Y Citizen!

Hello!

So for the past couple of weeks, all I have been doing is researching on communities and school visits. I was pretty sad that I had nothing to blog about. How many times can I discuss how my research is going, or that age groups are making me go crazy? So on Friday I decided to take a break from all of that and go to Y Citizens!

I took a shortcut, and decided to visit the After School Care at Westwood before heading over to the Westwood Church. I was just curious how After School Care was at Westwood; I had only visited the one at Highland. I wonder why? LOL! Well at Westwood, the only difference was that they had a book on Sailor Moon! Do kids nowadays even know about her? Yes, yes, one of my childhood favourites.

So at Y Citizen, I got a pleasant surprise of meeting Hong there; I did not know she would be there. It was nice seeing a familiar face! When I got there, there was only one child there and it was spring cleaning day. If we finished cleaning, we would be able to finish watching The Hobbit (reminder: need to read this).

What better way of sharing my experience than through pictures?

Y Citizens through colour

Jamie picking up Mira!

Jamie picked up by Mira; you pick me up, I'll pick you up

Tyanan getting ready to watch The Hobbit

The schedule!!!!!

Martin getting comfy!

The talented Jason!

Destiny - she is an amazing artist!!

Holly finishing up her snack

Hong getting ready to play The Hobbit

Everyone getting ready to watch The Hobbit; well Destiny decided not to and do some crafts

There's my experience experience through pictures!

A little about Y Citizens:

It's After School Care for children ages 10-13; a place where the children can develop leadership and planning skills. 

That's all for now!

Simmi

An Experience

So here's a look at NAYDO through pictures. It totally slipped out of my mind to take a camera, so all of these are from a phone!

My arrival to Vancouver City - greeted by rain (not surprised!)

Taken from Stephanie and my hotel room

Took it as we were just about to leave - Philanthropy Live! This was a 3 hour volunteering thing I did (with others!)

Turner, from Virginia coming out the YMCA of Greater Vancouver after volunteering for CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind)

Two lovely ladies waiting for the Sky Train - Cheryl and Corrine

Some more volunteering!

And then some more!!

Tara volunteering!

I want to visit this, it looks pretty!

Took this in a moving Sky Train - I amaze myself!

Exhibits at NAYDO - sadly I could not visit them and just took pics as I was rushing off to a session

A party just for 250 Canadians at NAYDO!

 Chris and Mark waiting for Rick Hanson!

Well lets eat while we wait for him

He's here!!!!

Rick Hanson - an amazing and truly inspiring guy!

An Educational Session I attended

Approximately 1500 attended NAYDO! 

Chris and Lynette arrive for dinner at Fairmount Hotel

Entertainment for the night - Cole Armour 

The Mystery of What's in My Salad?

Our table won free copies of this book! Out of 100 or so tables, we won!

Dessert!!!!!!!!

Technology 

Night time!

Karen, Chris and Lynette on the last day of NAYDO

Corrine getting a certificate for Young Professionals!!

Bye bye Vancouver and NAYDO!

That's it....4 days in pictures.

Thanks to Chris, Colleen, Corrine, and Cheryl for sharing many of the pictures!

Living

Hi!

Starting Monday morning with this:

Courtesy of Glenview Elementary School, Prince George

A "Titleless" Entry

Hello,

How are you today?

This afternoon I went to a school to do a Healthy Kids Marathon Presentation, and it was held in the library. I had 10 minutes before groups started coming in, so I went around the library to check out all the books.

I FEEL OLD!!!!!!

Seriously, I do. As I was going around, I saw a lot of kids books that I have never heard of. The books I used to read are nowhere to be seen, or at least I could not find them. For example, when I was in elementary, my favourite series to read was the Boxcar Children. No one probably even knows that this series exists today. Now all you find is fantasy related books. In my time (sigh, did I just say that?!), fantasy books that were popular were the Goosebumps series and Lord of the Rings. Harry Potter came into the picture when I was in grade 6.

Where did Franklin, The Bernstein Bears, Curious George et al go? LOL! All the books I saw were new for me. I need to start reading again. Reading in the sense, novels and not research papers or reports. Haha! However, even new, there were a couple of books that looked interesting. When I am relatively freer I'll check them out.

