The Vancouver business community is making things happening – by staying in the same place.
And this Friday, they’ll come together at Save On Meats where they’ll be locked inside – voluntarily – from 6pm until 6am the next morning.
At this point, they’ll already have been fasting for 12 hours.
Why?
Because Being Hungry Sucks.
That’s the issue that social entrepreneur, restaurateur, and hip hop head, Mark Brand is on a mission to resolve. And he’s not sugarcoating the problem.
His organization, A Better Life Foundation, is truly in touch with the community of the Downtown Eastside – they see over 400 people on the regular through their meal program. They are in the heart of a community that faces poverty issues and calls the biggest drug market in Canada their home.
Not what you would expect when you think of Vancouver being named one the best places to live in the world and being known as a rich city, right?
Wanting to present something different with a group of people who actually care – not just through passive donation or a fancy gala dinner – A Better Life Foundation uses a street-level approach to deal with the issue head on.
Whiled locked in, those committed to the Being Hungry Sucks will hear from powerful speakers including Dr. John Izzo as well as stories told directly from those who’ve been helped by A Better Life Foundation.
The 50 participants will then break out into specifically arranged groups for problem-solving sessions. They can expect to be challenged by others they may not necessarily otherwise work with in their usual day-to-day routine.
Basically, Mark wants them to use their “big-ass brains” to create possible solutions for the complex problems that exist in the Downtown Eastside and then come up with achievable action plans to take effect after the event.
There are no CEOs or paid decision-maker roles in the organization – they want the money to go where it is really needed the most: To the people.
Need proof? 98 cents of each dollar goes to programming.
Some of the notable names recruited to get on board fundraising, fasting, and locked up for the night include:
Mo Jessa, President, Earls Restaurants
Vanessa Leigh, Editor-in-Chief, ION Magazine
Jesse and Drew Heifeitz, Owners, F As In Frank
Jody Vance, On-Air Host, Breakfast Television
Hannah Price, HR Manger, Disney/Industrial Light & Magic
Catherine Runnals, President, Brand Live
Gary Pooni, President, Brook Pooni & Associates
That’s just seven of the 50-deep crew.
You can add to the impact by donating and joining the conversation online, simply start following the hashtag #BeingHungrySucks and pay attention to all the good they’re doing.
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