Earlier this year, 100 BCLC volunteers had the pleasure of welcoming more than 1,000 individuals from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside into Rogers Arena to enjoy a nourishing meal. Together, along with our partners at Canucks Sports & Entertainment (CSE), we hosted Community Connect: Nourish the Neighbourhood, an annual volunteer event co-created by BCLC and CSE that helps bring together our community, connect individuals to important local resources and build connections through good food and shared conversation.
It is also a tangible expression of BCLC’s deeper social purpose—to generate win-wins for the greater good—and a fantastic example of how an organization can have a broader social impact by designing opportunities where human connection, community volunteerism and workplace culture intersect.
As BCLC’s Chief People Officer, I believe that when organizations intentionally create connection—both internally and externally—everyone wins.
Why volunteerism matters to BCLC and its people
When organizations invest in volunteer opportunities, it is both a cultural investment and a human one.
Volunteerism is not just an extracurricular activity, it is how BCLC nurtures belonging and engagement across our organization. We have been able to intentionally offer our employees opportunities to have shared experiences with their colleagues that build meaningful bonds. These opportunities help support connections beyond job roles and organizational hierarchies.
They are also a great reason to bring our hybrid workforce together. Since 2021, BCLC has shifted to a hybrid environment to offer more flexibility to our employees. Volunteer events like Community Connect: Nourish the Neighbourhood provide moments that help strengthen relationships in ways that virtual interactions can’t.
From internal wellbeing to external impact
Human connection shapes how we show up—not just for our work, but for one another and for our communities. If we know that there is a strong correlation between connection an our health, it is important for employers to provide these kinds of opportunities for their employees when possible. This includes investing in events and programs where employees can feel they have made a meaningful contribution to their community and connect authentically with colleagues and friends.
This helps support a healthier internal work culture, which in turn enables organizations, like BCLC, to show up more intentionally and effectively in communities—a win-win!
A day worth celebrating
Community Connect: Nourish the Neighbourhood is a volunteer event worth celebrating. We saw community members in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside experience care, nourishment and belonging, while our employee volunteers experienced connection with attendees and each other. It is days like this that remind us that connection isn’t just something we value—it is something we can, and will, continue to actively create.
