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a photographic record of the Syrian Refugee effort by Westbank and the local community
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to the westa photographic record of the Syrian Refugee effort
by Westbank and the local community
page no. 3
Growing up in east Vancouver in the 1970s, the child of Europe-an immigrants, my neighbours included Sikhs and Hindus who escaped religious strife and poverty in their homeland of India; Polish Jews who sought sanctuary from persecution, Vietnamese refugees after the Vietnam War; Northern Africans — Muslims and Christians alike — who came to Canada to escape tyrannical dictatorships; Lebanese, again Muslims and Christians, who fled civil war; and in the 1980s, Persians who departed their homeland overturned by the Iranian Revolution.
I encourage those uncomfortable with Canada opening its doors to those fleeing from war torn countries, to walk our campuses, hospitals and art institutions. You will see wonderful examples of the good that open doors do for our society. Great contributions by names such as Audain, Brown, Sauder and Pattison, are read-ily complemented by remarkable contributions by those whose names are Faris, Giustra, Khosrowshahi, Lee, Mowafaghian, Segal and Wong.
Kudos to Westbank for making shelter and employment available to the Syrian refugees who will find their journey’s end in Vancou-ver. Mr. Gillespie says he hopes his actions will motivate others to do their part. He can count me in.
John S. Montalbano
November 2015 Article in the Vancouver Sun A few days prior, Ian Gillespie announced Westbank’s effort to help house and support Syrian Refugee efforts in British Columbia.
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November 2015
TELUS Garden Floor 22 First few days after donations were taken from various sites, donations were stored for sorting at TELUS Garden.
Left page
Donations in Toronto Donations and support efforts from the Westbank team extended into the Toronto office.
Above
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Donations and Organizing Efforts
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Nov - Dec 2015
Organizing EffortsLocal community and Westbank volunteers organized the donations received into packaged containers for transportation to Pendrell.
Left page
Found Treasure A pair of funky lava lamps were found inside boxes of donations.
Above
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Donations and Organizing Efforts
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Donations and Organizing Efforts
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Nov - Dec 2015Handmade Toques“My mom knit these for the Refugees at Pendrell” - Gary Pooni
Left page
Nov - Dec 2015
Donations at Shaw TowerAn overwhelming response for donations were dropped off at the Shaw Tower lobby.
Above, left page
TruckloadsWestbank teams loaded up their personal trucks to transport the donations from Shaw Tower to TELUS Gar-den continuously for a week.
Below, left page
A family affair Generous donations from youngest members of our community.
Right Page
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Donations and Organizing Efforts
Nov - Dec 2015Whitecaps FCVancouver Whitecaps wanted to connect to the Syrian kids through soccer and game spirit.
Far left, top left
Top, middle page
Horseshoe Bay Drop-Off Another drop off point in Horseshoe bay held by the Westbank team.
Far top, right page
Volunteering Families volunteering their time to organize the dona-tions at TELUS Garden.
Bottom, middle page
Overwhelming ResponseEven days after specific drop-off dates, the local com-munity continuously dropped off further items.
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Donations and Organizing Efforts
Nov - Dec 2015
Welcome Message Many heartwarming messages, like this one, were left behind anonymously welcoming our new visitors.
Right page
Baggin’ and Taggin’ Donations organized into containers and bags for trans-port to Pendrell.
Above
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page no. 16
Donations and Organizing Efforts
Nov - Dec 2015Organizing EffortsLocal community and Westbank volunteers organized the donations received into packaged containers for transportation to Pendrell.
1,300 lbs of delivered fresh produce
825 hours 150 volunteersTo furnish and renovate Pendrell into homes, 150 volunteers gave up their time to assemble furni-ture, collect colthing, deliver groceries, and host individuals at various welcome events. An esti-mated 825 hours has been donated by Westbank employees and community members to support the refugees coming to Vancouver.
$ 3 , 5 0 0 0 value of donated Compass Pass
$ 3 , 5 0 0 0 value of donated grocery gift cards
Translink BCBUNT & Associates
PFS Studio Nemetz & AssociatesAllWest and BridgeLMDG Code ConsultantsTidball ProjectsGlobe and Mail
S&PZacharkoK.C.LPWCTimbercreek
+ $ 5 0 , 0 0 0 value of financial donations
Glotman Simpson Kornfeld LLPBell Alliance
11,000 lbs of donated clothing, toys, & household items.
$ 7 5 , 0 0 0value of work, time and equip-ment donated from trades including painting, electrical, HVAC, window repairs, cleaning & new hot water tank.
COMMUN ITY GENEROSITY
TELUSWhitecaps FCEdmonds and Y FranksCoinomatic Croften HousePaperqueenKasian ArchitectsFairmont Pacific Rim Local community donations to clothing and food drive Friends and Family of Westbank
Brite BlindsOlympic PaintingReliable Fire & SafetyBeeClean
TremcoPower ProsAshton
Extreme GlassYard CenturesSherwin Williams
Sea to Sky Fire Litespan Electric Ltd. Signals
page no. 20
Setting-Up at Pendrell
Nov - Dec 2015Stockroom A one bedroom unit at Pendrell was transformed into the stockroom. Family and friends put together a stock-room full of clothes, food, and other household items from the donations. Guests could choose to stock their rooms with whatever necessary or missing items.
Below and right page
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Setting-Up at Pendrell
Nov - Dec 2015AssemblyVolunteers put together 22 queen-size beds and 11 bunkbeds at Pendrell.
