7th Annual Christmas Toy Drive Pancake Breakfast Dec 4th at Paddlewheeler in support of New West Family Place-Details: Christmas for Kids 2013

The Parent’s Advisory Committee (PAC) of John Robson School is inviting everyone to join in the “Walk for Qayqayt Playground” that will be held on Saturday November 30, from 11am -2pm. The group will gather at 11am in front of the Royal City Center and starting at 11:15 am will walk along 6^th St and Royal Ave to the new Qayqayt School site (at Royal Avenue and Merivale St.) From there, the group will continue to the current John Robson School (located at Royal Avenue and 8th Street).

This community walk is an effort to create public awareness about the Robson PAC’s bid to win an Aviva Community Grant to help fund 2 small playground areas for the students of Qayqayt Elementary School and the surrounding community of Downtown New West where most residents have limited outdoor space. Unless the PAC is able to secure funding, the school (which will house 500 students) will open in September 2014 with no access to a playground.

With the support from the community who tirelessly voted online (at www.vote4robson.com) during the second qualifying round, the “Qayqayt Community Playground” idea (#ACF17525) has qualified to advance to the semifinals. The big hurdle is yet to come from December 2-11 when the Qayqayt Community Playground will have to compete in the semifinals against the 29 remaining entries from all over Canada under the Medium Budget Category. Only the top 10 ideas (those with the largest number of votes) will move to the finals.  The final winners will be chosen by a panel of judges, but all finalists will be assured of at least $5,000 worth of grant funding.

The John Robson PAC hopes to build playground spaces that will include both barrier free, sensory and adventure elements. However, they believe that this endeavour will not be possible without the full support of the entire community. They take comfort in knowing that when in need, there are people who they can depend on, who sincerely care, who take ownership of other people’s needs, and who are just willing to open doors much wider .

Help us build a playground, Register and Vote online at www.vote4robson.com from Dec 2 -11.