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AHA MEDIA meets the SPUD Patrol on Hastings Street in Vancouver Downtown Eastside
AHA MEDIA was very pleased to see the SPUD Patrol giving away baked potatoes with butter, sour cream and onions in front of the Hastings Street Garden and Onsite on East Hastings Street in Vancouver Downtown Eastside
Serving Potatoes to Unrecognized Devas – SPUD. The word “Deva” is from Sanskrit, the Indian sacred language and means “angel” or “divine being”. SPUD patrol has become a sweet and simple way for everyday people to do something tangible to show their love for those who are suffering. SPUD patrols are now beginning in cities around both the United States and Canada
SPUDS were enjoyed by both types of people – the Hungry and the Helpful
Below are photos of Jeffrey Armstrong, Founder of SPUD Patrol http://www.spudpatrol.com speaking with Ken Glofcheskie of AHA MEDIA
SPUD Patrol is very welcomed in Vancouver Downtown Eastside 🙂
To see all 30 Photos of SPUD Patrol, Please see our Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahamedia/sets/72157622011129214/
AHA MEDIA is very honored to be featured in “With Glowing Hearts” the movie directed by Andrew Lavigne and produced by Jon Ornoy of Animal Mother Films
A Social Media revolution has been brewing for the past five years on websites from FaceBook, to Wikipedia, to Flickr, and as it spreads throughout the Internet and into popular culture through an increasing number of portals, it is creating a new sense of community and empowerment amongst those who have embraced it.
History has shown that poor and marginalized communities stand to gain the most from leaps forward in the democratization of information, so the excitement in areas like Vancouver’s maligned Downtown Eastside about the possibilities of Web 2.0 and beyond is palpable.
With the Winter Olympics less than a year away, billions have been spent in preparations and many poverty advocates are concerned about how the city’s several thousand homeless and working poor will fit into the equation as Vancouver puts on its best face for the world.
Against this background the film examines Social Media in action as a group named Fearless City embarks on a campaign to empower and protect its neighbours with cellphones, video-streaming, and the World Wide Web.
With great thanks to both our mentors, Andrew Lavigne and Jon Ornoy for a wonderful movie trailer! 🙂
Thanks to all our friends and our colleagues in the film ” With Glowing Hearts” 🙂
AHA MEDIA is very proud to introduce Alvin Clayton, our newest Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES) Community Reporter !
AHA MEDIA is very proud to have Alvin Clayton – a First Nations Nisgaa elder as part of our Vancover Downtown Eastside ( DTES) Community Reporting team.
AHA MEDIA first met Alvin at the Upwords Magazine group http://www.upwordsmagazine.wordpress.com at LifeSkills Centre and after seeing his preparation, dedication and Aboriginal governance skills to his unique style of reporting on homeless and health issues, we were happy to invite Alvin to join AHA MEDIA. 🙂
AHA MEDIA is dedicated to helping all our communities become more informed!
AHA MEDIA is proud to present – First United Church on Hastings Street in Vancouver Downtown Eastside to be part of First Tweetmyride Global Campaign To Raise $1 Million For Charity Via Twitter
First United Church and First United Mission is an inner city ministry of the United Church … 320 Hastings Street E. Vancouver, BC, V6A 1P4 604 681-8365
First Tweetmyride Global Campaign To Raise $1 Million For Charity Via Twitter
Vancouver, Canada –
Around the world in the lead up to Vancouver-based Australian, Gavin Romanis, participating in the international mountain bike race, La Ruta de los Conquistadores in Costa Rica from November 11-14, 2009
(www.adventurerace.com) – known as one of the toughest on the planet.
Inspired by Ashton Kutcher and CNN’s challenge to gain 1 million followers on Twitter, and fuelled by the vibrant biking community of Vancouver, Canada, the basis behind the tweetmyride global campaign is to encourage global giving to avariety of causes.
Co-founders Leoni Milano and Gavin Romanis integrated these ideas to create a campaign with global reach, utilizing Twitter to help achieve their goal to raise $1 million over the 4-month period that runs from July 30 – November 30, 2009.
“When I realised how gruelling La Ruta de los Conquistadores was going to be, I knew that I would need more than my own determination to get me through it – so the idea of doing it to help charities across the world seemed like the ideal inspiration” says Gavin Romanis, who has no prior experience in mountain bike racing, but was seduced by the challenge’s combination of travel and outdoor adventure.
Milano and Romanis wanted to create something that would have a global impact – hence the campaign’s tagline:
“Twitter has no boundaries – neither should we”. Tweetmyride will demonstrate the power of social networking and show that contributions – no matter how small – all help to build something incredibly worthwhile.
tweetmyride is a Twitter-driven global charity campaign, created to raise money for 10 charities
“There are literally thousands of charities out there doing incredible work, and we’re thrilled to have these carefully chosen charities on board. For some, this will be their first foray into experimenting with social networking and they have all embraced this unique style of fundraising and awareness with keen enthusiasm,” says co-founder Leoni Milano.
