Y-Pink?

learn more about YWiB during an evening of sweet treats and fun! come out with a friend and meet other fabulous ladies, find out about our upcoming events & programs, get excited about beyond p!nk and have the chance to win a free membership to YWiB!  hosted at the stylish noir lash lounge in yaletown, with frozen yogurt treats provided by qoola, it's sure to be a fun night!

date | monday, oct. 19th time | five thirty to eight pm venue | noir lash lounge tickets | complimentary!!! rsvp | y-pink.eventbrite.com [please do this to ensure your spot, capacity is limited to 50 people!]

look forward to seeing you all there!

In the mind of...nicky

It is September, again! For as far as I can remember, I always mentally marked the beginning of my years with the month of September. The start of the new school year always stirs up a greater amount of emotion for me than New Years does. I guess it stems from the sadness that the end of summer days is near and the unbearable pain of having to wake up in time to catch the school bus. However, these feelings are always counteracted by the joy of back to school shopping, new lunch boxes and a few fun pack days before September.

Here is an itinerary that I would use with my friends to enjoy a great last summer day in Vancouver.

10:00 AM – 11:30 AM: Brunch on Granville Street 12:00 AM – 14:00 PM: Stroll through Stanley Park 14:30 PM – 17:00 PM: Shopping on Robson Street and coffee 17:30 PM – 19:00 PM: Granville Island, buy groceries and enjoy a nice picnic outside by the water 20:00 PM – 22:00 PM: Drinks and tapas in Gas Town 22:30 PM – 02:00 AM: Dance, Dance, Dance! 02:00 AM – 02:30 AM: After dancing pizza

Whenever I travel to a new city, I love to ask locals what is the perfect itinerary they would plan for a friend that is visiting their city. The locals would know the best places to visit and avoid all the touristy areas. I would love it if someone took this idea and create a website! People can post up their perfect itinerary for a day in their city and travelers can follow an itinerary they find the most intriguing.

YWiB is planning a lot of exciting new programs this coming year! Stay tuned and keep checking the website for more information!

Enjoy the rest of summer!

Nicky

in the mind of...demi

I think everyone has a love hate relationship with their hometown.  In a sense, it's like family.  Someone you know so well that you know everything that is good about it, but all the annoying little points as well.  Vancouver is not quite my hometown though, so I can only say I like it. For me, I was brought up in Richmond, a place which I have a true love-hate relationship with.  So allow me to share with you "my perfect day in Richmond". The perfect day will start with a genuinely hot shower, normally, "hot" meant however hot the water possibly could be after the 4 other women in my house have taken their turns with it.  The weather will be surprisingly sunny but perfectly breezy, a 30/365 chance of that happening in Vancouver, given the incessant rain.

My baby (car), will be waiting for me in the garage and I'll pull him out of the driveway (that's right! We have driveways and not alleys!) making sure I don't kill any of my grandma's plants. A short drive will take me right by the riverside, perfect place to park and read.  An hour of reading will probably make my stomach start growling, so I'll venture my way to Richmond's "city centre".  When I say venture, I really mean it.  Don't think for one second that all those bad Asian driver jokes are mean and exaggerated.

After narrowly escaping death, or at least getting crashed into two or three times, I will have arrived at one of many Chinese malls and found something suitably cheap and delicious in the food court to be my lunch.

By now my friends will probably be off work or school or whatever they're doing, and we'll take a hike around one of many trails in Richmond. Of course, we'll be fully aware of our severe hay fever but actively ignoring the fact until we really cannot sneeze one more time without feeling the whiplash.

Dinner will be had at the most representative type of cuisine for Richmonders - the bubbletea place. I solemnly swear, that besides Taiwan, there is no place on earth with better bbt than good ol' Richmond.

With considerably little nightlife to choose from, we're almost bound to end up either at someone's house watching TV, or at the best movie theatre in the world - Silvercity.  The place will likely not be packed and people from 6 rows down can probably hear us laugh at some cheesy line at the latest chickflick that definitely wasn't worth the money.

