Vancity and Hope in Shadows

A supporter of Hope in Shadows for six years, Vancity increased its support this year by helping to distribute calendars to street vendors and providing financial advice to vendors.

Eight Vancity branches involved

Vancity branches at Commercial & First, 10th & Cambie, Terminal & Quebec, Hastings & Kamloops, 4th Avenue, North Vancouver, Marpole and Kitsilano are supporting Hope in Shadows by acting as depots for the calendars.

Because of this, vendors do not need to lug heavy boxes to their sales points, as the branches are located near where calendars are sold. Some vendors also have accounts where they deposit their earnings to be safer, in that they don't have to carry a lot of cash.

Each vendor is provided with a special photo ID for the purpose of calendar sales, which they present at the branch. Some enterprising vendors sell a significant number of calendars.

Proceeds are deposited into a Vancity account for Pivot Legal Society (a long-standing Vancity member that works on legal issues in the DTES), which runs the Hope in Shadows project. Having a stable, reliable partner like Vancity that can handle money is a major part of the Hope in Shadows distribution strategy.

Vancity employees are happy about this project

The Vancity branch on Commercial Drive was the first to become involved in Hope in Shadows, with the 4th Avenue branch in Kitsilano following soon after. Commercial Drive Manager Phelan Jung says it's rewarding to interact with the calendar vendors.

"They come into the branch and are professional, and you can see their confidence," says Phelan, "The time we put into this initiative and the respect we give the vendors helps them make a living and feel good about it."

Phelan recalls a day when Vancity CEO Tamara Vrooman came into the branch, saw the calendars, and remarked that she has one in her kitchen.

Peter Reale, another Vancity branch manager, says, "It isn't always easy to balance a branch's resources with the number of community initiatives in which the branch is involved. Hope in Shadows doesn't require a lot of our time, but it has a great impact on the DTES. Our staff are really happy with Vancity's involvement in this project."

Maria Panico sits at the desk at Commercial Drive where vendors pick up their calendars. The vendors pay Maria $10 per calendar and she counts out the number of calendars they request. Often they will come back and tell her of their success and what's going on outside. "I know the vendors pretty well now and I think they're really nice. Hope in Shadows has helped them so much with their confidence and consideration."

She says hi to the vendors when she sees them on the street and enjoys Vancity's involvement with this program.

Budgeting workshop for successful calendar vendors

Vancity's microcredit team, Erin Robinson and Brian Cade, worked with Hope in Shadows Project Coordinator Carolyn Wong to set up a special workshop for the vendors to train them in basic banking and budgeting skills.

The first session was run by Simon Fulber and Michele Quan and was called “How to create a Money Plan,” which is based on Vancity's Basic Budgeting workshop. In the first workshop, eight street vendors were trained.

Simon said, "We had a great time discussing needs vs. wants, how to estimate income and expenses, setting financial goals and how to track spending. For this highly motivated sales force, managing their expenses and income is tricky as they go through busy periods, like Christmas, and low seasons. With some laughter and great facilitation by Michele we sparked a relationship that will hopefully see other workshops happening soon."

Earlier this year Enterprising Non-Profits, of which Vancity is a partner, gave Hope in Shadows a grant to look into expanding their product line with their collection of photos, which would expand employment opportunities for the vendors beyond the calendar season.

Enterprising Non-Profits is a collaboration of funders, including Vancity and Vancity Community Foundation, which supports the development and growth of social enterprises.

Elisabeth Geller, Manager of Community Leadership at Vancity, coordinates Vancity's corporate sponsorship of Hope in Shadows. She sees Vancity's involvement in the project as a natural fit because of the credit union's commitment to supporting people's economic self-reliance.

"I'm a fan of Vancity's involvement; I think Hope in Shadows is an amazing project," she says. "It's rewarding to watch a photo contest develop into a business that sells thousands of calendars a year. It's a huge amount of return for the community, boh monetarily and in terms of how the residents see themselves."