Dear members and friends of LPBC,
It’s hard to believe that 2021 is almost over. We think that we can honestly say that it was a momentous year for community and Language Partners BC – and we hope you agree. 2021 has been a year full of milestones and significant events. And it is also a year that is hopefully transitioning us into an even more interesting future.
We are looking forward to seeing what 2022 will bring. Meanwhile, let’s look back and reflect what milestones we reached together. And let’s celebrate!
Becoming a Co-op
Everyone was hoping at the end of 2020 that COVID-19 restrictions would soon be cancelled, and life would be back to normal. Although, as we’ve seen, life often doesn’t go the way we expect. Despite, or perhaps through, this setback, we achieved something incredibly impressive: we managed to plan our co-op future.
Last spring, we ran our first fundraiser and hit the goal right by LPBC’s 5th Anniversary on April 12th with your support and contribution. We hired a co-op advisor, submitted all the necessary documents during the summer, and received our certificate of incorporation as a cooperative.
This autumn, we had our first Annual General Meeting as a Language Partners BC Co-op and elected a board. As a cooperative association, we are planning to continue to practice and model mutual aid, transparency, democratic decision making, and community engagement.
Spring program and Sharing Cycle
Our programs were run on Zoom this year, and people from all over British Columbia got a chance to participate. The spring program curriculum was Food.
For our summer Sharing Cycle we tried to collect our experiences of volunteering and visiting places in BC that we hope was interesting and useful for you.
Fall programs and Public Event
The curriculum for the fall programs was Health and Medicine. We love the positive reviews shared by the participants:
I really enjoyed connecting with this group and also was a great match with my language partner. I really enjoyed this season! I felt that we connected really well as a group. I will miss it and am already looking forward to the next season. - Angelika
Very friendly and open people. Nice feeling of community. A really worthwhile program! - Steve
The good vibes and good mood of all members. - Pablo
Finding new friends. Having met and communicating with some of them, they were all very kind. - Sonia BO
After these programs we were honored to host a public event with an Indigenous speaker: “An Evening on Land and Healing with T’uy’t’tanat Cease Wyss”.
T’uy’t’tanat Cease Wyss (Skwxwu7mesh, Sto:lo, Hawaiian, Swiss) is an educator, interdisciplinary artist and Indigenous ethnobotanist engaged in community based teaching and sharing. They shared their work on land remediation and some stories about plant medicine, both connected to healing.
Summary
It was truly a momentous year for us. LPBC is growing and expanding, we are developing and having new experiences together. We are making space for people to join, whether as participants, facilitators, members, or event attendees.
Let’s grow together in 2022! Check our updates, tell your friends about us and invite them to sign up for newsletters.