The zodiac for 2024 is the Dragon, a symbol of strength, health and good fortune in Chinese culture.
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Mastering Money: A Family Budgeting Workshop
Cameray Child & Family Services and Family Services of Greater Vancouver are partnering to present the Mastering Money: A Family Budgeting Workshop. This FREE workshop will be over Zoom and is meant for anyone who wants to learn to take control of their money with budgeting and financial goal setting. Topics will include setting short, medium and long term goals and different strategies to rely on. Email pspgroupsignup@cameray.ca or call 604-436-9449.
WHEN: Tuesday February 13th, 10 – 11:30am
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Lion Dance Celebration
Collingwood Business Improvement Association is presenting a Lion Dance celebration to celebrate the Lunar New Year! Everyone is invited to join the parade and celebrate the Year of the Dragon.
WHEN: Saturday, February 17th, 11:30am – 1:30pm
WHERE: Boundary to Rupert on Kingsway, Joyce Street to the Skytrain Station
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2024 TD1 and TD1BC Forms
If there are any changes to your income circumstances, please ensure to fill out the following forms for 2023 and provide them to Accounting once complete.
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Real Talk Women’s Zoom Hangout
Real Talk is inviting adult women (19+) to join on Zoom to chat about the topics of relationships, dating, love, and sex with a Certified Sexual Health Educator. This is a FREE event. You can contact john@real-talk.org with any questions or concerns.
WHEN: Friday, February 23rd, 10am – 12pm
Click here for the zoom link and more information
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Expressive Arts Therapy Workshop Series
Greta’s Heart Expressive Art Therapy, in collaboration with posAbilites, is presenting a FREE 4-week arts therapy workshop, tailored towards parents and caregivers of dependents with disabilities. This workshop series is intended to harness the transformative power of expressive arts in providing self-expression, exploration and rejuvenation. Light refreshments will be provide! Registration is required. Please contact Greta at expressiveheartstherapy@gmail.com.
WHEN: Saturday Mornings 10am – 12pm, February 10th, 17th, 24th, March 2nd
WHERE: Aegis Community Inclusion Program, 100 – 321 6th Street, New Westminster
Click here to register and for more information
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SPEC Vancouver Repair Cafes
SPEC (Society Promoting Environmental Conservation), in partnership with the City of Vancouver, will be running FREE repair cafes across the city of Vancouver. Anyone is able to book a free repair appointment, but spots are limited.
The next repair café will be at Hastings Community Centre (3096 E Hastings St) on Saturday February 17th from 9:30am – 1:30pm.
Click here to book an appointment for this event
Click here to see the current schedule and locations for SPEC repair cafes
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CNH Community Lunch Menu for February
Tuesday, Feb. 13: Tomato soup, chicken salad sandwich/veggie option, salad, strawberry jello
Thursday, Feb. 15: Sweet and sour chicken/chow mein, veggie spring roll, tapioca pudding
Tuesday, Feb. 20: Cream of cauliflower soup, hamburger/veggie burger, salad, banana bread
Thursday, Feb. 22: Beef stroganoff with noodles/veggie option, salad, earl grey cup cake
Tuesday, Feb. 27: Borscht soup, spinach/chicken pie, salad, apple cake
Thursday, Feb. 29: Meat/veggie lasagna, salad/garlic bread, chocolate chip cookies
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COMING SOON: Diabetes Coaching with Lumino Health Pharmacy
Lumino Health Pharmacy offers pharmacy services, provided by Pillway. In January 2024, they will begin offering diabetes coaching from a pharmacist to all plan members, free of charge!
Diabetes is a fast-growing chronic disease, and the cost of drugs to treat it is on the rise. Plan members with diabetes often experience other chronic diseases at the same time. Coaching with Lumino Health Pharmacy aims to help plan members follow their treatment and improve health outcomes.
About Lumino Health Pharmacy
Launched in July, Lumino Health Pharmacy is an optional service. There’s free delivery within Canada to help manage medication routines with confidence.
About the diabetes coaching program
To start a coaching session, plan members sign in to the Lumino Health Pharmacy mobile app or website.
- Coaching will focus on lifestyle, diet, nutrition, mental health, health literacy and medication management.
- On-going coaching is also available if needed.
- The pharmacist can also coordinate with other health-care providers (if requested by the plan member). This includes general practitioners, specialists, and dietitians to best support plan members.