Anyways, I'll be done going to schools in a couple of days, and I'm coming along with this research paper too. Life isn't that stressing at the moment, which surprises me. LOL!

Oh wait, I need to study too. Scratch that!

Take care,
Simmi

Did You Know?

Hey there!

I would like to ramble today. Actually, don't I always ramble? Haha! Anyways, read on to find out more on today's ramblings.

So did you know that chronic diseases are the most common, costly and preventable health concerns out there? Not long ago, acute diseases were the leading causes of mortality, but now the top leading causes of mortality have shifted to chronic diseases; cancer being the number one cause right now.

Many chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, obesity and hypertension, are preventable. Preventing such conditions is in our hands, and a lot of us just let that opportunity slip away. So many of these chronic diseases are linked to the lifestyle choices we make - a sedentary lifestyle vs. an active lifestyle. Such a small change when you look at the bigger picture, no?

And such changes are sometimes the hardest ones we can make.

So why did I decide to talk about chronic diseases today? For a couple of reasons actually. My background is in Health Sciences so for four years of my life I have been well acquainted with chronic diseases. Now as I am doing some research on various programs offered by the YMCA of Northern BC, I see a link between them and chronic diseases. Leading diseases in various communities are chronic diseases - the ones we can actually prevent. No matter how well informed I am about this, stats still tend to surprise.

For many of us, or at least me, it comes down to priorities and time management. We are so busy with everything that time just seems to slip away; 24 hours is just not enough anymore. However, I think even if we had 48 hours in a day, they would not seem enough either. So perhaps rather than time management, it comes down to the priorities we set.

A due date for an assignment, finishing up a project, meeting a friend after ages, seems to outweigh the hour for a workout. It just seems that you just cannot spare that one hour, but then do you spend that precious hour watching your favourite TV show? LOL! After a long time, we just want to relax, and a workout may not be relaxation for many.

However, adapting an active lifestyle will prove to be beneficial for the later years. So lets try to become a little more active in our lives; rather than that TV show, go for a walk/run. Perhaps head over to the Family Y and do a fitness class. Small changes can become big pay offs.

Exercise and a healthy diet, looks awesome to read, but actually implementing it is another story. I shall quote the CEO of Y Canada..."Change is good - you first".

Well these chronic diseases scare me, so I do try to go the healthy road, but I could become so much better at this. We'll get there - eventually.

Well off to research on more chronic diseases.

Have a nice evening!
Simmi

I'm Back!

Hey!

Just wanted everyone to know that I am back!

So I came back to school visits and no internet connection! I came home around noon because I was of no productive value sitting there with no internet connection. So I have been working from home and just realized the time. I just got excited today.

I am working on 4 communities at the same time, and started on my 5th community today. So my excitement stems from the fact that I think I am finally working on a community that has all the information I need. I may actually finish one report completely by Friday; so exciting. Am I a nerd? Proud of it! LOL!

So I do have some pictures to share from NAYDO, so keep checking back here this week! For now, I'll show you what I had for lunch on our second day there.

Take care,

Simmi

Strong Kids Challenge Part 2

Hello,

Yesterday I left you with a a glimpse of my time at Simon Fraser Lodge. Here's the rest of it.

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There is this one man at SFL that I have formed a personal relationship with. What started off as being just volunteering for bingo has evolved into an attachment that I am grateful for. This man may have some problems communicating, but even in this little window of communication, he was able to convey to me everything he wanted me to know.

It all started with bingo, but then I went back and played checkers with him; being late for supper once because we played for four hours! He would always be thankful for anything I did for him, even if it was something really small – a very humbling experience for me. The Strong Kids Challenge may be over now, but I will be going back to play bingo and checkers with my new found friend!

There was another resident at SFL who was an inspiration. She had fallen very ill and her family had packed most of her belongings; a manner that said she would not be coming back. She was so angry at them and became very determined to get well and leave SFL to go home. Two weeks ago, she left SFL. I bought her a gift, and again she was so thankful for it; the small gestures, my friend, make the difference.

Finally, I would like to talk about YAP and Misty. Not many people know about this initiative and Misty. Even Misty does not realize how important she is to all of the children and the community at times. As I said, I feel that the outreach and exposure efforts are not at optimal levels for me, so I preached what I practiced! There were two sessions for YAP, and I went to both; bringing a few of my employees each time. And in both sessions, they were all very affected by this initiative.

