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Irish In BC Newsletter
July 26th, 2020
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IrishInBC Social Accounts to follow:
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Fewer faces, bigger spaces
We are all feeling a bit of pandemic fatigue. It’s hard. Really hard. It’s easy to forget when something so invisible poses a threat to our community. For many of us, we heard from family and friends back home about Ireland’s high case numbers and stricter measures and felt a sense of gratitude that BC managed to contain the virus quite well. We have watched as BC’s new daily cases remained low into the summer months, and it started to feel like this pandemic was something we had overcome. Something that was no longer the top of the news every day and many were relieved for their minds not to be solely consumed by the fear and anxiety triggered by a global pandemic. We want everything to go back to normal. We naturally want to forget about the virus that had us locked up in our homes for two months. And for a few moments, you’d be excused for thinking it was all over.
But this week the mood shifted. Dr. Henry’s approach is admirable. She trusts every member of the BC community to do the right thing, by making their own judgment and decisions. No strict enforcement, it’s all on us. It’s our responsibility to protect every member of the community where we work and live. This week Dr. Henry called out young people, and we of course have a huge number of young Irish here in BC. It must be especially difficult if this is your first, or maybe last, summer in Vancouver. The temptation to throw caution to the wind and have large gatherings because none of you are high risk is hard to resist. A common message throughout this pandemic has been that you don’t want to bring this virus home to your household or pass it on to vulnerable family members. It’s been about the protection of your family and the most vulnerable, such as the elderly, in order to get this to resonate with people. However, we must recognise that so many of us don’t have families here to protect. And with lots of young Irish, it’s likely that for many there just is no contact with vulnerable people directly in day to day life. It’s easy for that message to get lost. So, this is our reminder. We need to pull back on social interactions and keep our circles small. If the health authorities called you tomorrow and asked for a list of people you’ve been in contact with over the past two weeks, would it be easy, or would you be embarrassed? We need to do this for the wider community here in BC. Do it for yourself too; to try and prevent restrictions being rolled back.
You may think it’s grand to invite 30 people over to your house for a session; ‘sure we know everyone, no one’s around vulnerable or elderly people, it’s fine’. And suddenly COVID-19 is no longer a big deal. However, the recent events in Kelowna have shown us the danger of these super spreader events. There are 1,000 people in BC currently self-isolating from attending these parties. We’re grateful the weather has finally picked up and plans are being made as we all look forward to exploring more of BC. Thankfully for most of us, lockdown is a distant memory. But all it takes is one party. One large gathering. None of us want to get that phone call from the health authorities to be told to stay indoors for two weeks right now in the height of summer.
We all got a slight telling off this week from Premier Horgan; "I have to say to British Columbians: Come on. You're better than that.” This is our wake-up call. The Irish are known for looking out for each other and our community. If one of us needs anything, someone will be there. Well, right now we all need each other. Every single one of us needs to keep playing our part by keeping our circles small. Now is not the time to have large house parties. Wear a face mask on public transit and in enclosed spaces such as grocery stores. If you're going to the beach, or a lake, choose a quieter spot. Keep away from others. Keep that distance between your group and other small groups. If you're planning to see friends, include only those in your bubble. And in the words of Dr. Henry;
Be kind. Be calm. Be safe.
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The Irish Benevolent Society of BC (IBSBC)
In 1994, the Irish Benevolent Society of BC (IBSBC) was formed as a non-profit society in response to a need for short term crisis financial support for Irish families and individuals in Metro Vancouver.
Before the days of GoFundMe and other online fundraising initiatives, the only way for the community to support each other with crucial emergency funding was through an article in The Celtic Connection newspaper which would inform the community about the circumstance and encourage donations to the cause through the Irish Benevolent Society of BC.
Over the years, the IBSBC spearheaded several fundraising campaigns to meet specific emergency situations within the local Irish community working in close collaboration with various Irish community organizations.
