Happy City St. John’s is hosting its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday, October 21 from 7:00-8:30pm on Zoom. Join us to celebrate 10 years of Happy City St. John’s and to elect our 2020-2021 Board of Directors! During the AGM, we’ll be reporting back on a year of activities, sharing highlights from the past 10 years, electing six (6) new board members, and engaging our members (that’s you!) on where we should focus our efforts in the next 12 months and beyond.
Happy City is hiring three Canada Summer Job positions to support the organization’s online summer events, strategic planning, communications, marketing, and research.
Please note that these positions are funded by Service Canada and candidates must be:
between 15 and 30 years of age (inclusive) at the start of employment
a Canadian Citizen, permanent resident, or person on whom refugee protection has been conferred under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, and
legally entitled to work according to the relevant provincial / territorial legislation and regulations.
International students are not eligible. Recent immigrants are eligible if they are Canadian Citizens or permanent residents.
Happy City St. John’s is committed to fulfilling its mission while embracing equity and diversity. We would be particularly interested in applications from youth who are members of designated groups including women, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities, racialized persons/visible minorities, and persons of minority sexual orientation or gender identity (LGBTQIA2S+).
Jane’s Walksis a series of free, citizen-led neighbourhood tours that help people discover unseen, under-celebrated, and unique stories about their community. Due to COVID-19 and our attempt to flatten the curve through social distancing, Happy City St. John’s will be hosting the 2020 walks online this year. All 2020 Jane’s Walks for Newfoundland and Labrador can be enjoyed from home by visiting our website at www.happycity.ca or our Facebook Event and will be offered in video, audio, interactive webinar, and visual formats.
Enter our local prize draw!
To enter, post a photo of your participation in one (or all!) of our four activities below, tag @HappyCitySJ and use #JanesWalkYYT
Activity 1: I Spy Photo Scavenger Hunt Organized by Happy City St. John’s, this photo scavenger hunt is ongoing throughout the month of May! Find all the items on the list, and be entered to win a local prize! See our post in this facebook event page to view a description of the scavenger hunt.
Activity 2: Homemade Card Organized by Happy City St. John’s for Mother’s Day weekend! What better time to create a homemade card for mom, a grandparent, or anyone in your life who could use a pick-me-up? Follow the directions to create a heart-shaped card of your own; it can be used as a basket to store more little goodies. Share a picture of your card with #JanesWalkYYT and tag @HappyCitySJ to be entered in our Jane’s Walk prize draw!
Activity 3: Jane’s Fort This May 24th long weekend is looking different than usual, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still enjoy a little camp-out in the living room! Build your best fort or campsite and share a picture online with #JanesWalkYYT and tag @HappyCitySJ to be entered in our Jane’s Walk prize draw. Winner to be announced at the end of May! Have fun!
Activity 4: Draw Your Neighbourhood This week we would like to see your neighbourhood through your eyes. Draw your favourite space within your community, and get creative – use whatever artistic medium you like! Take a photo and share it online with #JanesWalkYYT and tag @HappyCitySJ to be entered in our Jane’s Walk prize draw. Winner to be announced at the end of May!
Jane’s Walks 2020 Schedule
Please note! We will continue to update this list as release dates and walk information becomes available. Please check back here or follow along for updates through our Facebook event!
From slum to urban core: The evolution of our downtown Walk lead: Keith Collier Format: Interactive Google Map Release date: TBA
Porches of St. John’s Walk lead: Hope Jamieson Format: Audio/video Release date: TBA
Prescott Street Walk lead: Bob Hallett Format: PDF Release date: TBA
Walk through Young Studios in Joe Batts Arm Walk lead: Adam Young Release date: TBA
Become a Walk Lead!
We are looking for people to share a story from their past or show a hidden talent in the arts, give a guided audio tour through their favourite neighbourhoods, or share their knowledge on the history of a personal treasure. This year we want to not only hear about the beautiful place we all call home, but learn about the people that live in it.
Now more than ever, we need to feel connected to one another and Jane’s Walks has given the perfect opportunity. Together we can explore our city and share our stories through social distancing while bringing a little peace and distraction into the homes of neighbours, family and friends.
Want to lead a Jane’s Walk? Check out our Guide for Walk Leads, and email happcitysj@gmail.com to confirm your topic!
FULL DETAILS OF HAPPY CITY ST. JOHN’S NEIGHBOURHOOD SUMMIT AND KEYNOTE ADDRESS RELEASED
St. John’s, NL, February 17, 2020: Happy City St. John’s, in support of neighbourhood organizing, is holding a public Neighbourhood Summit, Friday, February 21 (7:00pm-8:30pm) and Saturday, February 22 (9:30am-3:00pm). We are pleased to release the final schedule of events.
Free Public Presentation: Friday, February 21, 7:00pm-8:30pm, Alt Hotel, 77 Water Street
Kicking off the Summit will be Halifax’s Lindell Smith, who, in 2016, became that city’s first black municipal councillor in 16 years. Councillor Smith started “The One North End Project”, an initiative to build a North End of Halifax that better prioritizes the needs of the region’s diverse populations. Councillor Smith will deliver the Summit’s opening address on the topic of “How can a community be truly welcoming? The role of government & community in supporting newcomers”.
Councillor Smith noted that “In both Halifax and St. John’s, we need to make sure that the government is doing what it can to support the newcomer residents. This comes with new policies, community engagement, programs, and more. This also means working with established neighbourhoods and residents to encourage collaboration and positive relationships”. Members of the public can register free of charge at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/how-can-a-community-be-truly-welcoming-a-talk-with-cclr-lindell-smith-tickets-92801117641
Neighbourhood Summit Sessions: Saturday, February 22, 9:30am to 3:00pm,NLHHN, 77 Charter Avenue (Pleasantville).
Sessions include “Welcoming and Including Newcomers Panel”, “Planning a Neighbourhood Event”, and “Diverse Perspectives on Neighbourhood Challenges”. Please see below for the full schedule of the day.
A networking lunch will provide an opportunity for participants to meet each other and tour the Neighbourhood Fair, a collection of static and interactive displays. Lunch includes soup, sandwiches and desserts, with vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options available. Catering is provided by the Network Cafe, a social enterprise run by the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing and Homelessness Network.
Jen Crowe, Chair of Happy City St. John’s shares “Happy City St. John’s has spent the past year running consultations to understand the role that neighbourhoods play in welcoming newcomers to our city. This initiative, supported by the Fulbright Foundation, has allowed us to understand some of the barriers that newcomers face”. “This Summit”, she added, “enables community builders across the city to learn and share best practices on how to create inclusive neighbourhoods, and organize around building stronger, more welcoming neighbourhoods.”
For more information or to schedule interviews, contact:
HAPPY CITY ST. JOHN’S AND HERITAGE NL LAUNCH PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS FOR PROPOSED PARISH LANE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT
St. John’s, NL, December 23, 2019: Happy City St. John’s and Heritage NL are collaborating on a community engagement process to generate feedback on the proposed Parish Lane residential development by soliciting opinions from the residents of St. John’s.
The engagement process will comprise three
parts: 1) An online survey
to which all interested residents of the City are asked to respond; 2) A focus
group session with key stakeholders to explore various options for
strengthening the proposal and; 3) A design charette in which participants will
examine the proposal. The goal is to have this process wrapped up by the end of
January 2020.
