The Third World

The Gift

jay — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 11:46:00 +0000

A mother who loves her kids very much reached out on Craigslist in her time of need. I randomly clicked on the link and wanted to help out. She had two young daughters and another one on the way. Raising a family must be very hard, especially when you are single and pregnant. In her posting, she mentioned that she would not be able to provide Christmas presents.

I met up with the mother and her two young daughters at a Starbucks before her doctor’s appointment. She was a bit awestruck since I was much younger than she thought I would be (it doesn’t help that I look younger than I am). I handed them the Christmas gifts and we talked for a few minutes before I went on my way. As I was walking away I felt a little tug on my jacket sleeve and turned around. The 3 year old girl looked up at me with that look of optimism and said “Thank you.” Afterwards, she shyly turned around and went back to her mother.

This Christmas project did not involve many members of the Third World because it happened so very quickly. The project popped up 5 days before Christmas and there was only 1 day to get it all done. Overall, 17 emails were exchanged and 4 donors were a part of this. The mother, who wishes to remain anonymous, wanted to thank everyone for what they have given to her family. The kids were given a memory that they will remember for a long time. I have a similar one from my childhood that I think of every Christmas.

3rd Annual Community Clean-Up at Chief Maquinna Elementary School

jay — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 20:28:22 +0000

We will be starting up our cleaning season at Chief Maquinna Elementary School on Sunday April 17th, 2011.

Hasting Elementary Clean Up! July 4th, 2010

jay — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 07:14:41 +0000

Thanks to all of the 13 volunteers that came out to clean Hastings Elementary School on Sunday July 4th, 2010. In less than one hour we were able to clean up the whole perimeter of the school. In the end we picked up two full bags of garbage. The next clean up will be held at Commercial Skytrain Station on Sunday July 11th, 2010 at 10 AM! See everyone there

First Annual Toy Drive

kevin — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 21:08:58 +0000

Thanks to all the people who came out to the first annual Third World Toy Drive! The toy drive was hosted at the house of Third World President, Jay Ho. Members and friends came by to donate toys, which The Third World will donate on to the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau (http://www.lmcb.ca/). It was a great success, with over 30 awesome toys donated from all of you that attended. We were very glad to see everyone come out, despite their busy schedules with finals, work, and whatnot. It was a very enjoyable night for us, and we hope you had a great time as well!

Look forward to more events and announcements in the near future, and feel good this Christmas knowing that you made another child very happy

Thanks to all the people who came out to the first annual Third World Toy Drive! The toy drive was hosted at the house of Third World President, Jay Ho. Members and friends came by to donate toys, which The Third World will donate on to the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau. It was a great success, with over 30 awesome toys donated from all of you that attended. We were very glad to see everyone come out, despite their busy schedules with finals, work, and whatnot. It was a very enjoyable night for us, and we hope you had a great time as well!

Look forward to more events and announcements in the near future, and feel good this Christmas knowing that you made another child very happy

Thank you!

The Third World Clean-up, Season Finale.

kevin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:58:52 +0000

A word of thanks to all of those who came this past Sunday for the last weekly clean-up of the season! It was thanks to all of you that we were able to come so far in the past three and a half months. It has truly been an amazing experience and we, on the Board of Directors, hope that all the volunteers feel the same way.

At the last clean-up of the season, we had an impressive group of 23 volunteers attend. We appreciate you all for taking time out of all of your busy schedules to make it to this event. The after-clean-up barbeque was also highly enjoyable. The surveys all of the volunteers filled out have been thoroughly reviewed. Thank you for all the positive feedback and great suggestions!

Although clean ups have ended – due to weather restrictions and members’ busy schedules with school, work, and the like – the Board of Directors are currently planning more events to come in the fall and winter. Stay tuned for further updates and future volunteering opportunities!

Thank you again!

Beauty Night. The Third World. Knit Fit.

jay — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:09:11 +0000

Laura Mah patiently teaches Binh Ho and Linton Phan how to knit

On Sunday, September 27^th, 2009 after cleaning Strathcona Park, 8 of our volunteers went to Knit Fit’s first meeting. Laura gave a passionate speech about the beginnings of her organization, one she started when she was only 11 years old! Every year, Knit Fit hands out their completed scarves at Beauty Night. In the last year, Chief Maquinna Elementary School has knitted an impressive 250 scarves for Knit Fit. Laura and the rest of Knit Fit are currently working with other elementary schools and high schools to spread this amazing experience.

“The history of Beauty Night Society begins in 2000, when Caroline became concerned with the plight of sex trade workers in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Back then, she proposed the idea of providing disadvantaged and marginalized women with events where they could enjoy aesthetic services to make them feel better about themselves.

The now well known Beauty Night makeover program allows its clients to be reintroduced to touch in a non-threatening manner, and re-builds trust and hope in women who often have been left with on one to trust and no hope for their futures.

Beauty Night makeover events are held 6-8 times per month in Vancouver and generally service 50 – 100 women at a time.” (http://beautynight.org)

If you are interested in becoming a member of Knit Fit, the next meeting is being held on October 18^th, 2009 at

Britannia Community Centre:

1661 Napier Street Vancouver, BC

-Jay Ho

50/50 Raises Funds!!!

jay — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 06:38:00 +0000

On Friday October 2, 2009 Playland had its first annual Food and Beverage dinner. At this event, The Third World had a 50/50 draw. Tickets cost $5 for an arm length or $10 for a wingspan. After a rowdy 15 minutes of ticket selling, we ran out of tickets and collected $330. Dick Fong, (P.N.E. Food and Beverage Manager) won and kindly decided to donate it all back to the organization. A big thanks to everyone at the dinner for helping us out. -Jay Ho

We are Featured in the Vancouver Sun!

daryl — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 16:19:15 +0000

We had the most wonderful opportunity to be featured in Saturday morning’s Vancouver Sun! We’d like to thank everyone for their continued support, as well as the people who made this media story happen. You can get the Vancouver Sun’s August 22 paper, and flip to page A7, or you can read the article featured in The Vancouver Sun’s website!

Little Drops of Love Fundraiser Success!

daryl — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 08:43:20 +0000

On August 2nd 2009, The Third World, in cooperation with Little Drops of Love, organized and hosted a fundraiser. Together, we were able to fundraise over $1000.00 towards their cause! Little Drops of Love is a charity group that helps street kids and orphans in Mexico. Thank you to everyone that showed up, the performers, and our sponsors.

Starting July 4th 2009, The Third World has continually made an effort every weekend to clean up the proximity around elementary schools in (mainly) East Vancouver. Schools that already have been cleaned include: Hastings Elementary, Sir Matthew Begbie Elementary, A.R. Lord Elementary, Chief Maquinna Annex, Chief Maquinna Elementary, Thunderbird Elementary and Queen Elizabeth Secondary School. It has become a core part of our endeavours into improving our neighbourhood and reaching our goals, and we intend to maintain continual efforts with this project. Check out the “Community Clean-Up” page weekly to see where we are going to go next! If you have any suggestions or requests, send us an e-mail.

Check the “Special Events” tab for up-and-coming events organized by The Third World.