The IBSBC committee also launched the first Irish Seniors’ Luncheon program in Vancouver and coordinated ongoing Irish senior events for 7 years (2008-2014) with grant funding assistance from the Irish Government’s Emigrant Support Program.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, needs in the community have increased again so the IBSBC, with the support of the Consulate General of Ireland, is providing an emergency food program. There is also a GoFundMe initiative fundraising to support the program.
Apply for the Emergency Food Program
Donate to support this initiative
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The online career fair is back again by popular demand and facilitated I/CAN Vancouver Client Liaison: Eilis Courtney!
Need to hit the restart button on your career? Join in for this FREE webinar with tips for resumes, interview skills and other Vancouver resources.
Register here on Eventbrite.
You will receive an email with the webinar link the night before.
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Canadian Immigrant magazine has officially begun the online voting stage for the 12th annual RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards 2020, and we are pleased to say that our very own Mike Hurley has been chosen to be one of the top 75 shortlist. These awards are known as a People's Choice Award,
www.bcpffa.net
You can vote for Mike here
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Ruairi is the Managing Director of Moving2Canada and moved to from Beaufort, Co. Kerry to Vancouver in 2008 for a role in finance and an opportunity for adventure, leaving that role in 2012 to throw his full weight behind Moving2Canada.com, a website he set up to help people plan a successful move. He is also Managing Director of Outpost Recruitment, which matches engineering and construction professionals with roles in Canada.
We asked Ruairi How Moving2Canada adapted during Covid-19:
In March it became clear that the pandemic would have a major impact on global travel and the economy. As the federal government released new information on travel restrictions and emergency programs for workers, businesses, and students, we began daily, sometimes hourly, updates that we shared with our community through newsfeed pages, videos, and webinars with industry experts. We also zoned in on improving Moving2Canada GO, a free product we launched in late 2019 for applicants to the IEC Working Holiday program, which is wildly popular with Irish youth looking for opportunity and adventure in Canada.
Our relationship with our audience — which now numbers more than half a million unique visitors per month — is stronger than ever, and over recent months we’ve also been able to begin or build on relationships with businesses in a range of industries, including banking, telecoms, insurance, and recruitment. It’s been challenging and a real hustle at times, but we’re now able to look to the future with confidence. We owe it to our community and business partners — and ourselves — to keep the good work going for the rest of the year and beyond.
Ruairi Spillane
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IrishInBc is run by the COVID-19 support group which is primarily made up of volunteers. Each week we would like to introduce one of our members.
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The We Are Irish website was formed out of a desire to share good news and interesting stories about Irish people at home and abroad. The website aims to tell stories from those who hold an affinity with Ireland through uplifting and positive pieces. The website also includes a culture section, with links to free Irish language audio books
‘We Are Irish’ is a spin-off of a project Úna-Minh Kavanagh (website creator) completed in 2017, which aimed to showcase various people of all shapes, colours and ethnicities that we have in Ireland today.
B’aoibhinn liom dea-scéala a fhógairt, (I love to share good news).
Website: https://weareirish.ie/
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Updates for British Columbia
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NEW Free Day-Use Passes are coming to six BC Parks.
BC Parks has developed a free day-use pass program for specific trails/areas in six of the busiest parks: Cypress, Mount Seymour, Garibaldi, Golden Ears, Mount Robson (Berg Lake Trail) and Stawamus Chief (Chief Peaks Trail).
The free day-use passes will be required as of July 27, 2020, and are part of a pilot program intended to help re-open busy areas and test the passes as a tool to manage overcrowding.
For details about the types of passes and the areas they are required visit: http://www.bcparks.ca/reserve/day-use/
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The production of the Irish in BC newsletter is made possible through the Government of Ireland Covid-19 Response Fund for Irish Communities Abroad which is administered and supported by the Irish Abroad Unit of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Consulate General of Ireland in Vancouver.
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If you have an Irish run event, organisation or business you would like to us to share. Please send us an email with the details to IrishInBC@gmail.com
Note that content must be submitted the week previous
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