all her early learnings with us. Today, Walda works with eight educators in the infant/toddler program, most of whom have been working together for many years. Needless to say, a team working together as long as they have, share a special connection.

When asked what made Walda stay with us for so many years, her initial response was that she loved the team she worked with. Ultimately, Walda says she felt (and still feels) that CNH is her place. Walda also lives nearby and has been a part of the local community for a long time. In fact, Walda’s family has spent time helping in both our infant/toddler program and CNH as well. Walda’s husband, for example, has supported our childcare centres by doing odd jobs, such as painting, pressure washing and building furniture. Additionally, he has always been a huge support to Walda, who in turn is always looking out for the very best in her programs.

Walda is dedicated and self-motivated, which is only part of what makes her the special person she is today. It has been a pleasure working with her all these years and we look forward to many more. (We are not kidding, Walda says her future plans are to continue working at CNH.)

Thank you, Walda, for all that you do every day. We are so fortunate to have had your entire career take place at CNH!

To learn about current career opportunities at CNH, visit www.cnh.bc.ca/about/careers.

October 31, 2023
Julie Cheng celebrates 25-year journey of art, literacy and community news at CNH

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 Julie Cheng for 25 years of service. Here’s what Jennifer Gray-Grant, Executive Director of CNH, had to say about Julie:

Around the time I met Julie, I invited her for lunch. She arrived at the restaurant on her bike, ordered a healthy meal and then talked about work but also about her children and partner. At the end of the meal she pulled a container from her backpack to tuck away her leftovers, so she wouldn’t waste food.

That’s pretty much what you need to know about Julie: she’s a healthy, thoughtful, prepared, principled person who is engaged in her work and is a loving partner and mom.

During her 25 years as a contractor at CNH, Julie has worked on a variety of projects. But first, she was a volunteer and sat on CNH’s Board of Directors; this was in the early 1990s when CNH’s main site was being developed.

As a contractor in the 1990s she worked on an arts-and-culture project that created, among other things, the Multicultural Archway in front of the CNH Joyce location. Julie recalls that the Building Community Through Cultural Expression project also spawned the annual Moon Festival and the Renfrew-Collingwood Community News.

She then worked on Multiculturalism Week where, as she distinctly remembers, the week’s activities ended on February 21; Her daughter Kate was born on February 22. Julie said Kate “still has wonderful timing to this day”.

Julie also served as Renfrew-Collingwood’s Literacy Plan Coordinator, a project that brought together 200 people to develop a literacy plan for the neighbourhood.

In 2007 Julie became editor of the Renfrew-Collingwood Community News a role she embraced with enthusiasm, working hard to reflect the neighbourhood in the pages of the newspaper. She also used a guiding principle she learned on the CNH Board: everyone has a gift to share. She turned that into a tagline for the newspaper: Every voice matters. Julie recently left that position but still retains the role of online editor.

Julie said her long relationship with CNH has been an amazing journey where she and her partner have raised their children. “CNH has been an important part of it.” As she looks to the future she said she’s looking forward to playing tennis, spending time in her garden and raising mason bees.

Thank you, Julie, and congratulations on this milestone!

To learn about current career opportunities at CNH, visit www.cnh.bc.ca/about/careers.

October 24, 2023
Renuka Bhardwaj celebrates 25 years in Early Childhood Education at CNH

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 Renuka Bhardwaj for 25 years of service. Here’s what Sabrina Bantog, Manager of Child Care Human Resources, had to say about Renuka:

I have known Renuka since she started with us at CNH 25 years ago. When I first met her, it was both as colleagues and in the parent/caregiver capacity as her daughter was in my program as an infant. Renuka’s first role with CNH was as an Early Childhood Educator (ECE) practicum student. Shortly after, she became a preschool staff and then took over as the supervisor of the program. She has been with the program as a coordinator ever since.

If I had to pick one memory of Renuka, it would be of the time we spent together with Leadership Initiative, a course offered by Early Childhood Educators of BC (ECEBC), where we spent many hours together learning about and working on advocacy for childcare. We created a project called “Children Are Everybody’s Business” and when the program came to an end, Renuka’s journey of advocacy was far from over. She continued on to become a board member with the Vancouver branch of ECEBC and recently became a shop steward.

Outside of her typical work, Renuka takes opportunities when she can in order to support CNH. During the pandemic, Renuka was a tremendous support for community food distribution. Emily Rees, Director of Community Development, says Renuka stepped up without hesitation and was such a pleasure to work with. Renuka worked behind the scenes organizing food orders, registering clients, and working directly with community members to maintain safety, answer questions and receive food. Renuka was able to pivot her skillset and apply her knowledge from childcare to a new setting. She was also open to learning new skills. We were so grateful for Renuka’s contributions and are proud to share that Renuka continues to support other initiatives at CNH, such as our annual volunteer recognition event.