At the end, they came up to me and discussed various ideas on how they would help YAP. One of them has taken it upon herself to take stuff that is not needed over to YAP. This is how strong an affect YAP has; not only on those kids, but everyone in the community. Even when it comes to myself, the impact is pretty great. Although, as much as I like to, I cannot volunteer my time at YAP. So I try to help out as much as I can financially.

In this challenge, I was able to expose about 27 people to the various initiatives the Y is part of. I took employees not only to YAP, but SFL too where they enjoyed it thoroughly. Again, the volunteer, in my opinion, experiences the greater impact.

All in all, I had a wonderful time taking part in the Strong Kids Challenge. It helped raise money, but it also provided me a great learning experience that helps me better define myself. I do not know if I will do the challenge next year, but I do know that the relationships that I have built will stay with me for a very long time.

Take care,

Selen   

Strong Kids Challenge Part 1

Hello,

I am Selen, and I took part in the Strong Kids Challenge – and won! Ha!

However, I am here to talk about the experience I had doing this challenge – an experience that overshadows any winnings. A two week challenge has brought about long lasting experiences, and I have also formed some very meaningful relationships along the way.

I have been with the YMCA for six years; being on the Board as well. So you can say that I am reasonably aware of what the YMCA of Northern BC offers to the community. However, even when I know what the Y does in the community, it still can surprise me. Also, I have always maintained that the Y plays an important role in the community, but in my opinion, the optimal efforts for exposure and outreach are yet to be reached. So many people still think that the Y is just a gym, when it is so much more. It does not just provide a healthy lifestyle to the various people in the community – it also helps in providing a well-rounded quality of life to many as well.

Can you tell that I am passionate in my endeavors regarding the Y? I do enjoy talking, and when there is a topic that is part of my life, I can go on for hours!

I am a very competitive person. I compete to win. I came into this competition to win as well. However, as I went about volunteering at the various places to gain points it became much more than just winning. Winning the competition was still on my mind, but now I was not doing this just for a win. It suddenly became more about the relationships that I was forming during this road to victory.

I volunteered at three places: Neighborhood Scholars, the Simon Fraser Lodge, and Housekeeping at the Family Y. Let me briefly tell you about my time at the Neighborhood Scholars and the Simon Fraser Lodge (SFL) so you can better understand what I mean by the relationships.

One of the volunteering activities I did was to read to the children at Neighborhood Scholars. I do not have children of my own, but reading to these children was wonderful. The children were such a talkative bunch; engaging me in their conversations as if I was always a friend. They were all over me and just being so welcoming. They were also so excited and thankful when I brought in goodies in one of my reading sessions. Seeing their innocence reminds me of how life can take away our innocence – it reminds you that such small gestures can be as meaningful as the bigger ones.

I also volunteered at SFL by going to help out with their bingo sessions. Spending time at SFL has been some emotional journey for me. You cannot but be respectful of all these people. They have so much experience concerning life and you just learn from them; putting a new perspective towards life. I think it was here where my A personality took a bit of a back seat, and cherishing the lasting experience kicked in. Yes, I did volunteer my time, but let me tell you, the volunteer gets more out of this than anyone else.

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I am diving my entry into two parts! So if you want to find out more about my experience, you know where to find me tomorrow!

Take care

New Aiyansh Part 2

I'm back!

If you're wondering....it's Colleen here with part two of my travel diary. So without detracting further, here's the rest of my diary!

Wednesday, March 20th

We drove to Greenville and set up at the top of the stands where again we had a bird's eye view of the games. In Greenville we had 10-15 children who played basketball, activity hopscotch, dribbling challenges and taught us various skipping games.  The bandanas, eye black and tattoos were a big hit today day! Then mid-day Chris met us in Greenville and together we toured the museum where we learned about the Oolichan camps that were going on all down the river. All in all, today was a very eventful day!

Thursday, March 21st

We spent today in New Aiyansh hosting activities in the lobby.  Everyone had a chance to meet Ali and hear about how the tournament was going.  We had music and other activities going and had a good following of 10-15 kids.  The boys got right into the basketball challenge we had; doing trick shots, mini games and games of bump.  The girls loved skipping and activity hopscotch once again.  We even had a few teens jump in.  Ali also gave us a tour of their youth room and gym.  That evening Chris took the group out for a celebratory dinner at Don Diego's. It was a great end to the day!

