Good news, we have been hard at work packing your orders and they are now on their way to you! For those who opted for in-person pick-ups, you can now book a time at calendly.com/yarrowsociety/pickup. Please note that all pick-ups (Dec 17, 19, 20, 23) will take place on the 4th Floor of Sun Wah Centre except for Sun, Dec 18 which will be at 312 Main St during our Winter Solstice Celebration Event (come have dumplings and make cute holiday cards with us). If none of the dates listed work for you, please email info[at]yarrowsociety.ca to make alternative arrangements. Thank you for supporting our organization during our critical fundraising period and we hope they make your days brighter just as you have made ours! Much love from Team Yarrow. ❤️

In celebration of the Winter Solstice, and as a part of our Winter Solstice Fundraiser, we are hosting an in-person community event at 312 Main St! Join us for an afternoon of hot dumplings and intergenerational crafting with seniors from Chinatown and the DTES! Crafting supplies will be provided. Pick-up for online shop orders will also be available at the event. Please RSVP at bit.ly/yarrow-winter-solstice. Date: Sunday, December 18, 2022 Time: 1:00PM - 3:00PM PST Location: 312 Main Street, Vancouver. This is an in-person event, and all are welcome (including drop-ins). The venue entrance, main space, and washrooms are accessible for cane/walker/wheelchair/scooter users. More access information about the space can be found here. COVID-19 SAFETY: Wearing a face mask is required for this event. There will be a HEPA air purifier in the space.

Winter solstice represents an important time for many communities to gather and reflect with pride and gratitude on the year’s accomplishments. In this spirit, we sat down with one of our seniors, 胡明 Hu Ming (Jack), to learn what the winter holiday means to him and how the work of Yarrow has impacted his life. “[Whenever] Yarrow has events, it helps us seniors’ physical and mental health. We feel happy, a lot less lonely.” Hearing Hu Ming speak fondly of the arts and crafts workshops, morning exercise sessions and other activities Yarrow hosts for seniors truly affirms the value of these culturally relevant and accessible programming and propels our mission to build connectedness in Vancouver’s Chinatown and DTES. Help us grow and foster an environment that cherishes our seniors and youth today by making a donation at yarrowsociety.ca/donate.

Hot off the press! Read the second issue of our Yarrow Senior Newsletter. This issue, we recap our recent self-portraiture workshop with Sunny Chiu and a lunch-and-learn session with Indigenous elders at Britannia Community Centre. There is also a poem submission from one of our seniors! Download and read the newsletter below!

Join us for a pop-up screen printing party at Sun Wah Centre (268 Keefer St)! As part of our Winter Solstice Fundraiser, we are hosting an in-person, pop-up screen printing party and workshop with artist J Wu. WHAT: Screen print Yarrow's signature lucky cat design onto any blank material. This event is BYOT (bring your own tote/shirt/cloth)! Space and materials can only be guaranteed for people who RSVP. However, drop-ins are welcome and will be accommodated if possible. DATE: Saturday, December 3rd, 2022 TIME: 1:00PM - 4:00PM PST - RSVP for a 30 min session LOCATION: Sun Wah Centre 4th floor, 268 Keefer St, Vancouver. This is an in-person event, and all are welcome (including drop-ins). Accessibility information for the space can be found here. COVID-19 SAFETY: Wearing a face mask is required for this event. There will be a HEPA air purifier in the space, in addition to MERV13 filters used in the HVAC system. Participation by cash donation!

Today we are launching our Winter Solstice Fundraiser 冬至籌款活動! Help us meet our fundraising goal of $15,000 to continue cultivating intergenerational relationships, reducing isolation for seniors, and ensuring access to healthcare in the face of language and cultural barriers. Donations are not only a financial action, but also a political action. We believe that building a broad base of individual donors from the community is an important way to sustain our work. We are now reaching out to our community again and asking you to help us continue to grow so we can focus on serving and empowering our youth and seniors! Visit our donation page to learn more about how you can support us from now until the Winter Solstice 冬至 (dung1 zi3 / dong1 zhi4) on December 21, 2022. Please share widely, and stay tuned for more updates about events and other exciting ways to support us!

Shop pre-orders close today! If you want to grab a holiday gift for yourself or a loved one, now is the time. Yarrow’s online shop will be closed until 2023 once pre-orders end tonight, Nov 29 at 11:59 PM PST. This #GivingTuesday, grab some limited edition Yarrow merch to help us meet our winter solstice fundraising goal of $15,000!

Community support is an important way to sustain our work, helping us to continue providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services to seniors like Lisa. Any donation amount is appreciated, it truly means a lot to us at Yarrow! Today, 姚秀英 Yao Xiu Ying (Lisa) shares her favourite winter activities and what Yarrow means to her. Community support is an important way to sustain our work, helping us to continue providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services to seniors like Lisa. Any donation amount is appreciated, it truly means a lot to us at Yarrow! To support seniors like Lisa, please visit yarrowsociety.ca/donate.

Place your Yarrow merchandise pre-orders through our online shop when it launches on Tuesday, November 22! The launch of our online shop will feature: Dreaming Hand-in-Hand Intergenerational Chinatown Zine Limited edition lucky cat tote bag - screen-printed by hand Every purchase will go towards our $15,000 fundraising goal during our Winter Solstice Fundraiser, so mark your calendars. If you'd like to contribute directly to Yarrow, visit yarrowsociety.ca/donate. Psst, the first 50 orders come with a free Yarrow sticker! 👀🎁

Throughout our Winter Solstice Fundraiser, we will be sharing reflections from our seniors. We asked our seniors what this winter holiday means to them and how the work of Yarrow has impacted their lives. 吳婆婆 Wu Popo is a widowed senior living in Chinatown. When asked why people should support Yarrow, Wu Popo shared her story of how she first connected with Yarrow for housing support. She stressed language barriers and fees charged by other organizations made it difficult for her to access essential services. Since 2015, we have been working with seniors like Wu Popo to ensure they have access to the necessary benefits and services to have a healthy and happy livelihood. Your donations, no matter the amount, directly impact seniors’ access to medical care, essential social services, housing, and safe spaces for cultural celebration and connectedness. Give a holiday gift to Yarrow and seniors like Wu Popo this Winter Solstice! 🌕👐🎁✨

Through the collaborative efforts between our outreach and Chinese Seniors Hub team members, we have created our first ever Yarrow senior newsletter! This monthly newsletter is intended for our Chinese senior members to stay up-to-date on community news and events while also staying connected with one another. Download and read the newsletter below!

In light of the flu season and ongoing rise in COVID-19 infections, we’re calling on our community to support our campaign, in partnership with Masks4EastVan to bring back the indoor mask mandate in BC! Show your support by writing a letter to our provincial leaders by Wed, 2 Nov 2022. We’ll also send a thank you card to those who request it. You can find the letter template and toolkit at bit.ly/masksbackbc. Regardless of the mandate, please continue to mask up this fall and winter to prevent the spread of COVID and the flu. Thank you for protecting our community!