Guided Imagery returns . . . .

We will be starting up our drop-in sessions of guided imagery again on Wed Oct 3rd at 5:30 pm. Come and join us for 30 minutes of relaxation. All welcome.

No excuses for going to work naked anymore.

Hi, folks

Great news from our friend, Stephen Flynn, at Family Services - after years of discussion about why there is no men's equivalent to the excellent program, Dress For Success, which provides free business outfits for women looking for work, there is now a new initiative called Working Gear which provides free business or work outfits for men looking to re-enter the workforce. You can check out their excellent website (http://www.workinggear.ca/), contact them by email (workinggear@gmail.com) if you'd like to make use of their services, or make a donation (of cash or new or slightly-used workwear) to assist their burgeoning inventory. In addition, they have been selected as finalists for a VanCity social enterprise grant (of $1000 which would go a long way toward start-up) and would appreciate your vote of support at http://www.changeeverything.ca/ .

Many thanks to Steve for all his efforts to get this very useful service up and running and to all of you for your support.

Keep your ties tied tight and your hard hats handy, all.

~B

Bits and bites

Howdy, folks.

Many thanks for your patience as we undergo our service provider swap - things should be back to normal soon. Here are a few tids and bits that we've found in the bowl of late thanks to current Compass recruits Jamie and Kathy.

1. The Free-Folk School is a Vancouver-Based learning initiative that emphasizes bringing local folks, local knowledge and local resources together for free-of-charge, hands-on learning experiences that focus particularly on skills to help reduce our negative ecological impact/footprint, increase our individual and community self-sufficiency, and build healthy community/social relations. We value and try to work towards non-commodified, non-institutional, non-credentializing, non-evaluated learning and yes-accessible, yes-joyous, yes-empowering, yes-collective learning (among other lofty goals)! Consuming less and relating more, might be one way to sum it up. If this sounds like you, and you are passionate about something you would like to SHARE with folks by offering a free/for donation only workshop, we are now looking for facilitators for the summer/fall season workshops. Please contact Andrew Rushmere at arushmere@hotmail.com or 604-708-8314 if interested. Thanks a bunch!

2. Green Drinks is a informal networking group that meets monthly to chat, debate, socialize, and connect on environemental and sustainability issues. Everyone is welcome to attend.
http://www.biothinking.com/greendrinks/index.php?country=Canada&city=Vancouver
WHEN: Every 3rd Wednesday of the month.
WHERE: Steamworks pub at 375 Water Street on the edge of Gastown near Waterfront Station. TIME:5:45pm-until?

3. Here's an interesting clip from Dr. Stuart Brown from the National Institute for Play (seriously! check it out at http://nifplay.org/vision.html).
http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/play/audiogallery/soundseen.shtml

Keep it free, green, and playful, all.

~B

The winds they are a'changin'

Ahoy, mateys!

(it's International Talk Like a Pirate Day, didn't you know!)

Due to some continuing and challenging issues with Zookoda (the program that mails out our blog postings to you), we're planning to switch to a new (and hopefully more reliable) service called FeedBlitz. In order to continue receiving Alumni updates, please observe these simple suggestions:

1. Add http://www.feedblitz.com/feedblitz.vcf to your address books or email whitelists to prevent your email identifying our updates as ...*gasp*... spam.
2. Keep your eyes peeled for a notification message advising that a change in delivery service has taken place and that FeedBlitz will now be delivering the Compass Alumni updates.
3. If you'd like to unsubscribe yourself from our service use the links we provided at the bottom of each email update, not your internet service provider's spam or abuse buttons.

That's it - keep your hooks crossed for a smooth changeover and peg-legs firmly planted on the poop deck.

R,

~B

Fair weather

Howdy, folks

Well it looks like summer's finally here, just in time for fall - hope you're enjoying the weather while you head back to work, classes, volunteer commitments, or whatever your chosen path happens to include.

Just wanted to give you a heads-up about Jobline's Career and Education Fair happening Wednesday, September 19th from 6-9 PM at the Hilton Hotel at Metrotown. This is a free event for jobseekers and will feature representatives from educational institutions (universities, colleges, career/resource services), health organizations, financial institutions, real estate companies, marketing and media outlets, and several other prominent fields. Also offered are complimentary speaker sessions on career exploration (if you haven't had enough of that already) during the evening by various HR professionals representing companies exhibiting at the fair.

If you'd like more information, feel free to check out the link below or phone 604-451-3395.(http://www.joblinecanada.com/CareerFairs.php)

Keep your hands inside the car and the Gravol handy, all.

~B