About vNC
About
The Vancouver Newcomers Club provides women new to Vancouver an opportunity to meet and socialize with other women. This is a wonderful way to make new friends and become acquainted with our beautiful city.
The Vancouver Newcomers Club (VNC) has existed in Vancouver for 40 years. We are a member of the National Newcomers Association of Canada.
Activities
The Vancouver Newcomers Club holds a dinner meeting on the first Tuesday of each month at a local restaurant. Non-members may attend two meetings/Coffee Mondays as a registered guest. With a light meeting agenda and plenty of socializing, these meetings are a great opportunity to meet some of our members and learn more about VNC Activities.
VNC Regular Activities for our members range from coffee klatches to wine tastings, movie matinees to walking groups. As well, special events have included ball games, ghost walks and tulip tours. There is pretty much something for everyone; and if not, members are always encouraged to initiate new activities.
Once you become a member of VNC, you will receive additional information by email and have access to our monthly calendar showing all our activities and events for the month. Then you’ll have the opportunity to sign up each month for the activities or events you wish to attend.
For more information on joining Vancouver Newcomers Club, email us at membership@vancouvernewcomersclub.com.
History
The idea of Vancouver Newcomers Club was born when our Founder Elly Driessen arrived in the city and as a visitor learnt about the National Newcomers Association of Canada, which exists in various cities since 1978. Elly felt that the vibrant city of Vancouver also needed a club to welcome women new to the city. To start a club, publicity was her number one priority. In January 1985 she submitted articles to local community newspapers like The Vancouver Courier and The Western News. She got a good response to this drive and in January and February of 1985 Elly held a series of meetings with a few ladies to explain the purpose of having a newcomers’ club. With support from these few ladies, Elly started the Vancouver Chapter of Newcomers Club. She was also voted as the first President of the VNC.
By the time the first press release was sent out in March 1985 and the first newsletter was sent out in April 1985, some activities had already started. Elly wasted no time in getting things done! She recruited her first executive team, and the first board meeting was held in member Lola Holmes’ house, who volunteered to handle the membership.
First monthly meeting was held on February 25, 1985, with a guest speaker from Welcome Wagons. The first AGM was held on Monday, June 3, 1985, over a luncheon organized by these wonderful, hard working and happy women.
From planting the seed and humble beginnings, Elly Driessen realized the fruits of her labour. Initial membership was 18 and today we are 80 and growing! We continue welcoming women to Vancouver, thanks to Elly Driessen and her team in 1985.
To add to this information- Welcome Wagons was founded by an insightful marketing man Thomas Winston Briggs in 1928 to welcome new homeowners to their community. To read more, you can log on to www.welcomewagon.com The concept continued with National Newcomers Association– a not-for-profit organization in Canada.
National Newcomers Association of Canada, of which VNC is a member, was established in Calgary in 1961 by the wives of Bank of Montreal employees looking to meet ladies who were new to the city. The organization grew to 50 newcomers clubs and alumni/ae clubs, with representing 8000+members across Canada. For more than 60 years, Newcomers clubs across Canada have been giving women a warm welcome and the opportunity to discover their new city while providing a ready-made social network and a roster of fun activities. Each club is independently organized and run by its volunteers.
25 years after the National Newcomers Association started, Vancouver Newcomers Club began to grow and how! We are a community of happy, diverse women, proud of taking forward the legacy of warmth, friendship, support, and kindness!
As a newcomer who arrived last summer, I want to tell you how the club has made a huge impact in my life. It’s because of you that I feel so much at home here in Vancouver. Not only does the club provide many wonderful venues for us to have fun, make friends and discover the city, but it provides us with a safety net as we know we can count on each other at all times, should we ever need it.
Vancouver Newcomers Club Member