About Good Neighbour Kitsilano
Good Neighbour Kitsilano is an independently organized, volunteer-run grassroots group, brought to you by your neighbours, in partnership with Building Resilient Neighbourhoods and Kitsilano Neighbourhood House, and generous support of Neighbourhood Small Grants, funded by Vancouver Foundation and administered by Kits House.
Good Neighbour Kitsilano is a member of Communities Building Belonging, Tamarack Institute for Community Engagement.
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Our Story
Good Neighbour Kitsilano is inspired by the vision of the world where every neighbour is a friend. Good Neighbour’s founder, Ksenia, grew up in a small town in Siberia, where she knew all her neighbours in the city apartment building. It was customary to knock on neighbours’ doors to borrow a cup of sugar or a few roubles until the payday. During summers spent at dacha (village),Ksenia would be making friends with all the neighbouring babushkas (grandmas), soliciting sweet treats and macaroni lunches. And, generally, people would connect more readily with each other, and the sense of community was palpable. When Ksenia moved to Canada at the age of 17, the first thing that struck her is how people kept to themselves and minded their own business. She knew something didn’t feel right. This is when she started pursuing community building: from organizing random acts of kindness, coordinating COVID mutual support group, leading various Neighbourhood Small Grant Projects, to now, more formally – Good Neighbour Kitsilano, the initiative to build a connected, caring and resilient neighbourhood. Ksenia believes that the real change starts at home, with people, families, neighbours, communities coming together.
We are inviting you to contribute to the movement and embark on a journey of creating a world, where every neighbour is a friend. Where we care for a stranger as our own, saying with our words and actions: “I see you. You matter. You belong. You are loved.” What a wonderful world this would be. Let’s create it. Together!
Good Neighbour Kitsilano 