Friday, March 22nd

We drove back out to New Aiyansh for the final day today and were able to set up in their new youth room.  Ring toss was the biggest hit with some youth playing for 30-45 minutes straight – determined to make all three shots.  Once again activity hopscotch was also a big hit.  At the end of the day we watched the boys division final as a group before heading home.  Haida Gwai took the tournament for the boys and the Kitimat for the girls.  We also stayed to watch the medal ceremonies – the trophies were amazing!  Five foot hand carved totem poles, done by a local carver, were encased within both first place trophies and were made for the teams to keep. Again, they were beautiful!

On a side note – Chris was supposed to fly out tonight, but we had to rescue him from the airport due to his flight being cancelled! We became The Rescuers! Haha! Tomorrow we will drive back home as a group!

Here's a glimpse in a couple of pictures:

So this was a glimpse at the week we had! It was an awesome experience, and I enjoyed it thoroughly the second time around as well! 

Take care!

New Aiyansh Part 1

Hey,

I am Colleen Bush, the Coordinator of Recreation Service, and I had the pleasure of going to New Aiyansh again this year with a few of my colleagues – Chris Kinch, Hong Trieu, Shane Williamson, and Aaron James.

I am here to share my travel diary with all of you today. However, before I get into my experience, let’s look into the background of New Aiyansh and the connection the YMCA of Northern BC has with it.

For those of you who do not know what New Aiyansh is, it is the capital of Nisga’a Nation; being one of the four Nisga’a communities. It is located approximately 100km northwest of Terrace, British Columbia. The natural beauty, the ideal location for exploring the Nisga’a lands, and the rich cultural history are the main attractions of New Aiyansh.

A Map:

How is the Y connected to New Aiyansh? It has been connected to the Nisga’a community since 1889 sharing the same principals; trust, transparency, respect for fellow man, respect for elders, honesty, healthy spirit, healthy mind and healthy body. The 2013 Junior All Native Basketball Tournament was hosted by the Nisga’a Nation, and we were one of the proud sponsors of the tournament.

Below is my travel diary for this trip.

Sunday, March 17:

Our trip started off well; having brunch at the Aspen in Smithers. After this, we continued onto Terrace for the rest of the evening. Sadly, we didn’t sing any travelling songs!

Monday, March 18:

Our first day heading out to New Aiyansh, and we were welcomed by a snowstorm. I could not see anything at all; it was all white. So in trying to drive my way through this snowstorm, I missed the turn for the Nisga'a Highway; ending up halfway to Rupert.  Once we turned around we made it successfully out to King Colith – hey, at least we didn’t end up in Prince Rupert before realizing that we missed the turn! At King Colith we were able to set our booth up on the upper floor and had a bird's eye view of the games.  We had only a few kids that day, but they stayed with us for the duration of our time there and together we invented a hopscotch slam dunk contest with 360's, under the leg dunks and alley-loops!

We were also able to take in the beautiful sunshine, which was greatly missed in Prince George, while eating our lunch by the ocean and attended the Grand Entrance Opening Ceremonies that evening. The Opening Ceremonies included traditional songs, dances and the marching in of all 46 teams who each represented their tribes through dance.

Tuesday, March 19:

Today we headed out to Canyon City where we explored the suspension bridge and walked a trail through the lava beds.  The sun was shining and all of the mountains were visible today.  It was beautiful!  You know, I think there is some rule that says we can’t have perfect days; there has to be some glitch that comes in the way of perfection. Why am I saying this? Well, we ran into a bit of a hiccup with doing our booth. But we were able to take in a few games of basketball from the boys division. Close to perfection – I’ll take it!

Here's the first part of my travel diary! Come back tomorrow to find out what happened for the rest of the week!

Bye!

NAYDO Week

Hey!

How was everyone's weekend? Mine was nice - completed some work, and started packing. Well, packing in the sense that I have everything I want to take picked out, and I will pack it all tonight. But I hate packing; it seems to never fit the way I want to. I should write a Chronicles of Packing: Simmi vs The Suitcase!

