Mandate
The West Point Grey Community Centre is jointly operated by the West Point Grey Community Association and the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation. The centre offers an exciting blend of programming in recreation, sport and the arts for all age groups.
Mission Statement
To promote individual and community development by providing quality leisure services.
President’s Message
March 2018
As I sit here writing my first President’s report the snow is still falling and it looks as though all the shoveling I did yesterday will have to be repeated again today! However, there are already some cherry trees in blossom and by the time you read this we will be into a new warmer season. Not only will the season be new but there is much new at the West Point Grey Community Centre. Those of you who attended our AGM in February know that we have a new Board of Directors. Several of us are serving our second year term and five new members joined. I would personally like to thank those members who retired for the generous time and expertise they gave to the community. In particular, we all owe a great depth of gratitude to our Past President, Shamim Shivji, for her eight years of service. Shamim resigned shortly after the AGM to pursue new endeavors.
What else is new? Well we signed the new Joint Operating Agreement (JOA)! The JOA is a new agreement between Community Centre Associations and the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation to deliver high quality public services. Before signing there were long protracted discussions between the community centres and the Park Board. Both sides made significant revisions to the agreement as they better understood the needs and aspirations of the others. We can now look forward to a positive and productive collaboration with the Park Board to better allow our centre to continue to present our programs and to begin to implement new and exciting ones. I will be calling a meeting of our members to describe this new operating agreement and how it affects us. At this meeting we will also present our revised bylaws to the membership. We are required to do this as a result of the new BC Societies Act.
We are pleased to let you know that we have a new Community Engagement Coordinator, Sarah Ripplinger. Sarah brings to the position, which was established in September 2017, years of experience in marketing, communications and journalism. She has been tasked with helping the Association and West Point Grey Community Centre identify and assess the needs of our community; develop partnerships; explore arts and culture opportunities; market what we do and fundraise. We also welcome our new Youth Leader, Keith Nath, who started in February. Keith brings with him lots of experience working with Day Camps and the Vancouver School Board with the Community Schools Teams.
There are a few additional updates to share about our centre. The pottery studio renovations are complete. This included repainting, upgrading electrical equipment and installing a custom-built sink, custom-built shelves, new pottery wheels and tables. All of our pottery classes fill up very quickly, so watch for registration dates. In addition, the offerings of the West Point Grey Branch of the Vancouver Public Library are now featured in our brochure.
Mark your calendars with these important dates for upcoming special events. We will be hosting a Move for Health Day – May 10th with free aerobics classes and access to the fitness centre. The annual Point Grey Fiesta is happening June 23rd where we will have face painters, stilt walkers, Birds Birds Birds!, a balloon twister and many other attractions, and of course the parade. In addition, the Sandcastle Competition is to be held on July 20th and our annual Trimble Park Movie in the Park is on August 24th with “Moana” as the featured movie this year!
For the Spring and Summer, we have planned over 30 new Arts, Culture, Culinary and Eco Garden activities and workshops that are free and open to all ages. These are presented in partnership with the Park Board, the West Point Grey Community Association and outside grant and funding agencies.
The programs, special events and services that we provide could not be delivered without the passion, skills and dedication of our staff, teachers and volunteers, whom I want to recognize and thank for their efforts. You will always find the staff happy to help you, and should you wish to contact me please feel free to do so directly at daviddolphin@westpointgrey.org. Have a great Spring and Summer, and please enjoy all we have to offer here at the centre.
David Dolphin
President
West Point Grey Community Association