In just a couple of years in the city, Jeremy Perry has found plenty of ways to give back to the community he's immersed himself in.
Perry and his husband, Ian Dagami, moved here in November 2011, after the owner of the condo they were renting in East Vancouver told them she wanted to move back into her place.
"We were a little shaken by the fact that we didn't have control over where we lived, because previously we owned a place in Toronto," Perry explained. "Then we realized that we could either buy a three bedroom in New West or a shoebox in Vancouver."
Now, the 30-year-old employee benefits consultant is well ingrained in the community where he volunteers with numerous organizations, including the Rotary Club of New Westminster, Quest New West, New West Pride and KidSport New West.
N: What did you think when you moved here?
JP: Well, I was really impressed (with) the walkability of the downtown core, because we live right downtown.
As far as the community, it really felt like a small town with city amenities. I grew up in a farming town. In Vancouver, we never really felt like we found community, whereas in New West it just seemed to fall into our lap, and everybody was so welcoming and so friendly. I found this community very approachable. It was a really great welcome.
N: How have you integrated yourself here?
JP: I threw myself into community involvement, so I joined the Rotary Club. I got involved with KidSport. I started going to the N.E.X.T. New West events. I started attending some of the Chamber of Commerce events. I've volunteered with the New West Pride.
N: Were you surprised there was a Pride Society here? Did you know before you moved here that there were Pride events?
JP: I had no idea. Who's heard of New West Pride? Come on (he says, laughing)! I'm vice-president of the society now, so I probably shouldn't talk about it that way.
N: Have you found New West to be a progressive community in that sense? A welcoming community?
JP: For sure, no issues whatsoever. I actually, I have grown up in a generation where I've never found anywhere to be a problem. I've never actually considered the fact that I might marry a man to form a part of my central identity. ... I don't really consider myself a gay man - I'm just me.
N: What is it about KidSport?
JP: The thing that I love about KidSport is the idea of giving. So kids who are coming from disadvantaged families and are lower-income families have a harder time integrating into community because their parents don't have the economic resources to provide them with the opportunities that kids from wealthier households would have.
I see KidSport as an equalization factor, where they give these kids an opportunity to go mingle and make friends and to really get to know kids that might be outside of their socio-economic situation, and I think that that's really important to build vibrant communities - is to plant those roots young.
N: Tell me about Rotary's work to eradicate polio around the world.
JP: We are kind of in the final stretches. The World Health Organization says that it's possible to see the last case of polio happen in 2015, so (I'm glad) knowing that I'm part of a global organization that's made that their primary flagship since ... since the '80s.
At the time, it was endemic in 125 countries, and today it's only present in three.
That's billions of dollars later that they've donated to the cause, and a lot of Rotarians go into these dangerous places now and vaccinate children.
(That's the) global side, but it also (includes) a lot of local stuff ... things like the Rotary Tower, our club owns and operates a housing tower for low-income seniors and provides them with subsidized rent.
We do so much work with youth. I think we give away almost $20,000 to the high school every year in scholarships and bursaries. We participate anytime any cause in the community comes to us and says they need help with something. It's very, very rare to hear us say no.
N: Is there anything you don't like about the city?
I don't like that when you look at the politics in the city there seems to a perception of the old guard versus the new. I would much rather see everybody working together and really looking toward the positive future and trying to collaborate. ... People who have been around for years and years and years, bring all of that experience, wealth of wisdom, and people who are new bring that energy and vibrancy of new ideas, and it would be great to see more collaboration.
N: Do you miss Vancouver?
JP: Not at all, not at all. The reason I don't miss it is I feel like I haven't left it. I'm so close to Vancouver, and when I'm talking to people in Vancouver, they are like 'Oh you live all of the way out in New West.'
Last Tuesday I was at a breakfast meeting in Vancouver, and somebody made a comment to me ... "You live so far away out in New West," and I was like, "it doesn't feel that far away."
(I asked) "How long did it take you to get to breakfast today?" He said it took him 40 minutes, and I was like, "Ok, it took me 35, ... so you live in Vancouver, I live in New West, but I got to breakfast quicker than you did."
So I don't miss the hustle and bustle of Vancouver because it's right there.
Now, granted, I live in a building with a door to the SkyTrain station, so maybe my reality isn't everybody's reality.
That's something I do love about New West is how many people live so close to SkyTrain. With five SkyTrain stops in town, it's incredible how quickly people can get to SkyTrain.
N: A day with no commitments, what's your favourite thing to do in New West?
JP: I have tight-knit family, so it would be something with the family, whether that's going for a walk along the river or going to one of the many parks. In the summer, bringing my nephews to one of the water parks ... Queen's Park or Hume Park.
