AHA Media

Union Gospel Mission to Serve Thanksgiving Meal for Thousands

What:

The Union Gospel Mission dining room will be a flurry of activity on Thanksgiving Monday, as UGM guests will be treated to a turkey dinner with all the trimmings. UGM expects to serve some 3,000 people throughout the lower mainland.

When:

Monday, October 11th (Thanksgiving Day); Doors open at 10:00am, meals served at 10:30am until 4:00pm.

Where:

616 East Cordova Street (corner of Cordova and Princess).

Other Locations Served:

New Westminster Drop-in: 33071 Railway Ave (doors open at noon)

Mission Drop-in: 658 Clarkson Street (doors open at noon)

Why:

UGM Senior Chaplain Bruce Curtiss explains that the meal is about more than just providing physical sustenance: “For many of our guests, this is a special time to celebrate and give thanks for what they do have, which is often very little. Over and over, we’ve seen Thanksgiving leading to hope, and hope inspiring courage, and courage – with friends to stand alongside – leading to transformed lives.”

Who – About UGM:

Union Gospel Mission has been reaching hungry, hurting, and homeless men, women, youth, and children for nearly 70 years. Through its 8 locations in Metro Vancouver and the city of Mission, UGM provides counseling, education, safe housing, and alcohol and drug recovery to those struggling with poverty, homelessness, and addiction. The heart of the mission is to demonstrate God’s transforming love, ease the burden of the most vulnerable, rebuild the lives of the broken, and offer dignity to those who feel cast aside. UGM is a proud member of the Canadian Council of Christian Charities and the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions. To find out more, visit www.ugm.ca.

To see an experience of last year’s dinner at UGM, please see here

From 7AM to 10 AM, Vancouver Downtown Eastside residents were among the many who received a free  breakfast at Subway of a ham and cheese egg muffin melt and a coffee during Subway Woodwards’ Customer Appreciation Event

On Tuesday, August 10th, Union Gospel Mission will partner with the Glowbal Restaurant Group to a serve thousands of free gourmet BBQ meals to the people of the Downtown Eastside.

Hungry folks lined up for the delicious meals prepared by chefs of Glowbal Restaurant Group

The newly renovated Oppenheimer Park will be packed with guests enjoying a mouth-watering menu of BBQ chicken, beef brisket, ribs, potato salad, coleslaw, corn bread, baked beans, iced tea and butter tart bars for desert, all prepared by six chefs – one from each Glowbal Group Restaurants.

In the next photo and video, April Smith of AHA MEDIA speaks with J. Stewart, Manager of Communications & Media Relations at UGM and during the Texas BBQ in Oppenheimer Park

This video was filmed by April Smith of AHA MEDIA on a New Media camera Fujifilm S200EXR. AHA MEDIA is about exploring mobile media production through New Media cameras. For a better quality version of this video, please DM April Smith @AprilFilms on Twitter or Facebook.com/AprilFilms

Below is a photo of J and Randy of UGM

Happy folks enjoying their mouth watering meals!

A special Children’s section of Oppenheimer Park enabled kids to play games

Many people enjoyed their time together as a community

Music provided by DJ Free Lance with Pher on Drum got Downtown Eastside folks dancing!

In this video, Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES) folks dance to “Don’t Stop till You get Enough”  during UGM and Glowbal Group Texas BBQ in Oppenheimer Park

In this video, Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES) folks dance to the song “Love Shack” during UGM and Glowbal Group Texas BBQ in Oppenheimer Park

In this video, Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES) folks dance to the song “Celebration” during UGM and Glowbal Group Texas BBQ in Oppenheimer Park

In this video, Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES) folks dance to “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson and “Twist and Shout” by The Beatles during UGM and Glowbal Group Texas BBQ in Oppenheimer Park

The Vancouver Foundation has partnered with the City of Vancouver (Social Planning Division) to fund Neighbourhood Small Grant projects focused on “urban food” with various Neighbourhood Houses.

This pilot project is called the “Greenest City Neighbourhood Small Grants”.

The timeline for this pilot initiative with the City is from July to
October 31, 2010. This means that we would need to have the projects
funded to take place by end of October.

“Urban Food Projects” which City would like to support include any NSG
Projects that have a “food” focus.  This means the projects may cover
building food gardens or garden plots, educational workshops (i.e.
canning, cooking) or workbooks  cookbooks or manuals related to food.

Check out our website and click the sidebar “ad” which will take you
to the application form at
http://www.neighbourhoodsmallgrants.ca/urbanfood.

Deadline is August 1, 2010 at 5 p.m. and you will be notified on or
before August 9, 2010.

Application forms can also be found at RayCam, Strathcona, or Carnegie
Community Centres.

Oppenheimer Park to be filled with laughter, fun and 5,000 BBQ meals at Union Gospel Mission Summer BBQ

What: On Saturday, July 17, Union Gospel Mission will serve its largest meal of the year: a massive, inner-city BBQ with 5,000 meals for the Downtown Eastside community. Men, women and children will feast on hamburgers, hot dogs, snacks and refreshments as they enjoy live music and entertainment. The supervised kids’ carnival area will have face-painting, water balloons, cotton candy and a classic carnival bouncy-house.

When: Saturday, July 17, 2010, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Where: Oppenheimer Park (Cordova Street between Dunlevy and Jackson)

Google Maps link to location: http://bit.ly/aPbrMP

Why: A great event for Downtown Eastside individuals and families, the BBQ also gives UGM outreach workers the chance to build relationships and trust with those in need.

Heads-up: Second BBQ in August!

Thanks to the generosity of the Glowbal Restaurant Group, UGM will host a second summer BBQ on August 10th. After the success of Glowbal’s Table for 2000 gourmet Christmas meal for the Downtown Eastside last December, Glowbal approached UGM about throwing a huge Texas-style BBQ. Prepared by all six of Glowbal’s executive chefs, the meal will feature a menu of braised beef brisket, slow roasted baby back ribs, chipotle BBQ chicken, and more. Besides being a truly unique treat for Downtown Eastside residents, this BBQ will give UGM Outreach workers another chance to connect with locals in a casual, open environment.

About UGM:

Union Gospel Mission has been reaching hungry, hurting, and homeless men, women, youth, and children for nearly 70 years. Through its 8 locations in Metro Vancouver and the city of Mission, UGM provides counseling, education, safe housing, and alcohol and drug recovery to those struggling with poverty, homelessness, and addiction. The heart of the mission is to demonstrate God’s transforming love, ease the burden of the most vulnerable, rebuild the lives of the broken, and offer dignity to those who feel cast aside. UGM is a proud member of the Canadian Council of Christian Charities. To find out more, visit www.ugm.ca.