Hate to say it, but the title “Beer By The Pier” caught my attention!

Living in a community that I love, I often feel that I am selfishly isolated in my own little world.  I am raising a family, trying to be a good wife, supporting my aging Mom and taking care of myself as I move into my next 50.  Like many we are also trying to earn a living to support our lifestyle in a very challenging/expensive and quickly changing world.  We pick our friends who share similar values and in my house, we make time to laugh, keeping us connected and reducing the stress in our lives.   We donate to those who knock on our door and support various charities to fight cancer.

We hear local stories about those fighting with homelessness and suffering with mental illness and addiction and other real life changing problems.  It is splashed over social media and in our local community paper.  We see pictures of grand events such as black tie fundraising galas and other high ticket events,  where people have donated $1,000 + to attend.  It all leaves me feeling hollow and frustrated that I never could find a way to offer to help support those families in need in my own community.  I sometimes honestly felt that only the rich were making a difference in the lives of those suffering.

Then up popped an invitation to 1^st Annual Beer by the Pier event in September via email.  In support of Family Services of the North Shore, tickets were reasonable and the venue caught my eye!  Beer tasting-Adam Woodall Band-Smoke & Bones BBQ at a trendy, hip venue at the restored Pipe Shop at historic Shipbuilders’ Square.  Our tickets were donations themselves.

Talk about tapping into a new demographic, Family Services you have succeeded!

Thank you for opening up my eyes to the opportunities available to help support those by raising funds in an enjoyable way.  I was thrilled to see so many others from my community whom crossed our similar demographic and together we reunited for a great cause. 

Family Services of the North Shore, in my opinion your event was a success.  You drew in my demographics of boomers who are searching for ways to support the families and those suffering in our own community.  After all, some of those are our friends and neighbours who might be suffering in silence.

Sign us up for next year.

As a result of the event, I myself am meeting up with the North Shore Neighbourhood House one of your affiliates, to see how I can give back here in my treasured community of North Vancouver.