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Setting-Up at Pendrell
Nov - Dec 2015AssemblyVolunteers put together other Ikea furniture to furnish the living and dinning spaces.
Left page
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Nov - Dec 2015Refurnishing all Suites Westbank’s Property Management and generous trades outfitted the suites with working appliance, plumbing and other house furnishings - including repainting the suites, providing new blinds, restoring electrical serives, repairing windows and adding new hot water tank.
Right page
page no. 26
Setting-Up at Pendrell
Nov - Dec 2015Personal messages A local grade 1 class drew personal welcome cards which contributed to a warm touch to each of the rooms.
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Setting-Up at Pendrell
Nov - Dec 2015Getting Ready! No shortage of work to do to make sure all the suites are ready - volunteers put together furniture, clean and sweep the units until spotless and furnished the cup-boards with food and houseware.
Left page
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Setting-Up at Pendrell
Nov - Dec 2015Bonding Over a Common Cause Come to Pendrell to assemble furniture, leave with new friends that believe in a common cause!
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Setting-Up at Pendrell
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Setting-Up at Pendrell
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Setting-Up at Pendrell
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CerealSugarCooking oil TeaCoffeeRicePastaCanned Vegetables Canned SeafoodSpicesOlive OilJuiceCanned Fruit Baby FoodSnacks Compass CardsGrocery Gift CardSalt and PapperAluminium Foil + Cling WrapZiplock BagsQ-TipsTea TowelGrainsLoofaDeodorant Foot TowelPasta Sauce
Cooking PotCooking UtencilsCan OpenerCooking Pans Toothbrush and ToothpasteTeapot Cups + SaucersBowls + PlatesEating UtencilesCutting BoardOven MittsBath + Face TowelMouth WashShampoo, Conditioner, Body Lotion Hair BrushRazorSoap Hair DryerPaper TowelsDish SpongePower AdaptorExtention CordDish SoapTissueToilet PaperHand Towel
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C H E C K L I S TC H E C K L I S TThis is a checklist the volunteers at Pendrell would review to make sure each item was stocked in the rooms.
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A New Home
Nov - Dec 2015Ready for Guests!Volunteers put together 22 queen-size beds and 11 bunkbeds at Pendrell.
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A New Home
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Nov - Dec 2015Personal Touches Although each suite was outfitted with a standard list of appliances and furniture, each suite had an individual character through personal touches by volunteers.
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A New Home
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A New Home
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A New Home
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Nov - Dec 2015Common Room + PlayspaceA common room with TV, play spaces for children and computers was put together on the first floor as a gath-ering space for new guests.
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1O%26 FAMILIES
P E N D R E L L W E L C O M E H O U S E H A S . . .
...been home to 26 familes. ...been home to 140 people. ...represented 10% of the 338 families welcomed to BC under the Government Assistance Refugee program.
In the time that Pendrell has been open between November 2015 - June 2016, Westbank and the supporting local community has contributed significantly to the Syrian Refugee effort.
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1O%26 FAMILIES
...been open for 171 days between beginning of December 2015 and end of May 2016.
...provided 22 Queen beds and 11 bunk beds.
...provided an estimated $350,000 in value that have been donated through the generosity of Westbank and the lo-cal community.
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WELCOME!
Dec 2015First Family @ ChristmasOur first family at Pendrell arrived right before Christ-mas!
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WELCOME!
Dec 2015Outings Venturing outside with our new friends.
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WELCOME!
Jan - March 2016Getting Around! To help acquaint the refugees to the city, Westbank vol-unteers took the families on a trip to tour the transit sys-tem and the local neighbourhood.
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WELCOME!
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WELCOME!
Jan - March 2016Making Friends and Settling In Spending time with individual families, Westbank volun-teers were able to caterer to specific needs of the fam-ilies.
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Jan - March 2016Comox Arts + Craft Welcome Event Westbank held various events to welcome the different families that came to Pendrell. Above, Westbank held an arts and craft event at Comox’s common room.
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WELCOME!
Jan - March 2016Playtime!Sunny weather permitted Westbank volunteers to take the children outside for fresh air and playtime.
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WELCOME!
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Whitecaps Game
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May 2016Soccer Game OutingWhitecaps FC offered to host the refugee families to a game in May.
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Whitecaps Game
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Whitecaps Game
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“On behalf of the Syrian families here, thank you very much for everything you have done for us. We promise you we will be a very effective Syrian family who will contribute to the Canadi-an economy and society in the future. We also thank you very much as all of us as a family and people back home in Syria. Thank you very much for having us here today.”
Syrian Regufee at Comox Arts + Crafts Welcome
Thank you to everyone that has contributed to this effort, the generosity from the community has been overwhelming.
Thank you: Fairmont Pacific Rim Brite BlindsOlympic PaintingReliable Fire and SafetyBeeCleanTremcoPower ProsAshton Extreme Glass Yard Ventures Sherwin WilliamsSea to Sky FireLitespan Electric Ltd. TELUS Whitecaps FCGlotman Simpson PFS StudioNemetz & AssociatesSignalsIntegralBUNT & Associates
AllWest and BridgeTidball ProjectsLMDG Code ConsultantsEdmonds and Y FranksCoinomaticTranslink BCS&PZacharkoKornfeld LLPCrofton HousePaperqueenGlobe and MailBell AllianceK.C.L. PWCTimbercreek Kasian ArchitectureWhitecaps FCWestbankFriends and Family
