Megaphone Magazine is a social enterprise that creates meaningful work opportunities for marginalized folks in Vancouver’s inner city. Megaphone envisions a thriving equitable society that values all voices, and they prioritize prioritise peer leadership, inclusivity, dignity, safety and agency.
Every year, Megaphone takes time to celebrate their vendors and recognize their Vendor of the Year. Eclipse has sponsored their event annually since 2015 with a special award that we donate. Megaphone recently held their 2022 event so it felt timely to share why we support their good work!
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Respect: this year, Megaphone renamed its Vendor of the Year Award to the Catherine Ludgate Vendor of the Year Award to honour a great community leader that we lost in 2021. Catherine was admired as a dedicated champion for equality and anti-poverty, and I worked with her for many years on the #livingwage campaign. It was a fitting tribute to a well-loved champion of the people, in Vancouver and beyond.
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Local: Megaphone and Eclipse are within a few blocks from each other. We walk the same streets and share the same neighbourhood, so of course we want to help them be successful too!
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Recognize & Empower: we want to support those who are strengthening communities through recognition and appreciation. Megaphone is uplifting people with dignity and purpose, and that’s good work we believe in too. This year’s award went to Teresa I, congratulations Teresa
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Equality: everyone deserves the chance to be recognized with something that’s beautifully crafted and personalized. Too often, non-profits and charities never find it their budget to get nice awards because they want everything to go toward their mission. But many of these folks have overcome huge challenges to get back on their feet, and we want to make something that’s worthy of recognizing this. Many people have said that these awards are the nicest thing they have ever received in their life.
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Hope: people need and enjoy having something to look forward to. Megaphone’s annual recognition event provides an opportunity for people to enjoy the company of their peers, to be seen, and to feel a part of their community. The importance of this can’t be understated when you’re building and strengthening community.
We love making people happy and love working with others who feel the same. It’s heartwarming to see people feeling great about themselves and if this award can give them an extra dose of inspiration and motivation, it makes it even more special.
To Megaphone Magazine and all the magazine vendors, you're all doing a great job for yourselves and for the community. We salute you, keep up the great work!
Recognize. Empower. Repeat.
Toby Barazzuol
PRESIDENT of ECLIPSE AWARDS