So what's happening with me? Well, I am going for NAYDO tomorrow and still doing my research project. I am excited for NAYDO - I have my schedule all planned out. I shall blog about my experience, so stay tuned!

Research wise....it feels as if I will never be done! LOL! There is so much information, which is a good thing, but then sifting through it all...sigh. But worry not! I shall be done more than one community soon! By the end of my intern-ship, I'll have a layout all done. Yaay!

Oh one more thing. For the next two days, because I will be busy with NAYDO, there will be two guest bloggers! So even if you are all sad about me not being around, you'll have great entries to read nonetheless!

Enjoy,
Simmi

The List of Simmi!

Hi!

How is everyone on this very lovely, well mostly lovely, Thursday afternoon? So did you hear? It's supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow! No!!!! Spring is supposed to be settled in by now. Sigh, my weather woes.

So I still have not gotten around to do a few things, like visit YAP again for instance. I still have to do the Gravity Demo too, and I still need to venture over to Y Citizens. Right now I am busy with visiting various schools around town and talking about the Healthy Kids Day Marathon. So if you have a child, or know of a child, in elementary school then get them involved! Run, walk or bike the 40km by June 2nd, and then walk or run (not bike!) the last 1.2km at Masich Stadium with the family!

Also, I have this research paper of sorts that I am doing. It gets overwhelming at times - with all the information that is there and then trying to filter through it. There is only one way in going about filtering this much information - reading every single thing. LOL! I have read at least 50 papers, and stilling going strong! I think I have finally decided on the final layout of this report. Well, for now I happy with all my categories, but you never know. A couple of days ago, I redid half of a section that was already completed. I am having trouble pleasing myself. LOL!

Oh and next week is NAYDO! I'm taking the laptop with me so hopefully I can keep  you all updated on a regular basis! I am excited for this new learning experience!

So many things to do...

Lastly, I need to Google Map schools for tomorrow. Or I'll be calling Karen and saying "Help me, I'm Lost"!!!

Enjoy the rest of your day!
Simmi

After Thoughts for a Long Weekend

Hello,

How is everyone doing? How was the four day weekend, or the three day? Long weekends are nice, no? You can snuggle with the blanket of sleep as long as you want; become selectively deaf towards the menacing sounds of your alarm clock; and be welcomed into a part of life that you may have forgotten you had.The shadows of laziness seep into you, and you breathe that sigh of relief; surprising yourself at how good you are at this - what's the word - ahh yes, relaxing.

Long weekends give you that extra day where you can let yourself relax. You don't need to worry about doing the laundry, getting grocery, or the likes because you can push all this to tomorrow, because there is an extra day after that tomorrow. However, sometimes even if you have a week off you may come short on time. It's all about time management!

Actually, more than time management, it is about acknowledging the fact that you need to breathe. It's like how I am with doing the various programs. I sometimes tend to forget the most natural thing a human being possesses - the act of breathing. I need to be reminded by the instructor to inhale and then exhale. We can take this concept of forgetfulness and apply it to our everyday lives.

In this age of technology, the need to be productive to our very last minute leaves us with very little room to "breathe". Sometimes, we just need to stop and remind ourselves to breathe. There will always be one thing or the other to do; we can probably rationalize using every second of our time. However, we just need to take a few hours or a day out of our lives and just have a "me time". I call mine Simmi's Mental Hour/Day.

There will always be work to do, but today will vanish into that yesterday that is lost as fast as the tomorrow that will become the today that you thought you had time to prepare for. We need to make the time and more so remember to make that time! Therefore, once a week, take an hour or so out and truly relax!

The downside of a four day long weekend is that when it is over you have forgotten everything that you learned in life! LOL! It is like you are being born again; becoming part of that life that doesn't slow down and let you smell those roses on the curb. Aahhh life, how complicated are thee?!

Oh well, that's life. Too philosophical, right? I think so too!

Anyways, my day has been productive enough. I promoted the Healthy Kids Day Marathon, and after that my day has involved research and writing up a research paper. So when is the next long weekend? LOL!

Oh and stay tuned this week for a guest blogger! Who is it you ask? Well, that's a secret!

Take care,
Simmi

EDIT: A song is being played here - Call Me Maybe - I feel like getting up and singing to it! Ssshhh

P.S. Random Thought: Spring is finally here!