The annual Winter Concert put on by our very own Lynn Valley community band takes place on Monday, Dec. 17, at Kay Meek theatre, and it is always a crowd-pleaser (they have good goodies, too!) Admission is by donation. Details here (and if getting out more will be part of your new year’s resolve, why not consider joining? Check them out on their website.
We are collecting nominations for Lynn Valley’s Good Neighbour Award until Dec. 19, 2012. We’d love to hear, and share, stories about good-hearted folks who have gone out 
of their way to help you or their community, in ways large or small. Nominees don’t have to be your ‘next-door’ neighbour, just a fellow citizen of the Valley.
This contest isn’t about deciding who’s ‘best’ – it’s about celebrating all those kindnesses that we know happen in our neighbourhood every day of the year. The winner of this year’s Good Neighbour prize package will be drawn at random, and announced on Dec. 23. Please send your submissions to [email protected].
MICHELLE POTTS NOMINATES STEPHANIE BRAWN
“Hi, I would like to nominate Stephanie Brawn for the good neighbor award. We have two small children and one is in school. There were times when our little one was napping during pick up time at school. On more then a few occasions, rather than wake him up and create loads of stress on everyone she would come over to the house while I went to get my daughter from school. I have a hard time asking for help but Stephanie makes it easy with her willingness. We love having her as a neighbor.”
Get fresh ideas for your home decor!
We are collecting nominations for Lynn Valley’s Good Neighbour Award until Dec. 19, 2012. We’d love to hear, and share, stories about good-hearted folks who have gone out of their way to help you or their community, in ways large or small. Nominees don’t have to be your ‘next-door’ neighbour, just a fellow citizen of the Valley.
This contest isn’t about deciding who’s ‘best’ – it’s about celebrating all those kindnesses that we know happen in our neighbourhood every day of the year. The winner of this year’s Good Neighbour prize package will be drawn at random, and announced on Dec. 23. Please send your submissions to [email protected].
THE WAARNES NOMINATE RENE VALEN
“I’d like to nominate Rene Valen as a GREAT neighbour! He goes way beyond GOOD.
Rene has cat-sat for us on simple weekends away to three-week vacations. He comes in the morning before he leaves for work to feed and play with her, and then comes in the evening after work to feed and play with her, and spend quality time with her. He’ll have dinner at our home and watch television for a while, simply to provide company for the cat. He even emails us pictures of her (curled up on his lap) so we know she’s OK! We’re pretty sure the cat is very pleased with this arrangement, as are we.
Rene takes no payment for his services. The best we can do is buy him some pot pies from the British Butcher and leave them in the freezer for some dinners or drop off a batch of cupcakes to his home once in a while. He is incredibly generous with his time. What a fantastic neighbour!
We think he is the GREATEST NEIGHBOUR IN LYNN VALLEY! We nominate him for the GOOD NEIGHBOUR AWARD.”
Nadine and Simon Waarne
PS – He’s also adopted plants of ours that have grown too large for their space!
We are collecting nominations for Lynn Valley’s Good Neighbour Award until Dec. 19, 2012. We’d love to hear, and share, stories about good-hearted folks who have gone out of their way to help you or their community, in ways large or small. They don’t have to be your ‘next-door’ neighbour, just a fellow Lynn Valleyite. The winner of this year’s Good Neighbour prize package will be drawn at random, and announced on Dec. 23. Please send your submissions to [email protected].
LYNN VALLEY VANCITY NOMINATES PATTY HOPPER
“We would like to nominate Patty Hopper for Lynn Valley’s 2012 Good Neighbour Award. Patty is a beautiful person, an exceptional role model, a fun and loving friend, a powerful business woman and most importantly a wonderful daughter, sister, mother and wife. It must be really hard to be so exceptional at all those things, but Patty makes it seem effortless. She exceeds expectations in every category of life and gives back to the community she lives in every day! Patty sets the bar high and we could all learn from her and her success’ and positive outlook on life.”
Patty is Vancity’s local mobile mortgage specialist, who lives here in Lynn Valley. Her fans at our LV Village branch went on to share with us a PowerPoint they had created about a project Patty launched in memory of her best friend’s daughter, Ashley Lowey – a cause you can support this Christmas and all year ’round!
“During the times when her eldest daughter was hospitalized, Lori Lowey called on her friend, Patty Hopper.
As Ashley Lowey, Lori’s eldest daughter, bravely battled cancer during her teens, the illness often brought her and her mother to B.C. Children’s Hospital, often without warning, leaving her mother needing essentials.
When she visited Lori at her daughter’s bedside, Patty would pack her a bag of key items she might need: a hairbrush, comb, shampoo, make up, magazines, deodorant—supplies for an unexpected overnight stay, sometimes stretching out for days.
Patty would spend hours in the hospital with her friend, and saw parents come and go, often staying for days without any supplies.
“I would watch these parents coming out of showers…drying themselves with their T-shirts,” she said.
In February 2009, Ashley Lowey lost her fight against cancer. Patty wanted to honour the teen’s memory and help other parents in need.
“The bag (idea) originated because Lori is my friend and I was bringing her a bag, two or three times a week while her daughter was there,” she said “Once she passed away, I just felt there was such a need for these parents to have something, you know, when they show up unexpectedly. We just started collecting stuff. It’s kind of just gone from there.”
Hopper started having parties at her house, where she and her girlfriends would bring items to put in bags and prepare them together. Slowly word spread, and the Vancity Credit Union in Lynn Valley and the branch on Pemberton and Marine donated many bags. A local fabric company donated material to make more.
Said Patty: “It was interesting, because the first day I delivered a box, I walked into the hospital…There was a lady standing there in the middle, and she was on her cell phone and she was beside herself. And she was like, ‘I’ve been here for four days, I haven’t been home, I have nothing, I need someone to drop me off some stuff.’ I just thought, ‘This is why I’m doing this.’”
Would you like to contribute items or a cash donation towards an Ashley Comfort Kit? Staff in Lynn Valley’s Vancity would be very happy to accept your offering. Here are suggested gifts:
