Newcomers wanting to know more about job and support systems will get the chance to do so during the inaugural Community Fair: Celebrating Newcomers on Nov. 19.
The fair is a joint event between the Empowered Support Services Society (ESSS), Hope WorkBC Centre, and Chilliwack Local Immigration Partnership (with funding from the Hope Health and Well Being Initiative). Taking place at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #228 (Hope Legion Hall), the event is open to employers and support service providers at 9 a.m., and then to the public from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. According to ESSS, the fair aims to connect people new to Canada to “various employers and service providers in (the Eastern Fraser Valley) area to learn about job openings and different career paths.”
“When you look at a community, when you look at the fabric of a community, it’s made up of (many components). It’s the service providers, the people within the community, and your employers,” said Darla Dickinson, ESSS’s Executive Director. “Our goal is to make sure everyone is invited to this event. And a component of the fair is to help people look for employment. And to learn about opportunities in the community.
“The broader goal here is that we also want to connect and share the experiences of newcomers with the community, with service providers and with employers.”
This is the fair’s first year. According to Dickinson, ESSS and its partners plan to make this an annual event and hosting duties for the fair will be rotated between Hope, Agassiz, and Chilliwack.
During the fair, people will get the chance to listen to professionals and entrepreneurs talk about their experiences working in Canada and hiring newcomers. Currently, 30 employers and support service providers have signed up. Dickinson said that space is still available and any employer or service that wishes to be part of the fair can still contact her.
In addition to networking opportunities, attendees will hear from Zeeshan Kahan, the winner of the 2024 Fraser Valley Cultural Diversity award.
Kahan, who moved to Canada in 2012, is the co-founder of the Chilliwack-based Streams Foundation which is a local volunteer-based nonprofit organization. He’s also been responsible for the development, and leadership, of various community projects that includes food hampers and meal distributions.
Aside from Kahan’s presentation, a screening of the documentary A Common Territory will be shown during the event. A documentary by A Bear Image Productions and Chilliwack Local Immigration Partnership, it “weaves together the stories of newcomers and Indigenous peoples, exploring themes of displacement, belonging, and cultural preservation within the traditional territories of the Stó:lo peoples, known colonially as the Fraser Valley.” It also, “through intimate interviews with members of both the newcomer and Indigenous communities, sheds light on their shared experiences of navigating and resisting assimilation into dominant Canadian culture, all while striving to maintain their distinctive cultural identities and connections to the land.”
Overall, Dickinson said she hopes to see people at the fair connecting with each other.
“Employment provides a critical sense of community and sense of belonging,” Dickinson said. “Without employers, (it can be harder to) have a community. And I don’t think we necessarily explore that, and we don’t interconnect with them enough.
“And I think this is what’s exciting about this. This is the opportunity to really interconnect, and to learn from one another.”
Transportation can be provided, for those who need it, and people can contact ESSS for further information by calling 604-860-0510 or email Dickinson at Executivedirector@readrightsociety.com. This contact info can also be used to find our more information about the fair.