Renuka’s colleagues say they enjoy working with her because she is open to new ideas, passionate about her work and fun to work with. Renuka’s favourite work-related memories are our Christmas parties in the multi-purpose room (a long time ago) and our ECE trip to Reggio Emilia in Italy.

Renuka says, “CNH is not only my workplace, it was also my childcare place. I have made some good friends, I know I can go to for advice and help.” Additionally, Renuka says she has stayed with CNH for so long because CNH is a family-friendly workplace and it became the village that helped raise her child.

When asked about her future plans and goals, Renuka says, “Let’s see what the future holds for me.”

Renuka would like to acknowledge her daughter, Nikita, who now works at CNH with the Department of Operations.

Thank you, Renuka, and congratulations on this milestone!

To learn about current career opportunities at CNH, visit www.cnh.bc.ca/about/careers.

October 17, 2023
CNH staff celebrate 5 and 10-year milestones
Collingwood Neighbourhood House (CNH) proudly recognizes its long-serving staff members. At the 2022 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.

Last year, we recognize and celebrate the following staff for 10 and 5 years of service to Collingwood Neighbourhood House:

Over 10 Years
- Robert Allen
- Alice Chow
- Bobby Jo Moore
- Nafisa Sultana
Over 5 Years
- Michelle Olvina
- Zakia Saad
- Chaturika Kotteduwa Jawarden
- Cecilia Garcia
- San Kyaing
- Mitra Alahyarkhani
- Donna Bondy
- Terry So
- Samuel Iwama
- Sylvia Ma
- Nikita Bhardwaj
- Elizabeth Leon
- Ry Forsythe
- Irene Mella
Congratulations and thank you for your service!

For information about careers at CNH, visit www.cnh.bc.ca/about/careers.
January 30, 2023
Candice Li celebrates 15 years at CNH

Collingwood Neighbourhood House (CNH) proudly recognizes its long-serving staff members. At the 2022 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.

Last year, we recognize and celebrate Candice Li for 15 years of service to Collingwood Neighbourhood House. Here’s what Candice’s supervisor, Jenny Eng-Chan, had to say about her:

“Candice is one of our vibrant and boldest members of the Reception team. You can hear and feel her presence even before seeing her! I mean this in a positive way. She is confident and has that one-of-a-kind personality. This was first evident upon interviewing her. I recall that entire day was strange—the other interviewer had to cancel at the last minute and the room that I had booked to do the interview went into overtime. I was scrambling to find a place to conduct the job interview. There were limited choices: it was either the women’s changing room or the main kitchen! Obviously, I picked the kitchen. Candice was adaptable to the situation and continued to be unfazed at the noise and the interruptions. And this quality made her a perfect addition to the Reception Team.”

“Along the way, I have learned that Candice had an aptitude for configuring programs and she loves to use her analytical CSI skills. When it was time for us to transition from our old-fashioned way of receiving and preparing payments received at the front desk to a more modern Point of Sales system, Candice was right there tackling the job. She was one of the key players involved in implementing our very first Point of Sales system, and if that wasn’t enough, she took part in building the second one, which we are using today. Candice constantly thanks me for her white hairs but I had promised Candice that there will not be a third time for at least another 10 years and by then, either we would have all retired or our hair would have naturally turned white, so I can’t be blamed for this.”

“Besides her work, Candice has this talent of being able to transform almost any fruit into her “special juices,” also known as wine. She loves to test out the potency of her creations on her reception teammates and this is a part of the reason of why the Front Desk staff is always so pleasant. On that note, my wish for Candice is for her to continue perfecting her juice-making skills and testing them out on us. Cheers to many more years.”

For information about careers at CNH, visit www.cnh.bc.ca/about/careers.

***

Top image: Candice Li looking straight at the camera.

January 9, 2023
Long-time staff Maria Nombrado shares her inspiration for spending 25 years at CNH
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 Maria Nombrado for 25 years of service. Here’s what Flamingo Xie, Financial Controller, had to say about Maria:

“25 years is a quarter of a century, half of Maria’s lifetime. Her glasses are getting thick and she might need anti-wrinkle cream in the future, but she still looks great in her colleagues’ eyes.

