While I am excited to take on a new challenge and new experience at another organization, I will miss the Kids Up Front family tremendously! It has been a great honour to work with the amazing partner agencies, donors, and national team that make what we do possible. I feel immense privilege to have been a part of this incredible team for almost 5 years and have the opportunity to be part of such a big network of positive and compassionate people trying to make the world a better place. 

I am proud to leave Kids Up Front Vancouver in the kind and capable hands of Kelsie and Nicole who can be reached at vancouver@kidsupfront.com.

I wish all of you the very best. Keep up the amazing work! 

Sincerely,

Larissa Coquelle

What is “More Than a Movie”? 

More Than a Movie is our signature community-based event in partnership with PavCo and BC Place. Families and individuals purchase tickets for the unique experience to see a movie on the big screen at BC Place, eat popcorn and hotdogs, jump in a bouncy castle, and tons of other on-field activities hosted by the amazing sports teams from our city.

Every single ticket purchased includes access to all activities and provides admission to a child or youth from equity seeking groups to attend for free! Everyone deserves the chance to be a part of the crowd and participate in the same activities, no matter what barriers they may be facing. We believe in equality – and our signature event makes it a reality!

Community Support

This event is supported by the community through ticket purchases, sponsorships, as well as social sharing!

Will you be joining us next year? Comment below to let us know what activities you’d like to see or make a movie request!

As we all know, COVID-19 has drastically changed the lives of children across all regions of Canada. School closures, disrupted routines and the loss of recreational opportunities have, and continue to, affect the development, both physically and mentally, of young people. In an effort to support children across our country, Kids Up Front created the Kids At Home program, an extension of support by providing access to meaningful experiences at home.

A very important part of our Kids At Home Program is what we call “Our Virtual Neighbourhood”, presented by TD. This program connects children and youth through virtual events that share positive messaging, create new interests and promote inclusion, while educating and inspiring growth around important topics and connections to community.

Each chapter across Canada put together a virtual event surrounding a day of significance. In Vancouver, we did ours on June 28th for International Pride Day! We were lucky to have two outstanding guest speakers join us live with inspiring and insightful topics!

Check out the video below of the event!

Special thank you to Denis Vachon and Coach Carey for joining us and making our International Pride day a success!

Although we are far from being through the COVID-19 pandemic, events are starting to open again. This provides the much-needed connection to community that we’ve been missing for so long!

With the return to live events, we wanted to address a few potential questions that you may have.

Q: What is Kids Up Front doing to ensure the safety of those who attend?
Restrictions and requirements to attend events are ultimately up to the venue, the province, and the recipients. It is up to the recipients to decide if the safety measures in place are something that they are comfortable with, although we strongly recommend following provincial safety measures.

Q: Will your at home programming continue now that events are coming back?
Absolutely! These programs and experiences are not a band-aid reaction to the pandemic, but rather a sustainable and long term solution to a pre-existing problem: how to bring experiences to kids who may not be able to attend live events or feel comfortable doing so. We plan to keep these new initiatives for as long as they are desired by our kids and families.

Q: Isn’t Kids Up Front worried about a 4th wave shutting everything down again?
Yes! We are aware that there is a possibility of a 4th wave causing events to once more be shut down. While we acknowledge and adhere to all safety protocols and public recommendations, we are absolutely taking advantage of the opportunity to get kids to live events to laugh and have a much needed break from current circumstances if they feel comfortable doing so.

Our priorities are with the health and safety of our community while providing a diverse range of experiences to be safely enjoyed.

Have any additional questions, concerns, or comments? Send us an email at vancouver@kidsupfront.com!

Sincerely,

The Team at Kids Up Front Vancouver