Performing stunts, bottling beer, teaching Japanese and making French Canadian gravy are some of the experiences being shared among folks in the Royal City.
New Westminster residents are helping to expand people’s sense of purpose and possibility through a new program offered by the Simon Fraser Society for Community Living, posAbilities, Burnaby Association for Community Inclusion and InWithForward.
The Kudoz program is providing hundreds of learning experiences hosted by people who are passionate about what they do and are sharing those experiences with Ku-doers.
“We are looking for people who are willing to share experiences,” said Laura Cuthbert, an experience curator with Kudoz. “If people are still interested, we are more than happy to accept more people.”
Cuthbert said organizers are striving to put together a catalogue of hundreds of “experiences” for people in the community to do. They’ve already got people lined up who will be sharing their love of sewing, belly dancing, judo, documenting artifacts at the museum, making wigs and extensions, making Irish soda bread and other activities, but are still working to fill a number of experiences on their wish list.
The wish list includes: repairing equipment (such as lawnmowers); fixing bicycles; doing yard maintenance or horticulture; house painting; building a deck or working with wood; map making; learning about local trees; working in a uniform supply store, a home improvement store or a mom and pop store.
Kudoz is also on the hunt for hosts to share experiences, including people who watch or appreciate horror films, who do spiritual self care, meditation, breathing or relaxing.
Last year, a team of six individuals moved in to a social housing complex on the Burnaby and New Westminster border and got to know the residents, who include people with cognitive disabilities, immigrants and single moms. Once they got a feeling for the “rhythm of life” of individuals living in the complex, they sought to find ways to address some of the gaps they found.
“It was to figure out what the gaps are,” Cuthbert said. “Originally the hunch was going in that it would be loneliness and isolation, but we realized the biggest gap was learning and having new and exciting experiences in people’s lives. There was nothing really new happening for people.”
Kudoz was born out of a need to try and address the needs of many people, particularly those with cognitive disabilities. The programs has local residents and businesses offering a one-hour experience to people involved in the program.
Sarah Schulman, the project’s manager, recently encouraged the City of New Westminster to become Kudoz’s first City of Learning. As the inaugural community for its City of Learning initiative, the City of New Westminster will spread the word about the program and promote host “experiences” in the workplace, which could include jobs like working at swimming pools or stacking books on shelves at the library.
“All of these things are mysterious to people with a disability,” Schulman said. “They would love to learn what you do.”
