LaFF Lines
LaFF Community Association Newsletter
Edition 1 | Winter 2020
Holiday celebrated together, apart
Sandra Hendricks, LaFF facilitator/volunteer coordinator, and Diane ‘Mama’ Morrison, LaFF volunteer, show off a Holiday Cheer Kit.
It’s hard to imagine the Christmas season in Ladysmith without LaFF’s annual Breakfast With Santa FUNdraiser, which has been a tradition for more than 15 years, but Ladysmith Family and Friends is planning a new event in the breakfast’s forced absence due to Covid-19.
The LaFF elves are hard at work creating a memory-making 12 Days of Holiday Cheer FUNdraiser for families to participate in safely and celebrate together as a community, as well as to mark the organization’s 25th anniversary year.
With help from sponsors and volunteers, LaFF plans to create 250 crates filled with 12 days of fun family activities.
“We can’t come together to start the holiday season the way we normally would, but with 12 Days of Holiday Cheer, everyone will be doing the same things together, but in the safety of their own bubbles,” says Sandra Hendricks, LaFF volunteer coordinator/facilitator.
“Everything is so different this year, but this is a way for the community to support families and for families to still have a holiday-themed experience they can remember and share.”
Full and partial sponsors, as well as donations, are being sought to support each of the 12 Days of Holiday Cheer, which will be supplied in 25th Anniversary commemorative wooden crates. The cheer kits are available for $75, for your family, for another family that might not otherwise be able to purchase one, or both.
More information, as well as donation and sponsorship forms, are available at the LaFF office at 532 First Ave., by emailing laffadmin@shawbiz.ca, e-transfer directly to ilovetolaff@shaw.ca and leave a message in the memo, or get tickets online through Eventbrite.
Jacqueline Neligan jumps for joy as she picks up LaFF’s new van.
New van keeps connections rolling through community
Staff at Ladysmith Family and Friends Resource Program have kept community connections and support rolling despite significant challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The program took possession of a late-model, low-mileage Ford Transit Connect over the summer, and the new-to-them wheels have opened up new avenues of outreach opportunities.
Purchased with the proceeds of a $50,000 United Way grant, the van was on LaFF’s wish list for a number of years, but the pandemic created both the necessity and opportunity to make it happen.
“The van enables us to get out into the community and neighbourhoods, dropping off art supplies, food and most importantly, connection,” says Jacqueline Neligan, LaFF executive director, adding that with United Way’s approval, grant funds leftover after the purchase went directly into programming.
While staff were previously able to do some work with their own vehicles, the van has vastly increased the program’s mobility and capacity.
Neligan points to food donations that come from the food recovery program at Nanaimo’s Loaves & Fishes Food Bank. That food no longer has to be crammed into personal vehicles, and the amount of food received has increased to an astonishing 100kg per week, which is then distributed out to families.
The van also made possible, or made much easier, the pickup of a load of pumpkins donated by McNab’s Farm this fall.
“It’s just made a huge difference in the support we’re able to provide for the community,” says Monica Stieda, LaFF facilitator. “With the restrictions and social distancing challenges, finding ways to connect is a huge challenge, and this makes it a little easier for everyone.”
LaFF’s support adapts to
‘new reality’
Ladysmith Family and Friends isn’t letting the new reality of social distancing and limited social contact prevent it from providing full and robust programming.
On a typical weekday morning prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Aggie Hall would be awash with families — along with LaFF staff and volunteers — playing, snacking, socializing and connecting. But LaFF was prevented from opening the doors to its usual home in downtown Ladysmith once provincial health measures were implemented last spring due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Yet staff continue to find new ways to ensure both parents and children are supported and connected.
Online resources are offered via social media, while online interactive forums as well as in-person outreach — at a safe distance — are available for past, present and future participants and the community.
“It’s very different, but we’re doing what we can in the way that we can to still wrap a blanket of support around the community,” says Jacqueline Neligan, executive director, adding that finding ways to connect with families is more important than ever. “Our goals are to reduce isolation and build community, and that’s even more crucial right now, so we’re constantly brainstorming new ways to reach out and be there for families.”
LaFF’s current offerings
• LaFF Check-ins (Zoom) — Mondays 12:30-1:30 pm and Wednesdays 9-10 am, these sessions offer families a chance to see and chat face-to-face (online) with the LaFF team, as well as regular guest speakers.
• Roots to Thrive Program (Zoom) — This six-week registered program offers facilitated online circles to bring the community together. There are also Monday night check-ins for program alumni. Contact LaFF for details.
• LaFF Pick-up at Aggie Hall — Drive-by pick-up station with appointments available Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9:30-noon. Pick up a care package and connect with LaFF staff in a safe and creative way. Sign up online at www.familyandfriends.ca.
• Also available — outreach support materials, one-on-one conversation and driveway visits, craft/food/wellness bags, tech support and equipment, online resources including LaFF’s YouTube channel, family yoga sessions, messages from LaFF staff, songs/stories, etc.
Ladysmith Family and Friends Society (LaFF) is a non-profit society created in 1995 and run by a volunteer board of directors. Our programs seek to reduce isolation many parents and caregivers feel, provide opportunities for children to socialize, and to build community.