CPABC in Focus September/October 2016 | Page 42

MEMBERS IN FOCUS Community Events – Members Giving Back D uring the summer, CPABC members, candidates, and students participated in three community events organized by local CPABC chapters as part of the chapters’ mandates to support local communities. These events, listed below, provided members, candidates, students, and their families* with opportunities to give back to their communities while engaging with like-minded individuals: • Ships to Shore Steveston – July 1-3. Set in historic Steveston Village, this three-day family festival gave visitors a chance to tour various ships and enjoy dockside programs and entertainment. Fifteen volunteers from CPABC’s Richmond Chapter helped manage crowd control on one of the tall ships docked in the harbour. • Terra Nova Sharing Farm – July 23. An active farm with greenhouses that produce 14,000 pounds of fresh organic produce each year, Terra Nova Sharing Farm in Richmond provides healthy food for as many as 2,000 low-income citizens each week. More than 40 volunteers from CPABC’s Vancouver Chapter helped tend and harvest crops on July 23, and got the chance to learn about sustainability through food security and organic practices in the process. • Abbotsford Genealogical Society – August 6. The Society maintains cemetery records and gravestone inscriptions, which can be a valuable source of genealogical information. Members of CPABC’s Fraser Valley Chapter attended a gravestone cleaning event on August 6 to prepare gravestones to be photographed and included in the Society’s cemetery index. Upcoming events already in the works for this fall and winter include volunteer work at local food banks and festive carolling to support local housing and hospice societies. If you’re interested in volunteering in your local community, watch for upcoming event listings on chapter websites (bccpa.ca/members/ cpabc-chapters). Upcoming events will also be highlighted in chapter emails, which are sent to members, candidates, and students on a regular basis. For more information about community involvement or if you have an event that is looking for CPABC volunteers, contact David Chiang, CPA, CA, vice-president of member services, at [email protected] with event details. Each event will be evaluated and supported where possible. * Most community events, subject to space limitations and/or safety restrictions, welcome children as participants, but stipulate that children must be accompanied by an adult at all times. Members should enquire with event organizers before registering to find out if children are welcome to participate. 42 CPABC in Focus • Sept/Oct 2016 Above (top): Blue skies for Ships to Shore Steveston. Directly above (l to r): Jacqueline Ho, CPA, CGA, chair of the Richmond Chapter, with Chapter member Catherine Wang, CPA, CGA; Charity Wang; and Chapter members Brian King, CPA, CGA, and Olive Wong, CPA, CMA. Below: Father and son team volunteering at Terra Nova Sharing Farm.