Share the Gold

engage with others

Deliberately engage in conversation with people from a world different to your own so as build understanding and respect (reaching out across social strata, race, nationality, language, religion, sexual orientation, etc)

wear gold

Wear Gold/Yellow (Toques, scarves, tops, ribbons, etc) as a collective call for all three levels of Government, Corporations and individuals to join in establishing a VANOC equivalent to end homelessness

donate

Consider contributing 5% of what you spend on Olympics-related activities to a fund for ending homelessness.

We want to share the gold from the Vancouver 2010 Olympics!

Share The Gold is a campaign designed to integrate and expedite ideas, resources and actions to leverage the creativity, energy and commitment currently directed at successfully responding to the challenge of the Olympics so that we can address the Olympian challenges of alienation, addiction, poverty and homelessness.

the concept

Share the Gold wants to highlight that whether we support or oppose the 2010 Olympics, the efforts of VANOC prove that we have the ability and the resources to overcome massive obstacles and achieve significant outcomes. The Share the Gold initiative seeks to translate the momentum and achievements of the Olympics into tangible and comprehensive actions that visibly address local needs.

In particular it is a call to leverage the creativity, energy and commitment currently directed at successfully responding to the challenge of the Olympics to addressing the Olympian challenges of alienation, addiction, poverty and homelessness.

“This is not about simply throwing more money at doing ‘more of the same’, but is about ensuring a comprehensive and integrated effort to address homelessness in its relation to poverty, addiction, mental illness and other socio-economic and political factors”. He adds, “It is about recognizing this need as a priority and providing a vehicle for addressing it effectively and urgently – and it’s about recognizing that a body similar to one like VANOC, empowered by the collective will of all levels of Government and actively supported by Corporate interests, (but also inclusive of the homeless community and its representatives) is the best vehicle to achieve that”. Rev. Ric Matthews

Overview:

The 2010 Olympics take place in Vancouver – where up to 300 homeless people sleep in a Church at First United. On the opposite side of the world in South Africa, the 2010 Soccer World Cup will be decided in Johannesburg – where 2000 Zimbabwean refugees sleep in Central Methodist Church. In both cases the world of those in the churches is far different from the world of the athletes in each city. Our challenge is to connect those worlds if we wish to be fully human – and if we wish to achieve the Olympic and Soccer World Cup objectives of bringing the world together. In Vancouver, the Olympics show us what we can achieve. We have raised billions of dollars, focused political will across 3 levels of Government and overcome massive obstacles. Some of us enthusiastically support the Olympics. Some of us intensely oppose it. But regardless of our perspective on this, we will need to move beyond the 2010 Olympics to address the Olympian challenge of homelessness. We will need to “Share the Gold” so that we can build off the achievements of the Olympics and lessons learned ,so that we can create a new VANOC equivalent to focus political will and find the needed funding, and so that we can ultimately refocus the Olympic clock to count down the end to homelessness. If you believe we can and should “share the gold”, we invite you to wear gold (yellow). Together we can create a sea of gold that will move us from responsive compassion to proactive commitment in addressing the real challenges of our time. We respond with amazing generosity to events like those in Haiti. Let’s also respond (and be more proactive) in addressing the need on our doorsteps and in our own city. We can do this. We can end homelessness. The 2010 Olympics tells us we can make things happen when we want to. Please wear gold and tell the world and tell our leaders, that we want to. Together we can make this happen!

The 2010 Olympics take place in Vancouver – where up to 300 homeless people sleep in a Church at First United. On the opposite side of the world in South Africa, the 2010 Soccer World Cup will be decided in Johannesburg – where 2000 Zimbabwean refugees sleep in Central Methodist Church. In both cases the world of those in the churches is far different from the world of the athletes in each city. Our challenge is to connect those worlds if we wish to be fully human – and if we wish to achieve… (read more)

Mission:

To build momentum for addressing homelessness (in its relation to poverty, emotional trauma, addiction, and mental health) with as much commitment as we have displayed in hosting the 2010 Olympics – and in hosting the Soccer World Cup in South Africa

contact us

phone 604.681.8365 (local 117)