A team of volunteers from Envision helped harvest apples from Campbell Valley Regional Park recently. The fruit is being donated to the local food bank. (Special to the Langley Advance)

A team of volunteers from Envision helped harvest apples from Campbell Valley Regional Park recently. The fruit is being donated to the local food bank. (Special to the Langley Advance)

WHAT’S IN STORE: Giving back on ladders and runways

In this week's business column, editor Roxanne Hooper spotlights a few businesses showing they care.

Always anxious to trumpet the positive news in Langley, I’d like to laud a few companies that are often found giving back.

First, I’ll point the spotlight on Sonya Perkins and her team at Forever Yours Lingerie. Once again they’re hosting a Christmas Sizzle fashion show, this time on Nov. 15, with all proceeds going to the Langley Christmas Bureau.

The good news and sad news rolled up into one, this event is already sold out.

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Harvesting for the hungry

I’d also like to thank the team at Envision Financial for once again making a difference and helping a project launched by Langley Advance reporter Matthew Claxton some years ago.

The Envision crew recently pitched in on the Langley Community Harvest Program during one of the organization’s Make A Difference day, and with harvest baskets, fruit picking sticks, and ladders, they headed to Campbell Valley Regional Park to gather several crates full of fresh organic apples for local food banks.

I really love the concept behind Envision’s Make a Difference Days. It is an annual community service program run by Envision Financial that facilitates volunteer opportunities and encourages employee involvement at local non-profit organizations and charities.

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A night out in the cold for homeless youth

And congrats to the team at Joseph Richards Group (JRG – the hospitality company that runs Oak & Thorne Pub, The Italian, S+L Kitchen & Bar, and Townhall Pub helped raise more than $156,000 to help address youth homelessness in the region.

JRG held its second annual Sleep Out event in South Surrey, and managed to top the amount raised in their inaugural year with more than 165 people participating.

“It was just amazing to see the support this event has generated,” said CEO and Co-Founder of the Joseph Richard Group Ryan Moreno.

He first participated in Covenant House Vancouver’s Sleep Out: Executive Edition two years ago, felt that more could be done and came up with the idea to create the Fraser Valley Edition last year.

“Last year was great to see the staff really get behind it but this year it has gone to a whole new level with friends, family and other local business and community leaders getting involved. We hope next year can be even bigger and continue to grow annually.”

Plans are already in the works for the third annual JRG Sleep Out, but in the meantime, Moreno and co-founder Andre Bourque are preparing to participate in the upcoming (Nov. 15) Covenant House Vancouver: Executive Edition Sleep Out.

Money from the local event is going to help Covenant House Vancouver and Youth Unlimited Greater Fraser Valley.

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Fitness company gives back

Adam Sippel, and his team at Innovative Fitness in Walnut Grove, are also hosting a charity event later this month.

The personal training studio is one of 12 locations, nine in the Lower Mainland, and it’s hosting its annual Train The Trainer event on Friday, Nov. 23.

“Legacy is a key core value for us and giving back to our community it a staple element of our business,” Sippel said.

This fundraiser gives their clients, as well as community members, a chance to donate “$50 for five minutes to ‘train us’ in whatever physical exercises they wish to place us within,’ he said.

The Lower Mainland studios are looking to raise more than $100,000 in two hours, with the new studio in Walnut Grove shooting for $7,000 of that goal.

“We will be putting all of those funds raised back into our community, split 50/50 between StarFish Pack Langley and Health In Motion, a local massage therapist who has moved to Malawi, Africa to promote physical literacy and movement within their community,” Sippel said.

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rhooper@langleyadvance.com

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Langley Advance