Tag: community

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Celebration of Community

Thank you to all the families who joined YHS staff and students for our annual Celebration of Community at the Chan Centre on Wednesday, December 12. Each year, we begin the holiday season with this festive event, which invites our community to share in the gifts and talents of our students.

The afternoon featured performances from Grades 1 to 12, including renditions of “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” (Grade 7), “Imagine” (Ragazza), and “From a Distance” (Chorista and Ragazza). In the finale, all students joined together to perform “Peace Round/Shalom Chaverim”.

Interspersed throughout the afternoon of performances were sing-a-long carols, readings, including multilingual readings in Spanish and French, as well as a presentation by our Sr. Improv Drama group.

Thank you to Ms. Ninan, Ms. Froese, and Ms. Haylett for their work with our very talented music students; thank you to Ms. Harrigan and our Improv Team; and thank you to our Modern Languages Dept for the inclusion of French and Spanish in our celebrations this year.

A special thanks to Leith Wheeler Investments, our sponsor of this event for 20 years. We truly appreciate their commitment to York House as well as the broader community. Donations from those who attended the concert went to the Quest Outreach Society.

The impressive venue, carol singing, and festive atmosphere continue to make for a wonderful holiday tradition. Thank you to Annie, one of our new Student Social Media Ambassadors, for covering the event on Instagram stories (@YorkHouseVan). See the highlights under the Celebration of Community icon.

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Members of the YHS Community Honoured on National Philanthropy Day

Members of the York House School community were well represented at the recent AFP National Philanthropy Day’s “Giving Hearts Awards”.

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Arran & Ratana Stephens: click to watch video

Arran and Ratana Stephens are parents to alumnae Shanti (Stephens) Schramm ’87, Gurdeep Stephens ’91 and Jyoti Stephens ’95. On November 23rd, they received the Outstanding Philanthropist Award for their incredibly generous charitable contributions to BC Children’s Hospital and Vancouver General Hospital. Founders of Nature’s Path Foods, the Stephens started their company over 30 years ago in Vancouver. From its humble beginnings and guided by the wisdom of Arran’s father, Rupert, to “Always leave the soil better than you found it”, the organic breakfast and snack foods company has flourished and is still family-run.

In their own words: “We support BC Children’s Hospital not because our family has benefitted, but because we want all British Columbian families to avail of its services in helping children overcome overwhelming health issues. We all benefit from the excellent care this hospital provides.”  – Arran and Ratana Stephens

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Yik Fun Au-Yeung: click to watch video 

Also honoured was Yorkie grandparent Yik Fung Au-Yeung, the recipient of the Giving Hearts Outstanding Lifetime Achievement in Volunteerism Award.

Mr. Yik Fung Au-Yeung began volunteering more than 40 years ago. A retired accountant, he has been a member of the Canadian Cancer Society’s Asian Giving Committee for over 30 years; he joined VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation’s first planned giving committee over 25 years ago; and he helped BC Children’s Hospital Foundation found its Chinese-Canadian Community Planned Gifts Committee 13 years ago. At 90 years old, his dedication to philanthropy is an inspiration.