By the end of the movie, we'll all be tired out and will each head back to our respective houses that may or may not be next to a suspiciously neighbour-less house.

Maybe it all sounds a little boring, but every time I set out for a "perfect day", something different always happens.  Maybe I'll have a random conversation with a stranger, maybe a seagull will try to take my pizza. When it comes down to it though, perfection is not in how little conditions vary from its most desired state; but rather, the unpredictable events which pleasantly surprises that establishes a day as perfect.

Cheers, -D

in the mind of...marica

This week’s topic prompts us to look at our beautiful city and describe a wonderful day in Vancouver. It's a challenge to choose just one! My favourite days this summer were actually spent outside the city at Garibaldi Lake, just outside of Squamish. Just a two hour drive from the city the trip can be done in a day or over a weekend. The 10km hike from the parking lot to the lake is steep and challenging, but rewarding when you arrive at the amazing glacial lake. The light aqua color is breathtaking with the glacier in the background – an incredible view that makes me thankful everyday that I live here.

From the lake there are two options for additional hiking – the Black Tusk, or Panorama Ridge.

The Black Tusk is an extinct volcano with the chimney visible – hence the name Black Tusk. It’s another 7km or so to the look-out point – but you shouldn’t stop there. From the look-out you can head to the ridge. From there, those with a sense of adventure can scramble up the loose volcanic rock so that they are just below the chimney. The vertical climb up the chimney can be intimidating, but the rush of climbing the rock (with or without gear) is an incredible feeling, and the reward at the top is indescribable. The view from the top and the feeling of accomplishment is magnificent.

(the above photos are of the climb up the Tusk Chimney (my friend Teresa) and from the summit)

Panorama Ridge is less steep of a climb, but just as rewarding. The hike is much more scenic and the flora and fauna on the hike up is beautiful. The colors of the flowers and meadows are vibrant – you can’t help but stop to enjoy the view. Once at the top, the view is incredible – even more so than from the top of the Tusk. The view of Garibaldi Lake is, well, now I’m running out of adjectives to describe it.

It’s hard to describe the feeling from such an experience. I was fortunate enough to have first tackled the hike in high school and had the privilege of returning twice this summer.

I think that it’s easy to get caught up in life and the city. And our city is amazing, no doubt about that. But there is so much to explore outside the city as well. We are so fortunate to live where we do that I wish for everyone to explore the exquisite, natural beauty outside of the city. The experience is indescribable. You learn so much about yourself when you take time to step away from the rush and stresses of life. You learn to push your boundaries in a different and unfamiliar environment – not only your physical boundaries, but your emotional ones as well.

Take an adventure. Explore somewhere or something you’ve never done before and see what you learn about yourself when it’s just you and a mountain, or you and a beautiful lake.

Please contribute any other amazing spots that you know of – hikes, lakes, and adventures you’ve been on. I’d love to hear about them as I’m always looking for something new to explore.

Chat again next week!

marica

in the mind of...stephanie

YWiB opened up my eyes to the world.   Provided the opportunity to meet inspiring female leaders in the community.  Introduced the concept of organic mentorships.  Welcomed new perspectives and fresh ideas.  Showed the power of investing in women. Embraced the ambitious, independent, globally and socially conscious woman. Made networking fun and exciting.  Taught the business skills essential in developing new initiatives. After transferring from the University of Western Ontario in my third year following a small set-back in my life, YWiB was just in its beginning stages with the planning of the first-ever Beyond Pink conference.  Fast-track one year and a coffee chat later and I was sitting with a group of six talented ladies at a YWiB@UBC meeting heading up logistics to plan the upcoming YWiB non-profit organization panel discussion.  At this point, I only knew vaguely what YWiB was about especially from a background in science.  Now, almost 9 months later, I have learned that YWiB is what you make it to be; how a few like-minded, ambitious women can inspire and empower women and how beneficial a network like this is especially for women just entering the first few years of their career.

