Today marked a special moment for the D2D team, the reveal of the van which we worked so hard to fundraise for.
The seed of our partnership with Sheway was planted back in January, when the D2D team came together to meet about the film festival for the first time. To make this event more profound, we decided to choose an overarching theme we’d like to deliver with the films. Many ideas were tossed around, but eventually the global chaos of 2016 helped us settle on the idea of “shared humanity.” We wanted to use the medium of film and the occasion of our festival to remind everyone of the goodness that we share in common.
We found Sheway, an organization that has been around — well longer than that old van had been. What Sheway was doing, supporting pregnant women and women with young children in Downtown Eastside, immediately clicked with us. Eventually, we had a chance to tour the facility and hear from a mom who was a past client. Her story gave each and every one of us a tender sense of sympathy and empathy that must lie at the core of “shared humanity.” We all left Sheway with a sense of mission and were very certain that this is the cause we want to support.
Through the sale of VIP tickets and sponsorships and our D2D online store, we were able to meet our fundraising goal of $138,000. This is not a small sum, but the impact of that money is much bigger. Sheway finally got a new van, which is kind of important since Vancouver is a city that lives on wheels but the old van was ready to break down anytime. We have confidence that with the new van, Sheway families can get where they need to be, on time and in safety. In addition to the van, our funds will help Sheway with the operational costs of the van for the coming years.
Of course we had to take a picture with our advisory board, VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation Senior VP Angela Chapman, our star mentor & Manager, Asian Strategy at VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation Kitty Cheung, and the Van!
We hope that Sheway continues to be the awesome organization it is, and that our efforts can really impact the families here.