Ian MacKay is not your average 20 year old - when rejected by relief organizations, he took matters into his own hands and independently made his way to Haiti, just five weeks after the earthquake in January 2010 devastated the country.
Determined to make a difference, Ian found himself in situations many people couldn't even imagine. This first trip created a bond for Ian would see him returning to Haiti in October during the cholera epidemic.
Eager to return one last time, Ian is hosting a presentation at Quest University at 7 p.m. on Wednesday (Jan. 26) to help raise funds for his return trip to Haiti at the end of the month. Please join him to hear heroic stories of survival that will bring tears to every eye in the room.
In celebration of Family Literacy Week, the Squamish Public Library is hosting its eighth annual Scrabble Tournament on Tuesday (Jan. 25) from 6:45 to 8 p.m.
A prize will be given to the person who brings in the most pledges as well as to the person with the top Scrabble score. Get together with your friends and neighbours and enter a team or play individually. The entry fee is $10 for teams and $5 for individuals. Money from pledges goes to literacy programs at both the Squamish Library and Capilano University.
The Don Ross Secondary School outdoor leadership program is planning a fundraiser including a silent auction and two great guest speakers on Thursday (Jan. 27).
The speakers are Norm Hann, who will speak about his epic stand-up paddleboard journey along the shores of the Great Bear Rainforest, and Brian Finestone, who will discuss canine avalanche rescues around the world.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the program starts at 7 p.m. at the Eagle Eye Theatre. Tickets cost $15 in advance at Bean Around the World, Escape Route and Valhalla Pure, or $18 at the door. For information contact Don Ross Secondary at (604) 898-3671 or (604) 848-8125.
The Howe Sound Women's Centre is offering ESL (English as a Second Language) classes each Wednesday night from 6 to 8 p.m. The classes are open to all women free of charge. Support groups for immigrant and refugee women are also available. Daycare is available on request. Please call the centre at (604) 892-5748 to register or for more information.
I gave a wrong date for the monthly Soup and Sandwich Day for seniors in last week's column! Of course, it has been the last Thursday of the month for many years and the corrected date is Thursday (Jan. 27) at noon in the Seniors Centre. The cost is $9 for members and $10.50 for non-members. Plan on staying for bingo starting at 1 p.m.
The Over the Hill Hikers are asked to meet at Cherry Drive in Valleycliffe on Tuesday (Jan. 25) at 10 a.m. for a Meet Your Maker and Three Virgins loop hike. For more information, please call Heather at (604) 892-9003.
Members of the Tantalus Seniors Walking Club are asked to meet at the Valleycliffe Mall for a walk to the Stawamus River on Thursday (Jan. 27) at 10 a.m. To join or for more information, please call Joyce at (604) 898-5594.
Anyone planning on taking in the Rotary Pub Trivia Night tomorrow (Jan. 22) starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #277 should get their tickets and teams together pronto! Check with a local Rotarian or email [email protected] or call (604) 764-5485.
The Caregivers Support Group is offered to people caring for an aging relative or loved one who has such an illness and who may be at home or living in a facility. The group meets on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month at the Seniors Centre and the next meeting will be held on Wednesday (Jan. 26) from 2 to 3 p.m. For more information, please contact Donna Howard or Nadine Goodgrove at (604) 892-6400.
Family Game Night comes to the Squamish Public Library on Friday (Jan. 28) from 5 to 8 p.m. Included will be your favourite board games, a Wii competition with teams competing against each other and also Scrabble, chess, cards and more. Pizza will be provided. This is a free event but registration is mandatory. Registrants will be required to purchase a fully refundable $5 ticket. Take your ticket to the event to receive your refund.
"On the Bus with Squamish CAN" (Climate Action Network) was launched in January 2010 to create Transit Leaders in Squamish. Tomorrow (Jan. 22) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Transit Leader celebration will take place at the main bus stop at the Chieftain Mall when Mayor Greg Gardner and Trevor Webb, B.C. Transit director of transit operations, will be on the bus with the Transit Leaders. Everyone is welcome.
An informal meeting for parents and students regarding Grade 5 late French immersion registration will be held at the Squamish Elementary School on Wednesday (Jan. 26) at 7 p.m. Parents of students currently in Grade 4 are invited to attend this meeting with their child.
Anyone who has read the book Room by Emma Douglas is invited to the Adult Evening Book Club at the Squamish Public Library on Thursday (Jan. 27) from 7 to 8 p.m. for a discussion on the book.
The Hearts in Motion Walking Club will meet on Friday (Jan. 28) at 10 a.m. at the Seniors Centre for an estuary walk. To join or for more information, call Darleen at (604) 892-2092 or myself at (604) 815-0152.
On Sunday (Jan. 23) at 4:30 p.m. the weekly speaker series at St. John's Anglican Church welcomes Laurel Parsons and "Anerca: Representations of Inuit Poetry in Twentieth-Century Art Music." The talk takes a look (and listen) at various compositions from the '60s and '70s which all had the title "Anerca," both an Inuktitut word for breath or spirit, and the title of a 1959 anthology of Inuit poetry. Admission is by donation.