“Maria started work as an office volunteer and a paid computer lab volunteer at CNH. After working in our administration and accounting office, she landed her current role as Accounting Manager. I asked her the reason she has worked at CNH for 25 years. This is what she said:
1. 1. Commendations for her hard work. Maria said she used to be very emotional when her former supervisor verbally appreciated her work. Other Directors at CNH also appreciated Maria’s dedication. Those recognitions boost Maria’s self-esteem and confidence.
2. 2. Her family. Secondly, Maria’s said the love and support of her husband and her two sons, Skye and Edrick, are what keep her going.
3. 3. What CNH stands for. The last one is because of our organization. Maria feels we offer excellent services in the community and excellent recreation programs for all ages. She also appreciates the environment at CNH which she describes as multicultural and family-oriented. As a staff member, she also feels CNH fosters positive employer-employee relationships.
“Maria said she is happy to say that CNH is where she would like to work until her hair turns gray. Thank you, Maria, for 25 years of hard work and dedication. Thank you for making each day of work something we can all be proud of.”

For information about careers at CNH, visit www.cnh.bc.ca/about/careers.

***

Top image: Maria Nombrado at CNH’s AGM on Sept. 28, 2022.
November 22, 2022
An ‘asset’ to CNH operations: Qasim Ahmadi celebrates 25-year milestone

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 Qasim Ahmadi for 25 years of service. Here’s what Kulwant Kaur, Director of Operations, had to say about Qasim:

“Qasim started working at CNH as a Building Services Worker in 1997. After only a couple of months, he was promoted to the position of Facility Coordinator. His electrical engineering education, previous work experience and extensive experience in facility management has helped him in overseeing CNH’s buildings – five stand-alone sites and six child care programs at local schools. Qasim has many skills! His attention to detail, meeting all deadlines and ensuring all work requests are completed in a timely manner, are much appreciated.

“Qasim has also always tried his best to save CNH money by doing a lot of the minor repairs and maintenance work himself. He only calls an external contractor for major repairs. Qasim oversees 11 custodians and he is a very generous and compassionate supervisor. Further, every year without fail, he handwrites Christmas cards for the CNH staff. And when we were able to hold potlucks before COVID, he brought the most delicious rice, Kabuli pulao, to staff meetings. He also enjoys running around Central Park and having BBQs with family and friends. He also loves to go sightseeing with his wife Lilah of 30 years.

“Qasim is a dedicated and hardworking staff member, and is truly an asset to the Operations team and CNH. It’s been a pleasure to work with him! Congratulations and thank you, Qasim.”

For information about careers at CNH, visit www.cnh.bc.ca/about/careers.

***

Top image: Qasim Ahmadi at CNH’s AGM on Sept. 28, 2022.

November 15, 2022
25 years of ‘Tetris:’ Nelly Yep celebrates a milestone at CNH

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 Nelly Yep for 25 years of service. Here’s what Jenny Eng-Chan, Reception Manager, had to say about Nelly:

“Nelly is our internal booking clerk who keeps CNH’s Main House and Annex running smoothly by scheduling programs and events in their correct timeslot. It is similar to playing Tetris on the computer. What a fun job you would think but this wasn’t always the case as the internal booking process has come a long way over the last 25 years. Back in the ‘old’ days, booking was comprised of a stack of photocopied pages bound together by metal prongs and protected by a plastic blue cover page. Hence, we named it the blue book or our CNH bible. It felt like Nelly was book-binding every six months. Nelly would enter the bookings manually into each day; on each page and sometimes this required a lot of cutting and pasting. Fast forward to today and thank goodness for technology, the blue book has retired.

“Over the years, Reception has gone through changes. Our furniture has been replaced and the blue book is gone but there is always one constant: Nelly’s attitude toward her work and her co-workers. She has continued to be a helpful and kind person who will always greet you by name. As I haven’t seen her grumpy or negative, I often wondered what the underlying secret to her being so happy and pleasant is. So, I decided to do some detective work and look for clues in her daily rituals. The first thing that I noticed was that she doesn’t eat breakfast and that she loves her veggies but I didn’t think this was ‘the secret.’ There must be something that she does that other people don’t! Then the ‘aha’ moment struck. It must be the two shots of concentrated lemon juice that she always requests at the tea shop when she orders her drink (and she requests this with no sugar). The saying ‘you are what you eat’ doesn’t apply here because Nelly definitely does not exhibit sourness. Rather, she has a sweet and bright disposition.

“So that’s her secret I suppose? If that is the case, the morning coffee may have to switch out for Nelly’s lemon elixir. Congratulations, Nelly, on your 25th anniversary of playing room-booking Tetris at CNH!”

For information about careers at CNH, visit www.cnh.bc.ca/about/careers.

***

Top image: Nelly Yep at CNH’s AGM on Sept. 28, 2022.

November 8, 2022