On a personal level, YWiB caught me in a moment when I wanted to change the way I lived my life.   I wanted to become more engaged in my community, wanted a supportive group that would give me the confidence to pursue the things I was passionate about, I wanted to learn more about business, and wanted to be able to contribute to something I genuinely believed in.  YWiB helped me achieve all of that.  The non-profit organization panel discussion in January introduced me to interesting women who came from similar backgrounds as me.  At the Invest In Women event I learned the importance of connecting women in the fight to end global poverty through discussions with Jacki Zehner, Christine Grumm, and Jensine Larsen.  These two events led me to found and direct an international health conference at UBC where students learned about the major challenges and opportunities in international health, from the role of maternal and infant health in alleviating poverty to ethical implications of international service.

YWiB is organically teaching women to become leaders in society.  She is pairing women with diverse interests and a high level of ambition and providing new avenues for innovation.  She is showing how important it is to have a committed group of individual – specialists in different fields – to tackle the bigger things in life like poverty, health, and education.

I have been away for most of the summer working and traveling in SE Asia, but am amazed at how much time and effort the team has put forth to have the organization at where it is today.  We are in the works of organizing unique events like Beyond Pink, a business series for non-business students, and an “unconference” conference.  We are providing opportunities for women to get involved in the community under our philanthropic wing.  We are creating new ways for women to network.  We are being bold when people thought we were crazy.

YWiB has come a long way and I feel so honoured to be a part of it.  I hope your time with us will inspire you to begin building your own story...

Cheers,

Stephanie

in the mind of... paulina

YWiB Resource- Internship Program One of YWiB’s pillars that we base our events and ideas on is providing resources. Now, I have to admit, that’s a pretty broad statement. Let me share with you the newest resource we are offering, and why I’m so excited about it: the YWiB Internship Program. We’re offering up some incredible resources (our network + ourselves!) and asking you to join is on the ride.

What is an internship? “Any official or formal program to provide practical experience for beginners in an occupation or profession.”

The YWiB internship is a new, and yes, official program, that we are launching for our team moving forward. We believe that the practical experience that you get, and the amount of hard work you will put into your position, warrants the title of an intern. The occupation? Well, that one's easy. We're all in the profession of defining success and working towards getting the skills to achieve it- that's what YWiB promises to provide you with in return for your dedication and continuous growth with us.

The internships are unpaid, however the tangible benefits you will gain are: YWiB membership for the duration of your internship, technical advice for the area you will be working on, access to YWiB network, exposure to a non-profit startup organizational structure, and a heck of a lot of fun. At the end of your internship, you will also receive a letter of endorsement from our Board of Advisors and Directors- talk about having great people behind your back! We're essentially asking you for knowledge philanthropy: the donation of one's knowledge, skill and experience to move an organization closer to its mission.

Not your typical volunteer position, eh? If you like to be a rockstar at work and think gold stars are the best reward you could get- join our team! We’d be honored to have you on board and are stoked to make some magic happen together. Check this out for more info.

Cheers,

P

In the mind of ... jen sung

One of YWiB’s fundamental pillars is that of networking. There are two key components to this: Firstly, “pillars” according to YWiB refer to the essential bases of information and skills that we provide to our members. Our statement is “… to connect young women with the knowledge and support to achieve success on their own terms and to become engaged members of the community”. The pillars of YWiB are the encompassing activities our organization carries out to further this statement.

Secondly, YWiB firmly believes in organic networking (similar to our stance on organic mentorship) - encouraging people to meet and get to know one another on their own terms. Our organization understands the intimidating and often misleading connotations of the word “networking”. At the same time, we appreciate the substantial value that underlies the spirit of this word and seek to develop this indispensable skill within our members – in a unique way. We do this by holding events that create the right environment for our members to positively interact with each other and share each others’ stories, the true goal of networking. The small aspects of our events that we tailor to our members are something we affectionately refer to as the “YWiB factor” and truly make a significant difference.

We cordially invite you to attend our future events and experience this “YWiB factor” for yourself.

Take care, Jen Sung