Giving from the Heart + Tiny Homes Coming

Issue #518

Author

Carla McNeil
February 25, 2026

Inside the New West Spotlight

 🌧️ Weather - Cloudy with showers

 😜 Rain Joke - 💦 What’s the difference between love and rain? 💕 

 🗓️ New West Events - Plenty of options to enjoy

 🗞️ New West Local News - Giving from the Heart + Tiny Homes Coming

 📧 Did someone forward you our New West Spotlight? You can Subscribe Here!

Local New Westminster Weather

Historical Records for Today - Record high 10.8 2016 - Record low -4.7 2019

👀 Something about today’s Tin Man photo feels familiar… or does it?

Take a close look on Facebook and Instagram and drop you guess.

Check out all of our local New Westminster Events

February 25, 2026

💰️ Financial Aid (Welfare) Worker at NWPL – 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

⛰️ Super Weekend: Blustery Fraser Canyon – 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 CaRT Peer Navigators – 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM

👶 Babytime (0-23 months) – 11:30 AM to 12:00 PM

🎒 After-School Drop-In (5-12 years) – 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM

📚️ Reading Buddies (6-9 years) – 4:00 PM to 4:45 PM

🎤 Find Your Voice at Mechanics of Music Studio – 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM

💑 Conscious Connections: Dating with Purpose – 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM

📖 Pyjama Storytime (all ages) – 6:30 PM to 7:00 PM

🎨 Family Paint Party at Taverna Greka – 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM

❓️ Georgie's Local Trivia Night – 7:00 PM

🎭️ Drag Trivia by Scarlett Rose at Flapper Lounge – 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

🏃 Steel & Oak Run Club – 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Connect Youth (13+) – 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM

❓️Frankie G’s Trivia Night – 7:30 PM

February 26, 2026

🗣️ English Conversation Circles at the Welcome Centre – 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM

👶 Babytime (0-12 months) – 10:30 AM to 11:00 AM

🍼 Baby Social (0-23 months) – 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM

📚️ Drop-in Wildfires Bookshop – 5:45 PM

🫘 Gardening: Planning for Your Seed Garden – 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM

🎙️ Georgie's Local Karaoke Night – 7:00 PM

🎩 Cabaret of Wonders – 7:00 PM & 9:30 PM

🎭️ Game On with Melody Mangler at the Flapper Lounge – 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM

🎙️ The Terminal Pub Colossal Thursdays Karaoke – 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM

🎤 Notorious Grey Fox Open Mic Jam – 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM

February 27, 2026

🧒 Toddler Time (12-36 months) – 10:30 AM to 11:00 AM

👶 Babytime (0-12 months) – 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM

🍼 Baby Social (0-23 months) – 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM

📚️ French Reading Buddies (6-9 years) – 4:00 PM to 4:45 PM

🕺 Jacob Lara's Drop-In Class – 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM

🍸️ February Business Social Sips – 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM

🎲 Friendsday Night Board Games – 6:00 PM to 11:30 PM

🎲 Howe Sound Hitmix Bingo – 7:00 PM

🎩 Cabaret of Wonders – 7:00 PM & 9:30 PM

🎙️ Weekly Karaoke Every Friday – 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM

🎙️ Notorious Grey Fox Karaoke Friday Nights – 9:00 PM until Close

Three community champions are coming together once again to make a difference. Monarch Place Transition House, the Royal City Rotary Club, and the Burnaby Rotary Club have launched the 28th Annual “To the Heart of the Matter” Online Fundraiser — a beloved tradition rooted in compassion and community spirit.

Over the past 27 years, this heartfelt initiative has raised more than $1.1 million, changing lives locally and internationally. Each year, proceeds from the online auction are shared between the three partners, fueling programs that provide safety, nourishment, dignity, and hope.

Monarch Place Transition House offers critical shelter and support to women and children escaping domestic abuse — a lifeline for families in crisis. The Rotary Clubs are directing their portion of funds toward impactful projects including the New Westminster Victim Assistance Unit Rotary Van, the New Westminster Secondary School Hot Lunch Program, Backpack Buddies for Burnaby students, and a 14-bed health clinic in Zimbabwe’s Shurugwi District.

Organizers say the energy and generosity of the community are what make this fundraiser so powerful year after year. With every bid placed, participants help strengthen support systems for vulnerable families, students, and communities both close to home and across the globe.

The online auction promises another exciting year of giving — and everyone is invited to be part of it.

Thirty new tiny homes are set to be built in New Westminster, creating supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness.

The homes will be located at 502 20th Street for up to six years and are expected to open in late 2026. The project is designed to provide residents with stability and meaningful supports as they work toward securing permanent housing.

Staff will be on-site 24 hours a day, seven days a week, offering daily meals, life skills training, health care access, addiction recovery services, and other supports tailored to residents’ needs.

An operator will be selected in the coming months to manage the site and deliver services.

The initiative is being delivered in partnership with the City of New Westminster as part of a broader effort to address housing challenges and move people indoors with dignity and support.

⛈️ Rain Joke of the Day 🌧️ 

💦 What’s the difference between love and rain? 💕 

🌦️ Love is patient. Rain is persistent. 🫶 

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