Community

North Vancouver's Carson Graham secondary has been recognized by Canadian Blood Services for its commitment to donating blood. As a member of the Canadian Blood Services's group donor program, Partners for Life, the school donated 180 units of blood in 2008.

By the age of 15, Anthony Hutchinson was shooting at people with a modified .22-calibre starting pistol, robbing Korean grocery stores, selling drugs, stealing cars, being beaten daily at home and settling into the dubious brotherhood of a Burnaby street gang.

Despite having a mother and stepfather who were teachers, he was still functionally illiterate by Grade 9.

Heather Doheny loves to garden.

If the national Communities in Bloom award she won for her container garden last year isn’t proof enough, then the big smile she wears on her face as she works is surely a sign.

On today's lunch menu: steaming kongnamulguk and brightly coloured bibimbap.

In a flurry of preparations, a group of apron-clad women crowds around a small stove. One drops a strip of kelp into a pot of boiling water while another adds a sprinkle of salt.

Her program is called Angels Project Power. Nakita Harrison, 34, a sex worker for nearly two decades, was in and out of jail before signing up a year ago. She now rents a furnished apartment from the group and works as a grocery cashier, her first legitimate job.