VCC reaches out to Downtown Eastside residents
Seventy turkeys, 450 pounds of mashed potatoes, 55 pounds of vegetables, 80 litres of cranberry sauce, and more than 300 litres of ice cream were fed to homeless people Jan. 19.
Vancouver Community College’s 15th annual Christmas in January dinner saw 150 volunteers serve roughly 1,700 guests full Christmas dinners.
"Christmas in January is a way for the Vancouver Community College community to connect with, and to support, the residents of the Downtown Eastside, many of whom live in challenging situations," Rachel Des Lauriers wrote in an email thanking volunteers.
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Rio de Janeiro already preparing for World Youth Day
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| World Youth Day in Rio is coming up in July. 63,000 volunteers have already signed up. |
Jesus of Nazareth will oversee the World Youth Day events in Rio de Janeiro. Cristo Redentor, Christ the Redeemer, is the famous statute which stands atop Corcovado Mountain in Brazil.
Prior to the events however, the city has already signed up 63,000 volunteers.
The week-long event will take place in Brazil from July 23 to 28, 2013.
"Let us trust in Christ and be sure, in faith, that we have been chosen by God," said the Archbishop Orani João Tempesta of Rio de Janeiro.
"God needs young people. Don't disappoint Him! Let us open our hearts through prayer, the Eucharist, and confession."
“Go and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19) is the event's theme.
Governing party member proposes exception for special-needs orphans
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Protesters outside the Kremlin in Moscow gathered Dec. 27, 2012.
Photo Vatican Radio |
While Russian president Vladimir Putin recently signed a new amendment into law banning the adoption of Russian children by Americans, not all fellow parliamentarians agree with the policy.
Robert Shlegel, a member of Putin’s United Russia party who serves in the Duma, the country's Parliament, has proposed an amendment to the law for an exception: Russian orphans with special needs could be adopted by families overseas.
Andrea Roberts, head of American adoption agency, Reece's Rainbow, said:
“The last few weeks have been an emotional roller coaster for us," since “the law that Putin signed would literally be a death sentence for hundreds, if not thousands, of Russian orphans with special needs."
She continued:
"This amendment has restored my faith that the Russians believe that every person deserves a family."
According to UNICEF, there are 740,000 orphaned children in Russia. In the past 20 years, 60,000 Russian children have been adopted by American families.