Twitter allows each of the charities the opportunity to connect and communicate on a more tangible level with their followers, donors and supporters, which in turn helps develop relationships for a deeper impact. It gives the charities a voice that helps people connect on a personal level, rather than just being a donor.
The campaign’s vision is to also encourage others to hold their own ‘tweetmyride’ biking events around the world and have family and friends donate (towards their rides) to the participating charities, which they can then tweet about.
Donors get to go online to the tweetmyride website and choose which charity they wish to support from those participating in the campaign. All donations will go directly to each charity.
The participating charities (including twitter names) being supported in the campaign are:
1. charity: water, USA – www.twitter.com/charitywater
2. First United Church, Canada – www.twitter.com/fucm
3. Fred Hollows Foundation, Australia – www.twitter.com/FredHollows
4. Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders, Canada – www.twitter.com/MSF_canada
5. National Breast Cancer Foundation, Australia – www.twitter.com/NBCFAus
6. Oxfam Canada, Canada – www.twitter.com/oxfamcanada
7. Starlight Children’s Foundation, Australia – www.twitter.com/Starlight_star
8. Team Fox for The Michael J. Fox Foundation, USA – www.twitter.com/TEAMFOX
9. The CREAR Association, Costa Rica – www.twitter.com/CostaRicaCREAR
10. World Vision, UK – www.twitter.com/WVUKnews
Contact:
Nora Weber
Media Relations
Terracom Communications
+1 425 418 4555
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Leoni Milano, Co-founder
tweetmyride
+1 778 237 7840
AHA MEDIA is very proud to present Traces: Projecting Neighbourhood Stories July 24-25, 2009 in Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES)
![Traces-Digital-Postcard[1]](https://ahamedia.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/traces-digital-postcard1.jpg?w=595 "Traces-Digital-Postcard[1]")
Traces: Projecting Neighbourhood Stories
July 24-25, 2009, 9:15-11:00pm
various venues along 400-block East Hastings
between Jackson and Dunlevy
August 1, 2009, 9:15-10:30pm
Woodland Park
as part of the Powell Street Festival
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Traces to activate and illuminate Hastings Corridor
It’s only a few days until a stretch of Vancouver’s East Hastings Street will be animated and illuminated by Traces: Projecting Neighbourhood Stories. The latest community art project from Media Undefined, Traces is inspired by the Strathcona and Downtown Eastside neighbourhoods, their people, and their stories. The project will be unveiled in a series of outdoor screenings on the evenings of July 24 and 25.
For the past several months, teams of artist mentors and youth interns have been interviewing merchants, seniors, and longtime residents in the neighbourhood and turning their stories into works of video, animation, and shadow puppetry. Participants have been struck by their common interests, including the role of food in the neighbourhood (which boasts a number of thriving community gardens), and the relationship between people and architecture. That latter relationship will be a central focus for the project’s shadow puppetry play, which will animate buildings through the stories of people who live there. The multi-lingual video component of the event will zero in on stories of people from the four corners of Hastings and Jackson. The stop motion animation piece features the story of a neighbourhood resident and his dog’s neighbourhood wanderings to reflect the type of conversations and interactions artists and youth have been having through the project.
AHA MEDIA is proud to announce that our Director, Hendrik Beune’s image has been made into a puppet form and has a hilarious story in Traces: Projecting Neighbourhood Stories!!
Venues for the event, all located along the East Hastings corridor, are the storefront window at the Patricia Hotel, the empty lot at the corner of Hastings Street and Jackson Avenue, and outside the Chapel Arts Centre on Dunlevy Street. The work will also be presented at Woodland Park as part of the Powell Street Festival on August 1. And in September 2009, Traces will travel to community gathering places throughout the neighbourhood including schools, libraries, and community centres.
Traces is being developed by Media Undefined’s Jaimie Robson in partnership with the Strathcona Community Centre. Robson and mentoring artists Tamara Unroe, Madoka Hara, Diana Leung, along with Alicia Horner and Hoi Bing Mo, are working with a team of youth interns collecting stories from longtime residents of the neighbourhood. Paul Bennett is producing a short documentary about the project. Youth interns for the project are Alicia Anderson, Lisa Cao, Jane Chow, Jessica Coccimiglio, Leticia Coutinho, Ernst Klaussen, Faber Neifer, Robin Prince, Geoffrey E A Vincent, and Patrick White, and Maggie Winston. For more detailed information on the project, visit www.mediaundefined.ca.
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