Thank you, VANOC, for giving away tickets for Olympic Sport events to the Emergency Shelters, to enable the homeless to participate in this great event! Manager Jody relates what it was like:

"One of the men who went to the Men's hockey game is staying at one of our Shelters. He lived in Stanley Park for eight years prior to coming to Lookout. While waiting in the marshalling/holding area before being let into the arena, he was so excited. At one point, he called his father on his phone. "Dad, guess where I am?" he said. "At the Latvia Russia hockey game!.... No, dad, I am going INSIDE!" He then proceeded to call his brother and tell him as well. The atmosphere and feeling among the men who attended the game was electric and for me it was a pleasure to be there with them.

Another 346 volunteer had the opportunity to attend one of the victory ceremonies. It was the day where the bands Loverboy and Trooper performed. This volunteer is a musician and he used to play with the musicians from Trooper. To say he was thrilled could well be an understatement. In fact, he still comes to me on almost a daily basis to tell me how much it meant to him to be there.

Providing these tickets may have been a small thing to VANOC - indeed they are a miniscule fraction of the tickets for the Games. But to the people Lookout serves, the tickets were a chance to be part of the action. To participate in the same way that any person could - regardless of economic status, health or any other life obstacle. It was a chance to simply have fun."