SunLife will launch diabetes coaching to plan members in January 2024. They send emails directly to targeted plan members who are actively claiming for diabetes-related medication(s). These emails will aim to raise awareness about the service and encourage them to use it. Standard exclusions will apply for plan member communications.
When plan members sign in to the my Sun Life mobile app or mysunlife.ca, they’ll receive messages about the program.
More details will follow about the coaching program in January, along with a preview of the plan member emails.
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CLBC Reminder to get your flu and COVID-19 shots
Community Living BC encourages everyone who has yet to receive their COVID and flu shots this season, to kindly do so as soon as possible, ideally before the holiday season. COVID-19 remains a risk to the population (especially for those who are unvaccinated) and influenza cases are rising.
Priority to receive the COVID-19 vaccination is given to all individuals supported by CLBC. Invitations for this season’s vaccinations have been sent through email or text to everyone who has registered for a COVID vaccination in the past. It is possible to book both vaccinations in the same appointment! These vaccinations are free and available at pharmacies, health care authority clinics, and some primary care provider’s offices.
You can book your appointment through the Get Vaccinated System.
If you need help booking your appointment, you can call 1-833-838-2323. This number is open 7 days a week from 7am – 7pm and 9am – 5pm on statutory holidays.
Click here for BC’s fall respiratory illness immunization campaign
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Plan Institute Webinars
The Plan Institute has FREE upcoming regular webinars on the topics of the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) and Wills, Trusts and Estates Planning.
RDSP
The Registered Disability Savings Plan is a Canada-wide registered matched savings plan for those with disabilities to better financially plan for their futures. The Level 1 webinar is meant for those who want to learn about what the RDSP is, who qualifies, and how to apply. The Level 2 webinar is for those who already have a RDSP, or have already taken Level 1.
Next Level 1 Webinar: Tuesday February 13th, 10 – 11:15am
Next Level 2 Webinar: Thursday February 22nd, 10 -11:45am
Click here to register and for more information
Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning (BC Only)
This webinar is meant for those who want to become better informed on the process of wills, trusts and estate planning to better secure the future of your relative or loved one with a disability. There is a limit of 60 participants so early registration is encouraged!
Next Webinar: Thursday February 15th, 10 – 11:15am
Click here to register and for more information
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For those receiving benefits with Spectrum, we offer our EAP (Employee Assistance Program) to provide 24/7 confidential support to our employees. If you are not currently receiving group benefits but are in need of support, please reach out to your supervisor or Human Resources at hr@spectrumsociety.org so we can provide you with accessible options of support. For immediate access to set up assistance, you can click here: Lumino VC (dialogue.co) OR download the app directly onto your smart device by going to the App Store and searching Lumino Health Virtual Care. The graphic is as follows and you will need your benefit group number and Access ID to set it up:
When accessing EAP via the app is not possible:
· Plan members can get access to immediate help through their EAP by calling 1-844-342-3327. A Member Service Specialist will assess your needs and coordinate care with the appropriate resources.
Plan members are also able to access the EAP through the app or online.
If you or your dependents are having trouble using the app or website and need help accessing your account, they can:
- contact Dialogue by emailing sunlife-support@dialogue.co Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.
- visit help.dialogue.co and use the chat feature for assistance, for after hours and weekend support.
For questions regarding benefits plan information, you can
- contact hr@spectrumsociety.org
*Applies to all Lumino Health Virtual Care products – Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Primary Care, Stress Management & Well-Being
Spectrum recognizes that our teams do an incredible job of supporting people in our services. The work that each of you do is valuable and at times, difficult. Please do honor what your body/mind may be communicating. If you feel increased stress or grief, please pay attention to those signals and reach out to the EAP or us for resources of support.
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What is happening in Vancouver in February?
Click on the link below to see what’s happening:
https://www.destinationvancouver.com/events/calendar-of-events/vancouver-events-in-february/
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Is there anyone you know that is looking for meaningful work?
If you have a friend, family member or meet someone in the community that is interested in joining the team and you refer them to Spectrum, you could be eligible for a referral bonus!
If the person referred is hired and maintains at least 6 months of consistent employment with Spectrum, we will award a $250 Referral Bonus.
*for more information on the program, please email hr@spectrumsociety.org
We thank you for bringing us quality applicants/employees!