New Site Centre at St. Mary’s, Vancouver

New VANSPEC Site Centre at St. Mary’s One-on-one Catechism Program We are pleased to announce that the VANSPEC program is now available at St. Mary’s parish in Vancouver, every Monday at 6:30 p.m. Our program offers an one-on-one catechism classes for students who learn best through tailored individual lessons. This is an alternative to regular […]

Feel at home

ANTONELA UDOVICIC, PARENT Isabela (Bela) my daughter has been going to Vanspec for six years now. She absolutely loves it there. She truly has a wonderful time there and I can see it just by the way she smiles and runs up to the door once we arrive at Vanspec. She really looks forward to […]

You are my family!

JACOB FRESNOZA, ALUMNI VANSPEC…the greatest organization that I have been apart of. I have met so many beautiful people who have been with Vanspec before me. I began at the main centre in East Vancouver in 1998. When I began Vanspec, I would attend every Saturdays at 11:00am. My first directors were Sr. Beth Ann […]

A big part of my life

KATIE CHU, ALUMNI I’ve been with Vanspec since 2013 & it was through Fr. Lawrence Donnelly (our St. Jude’s Parish Pastor at the time) who recommended my Mom to enroll me at Vanspec. I simply thought at the time that I will only study at Vanspec for 2 Years to prep for Confirmation. After my […]

The One-to-One

MILDRED BRIONES, CATECHIST A chance encounter at a catechist workshop was where I first learned of Vanspec, at the time administered by the Daughters of St Mary of Providence fostering faith enrichment to individuals with special needs. Upon my request to visit the center, Sr Rhonda Brown referred me to contact Sr Kathy Stark who […]

VANSPEC ETHOS

BARBARA COOK, CATECHIST It is my pleasure to write a testimonial for Vanspec. It is run by a group of dedicated and professional leaders, admin staff and volunteers whose primary focus is teaching their students and whose secondary focus is supporting each other as needed. The expectation is that every student will grow in self-esteem, […]

The Joy of Teaching Vanspec

DOROTHY LEE, CATECHIST “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart, where !?” was on the lips of each beaming student as they danced their way out of Our Lady of Sorrows Church, making their way to Vanspec Summer Camp. What an exciting adventure! In 2010, I became a part of this […]

Wonderful Program for our Daughter

MARGOT MCLAUGHLIN, PARENT Vanspec has been a wonderful program for our daughter, Mary. She has been involved since she began Grade 1 in 1995. Sister Beth Ann welcomed us so warmly and I never minded all those years of driving over to Vancouver to the Vanspec Centre to take Mary for her lesson. Along with […]

A Different Kind of Superhero

MENA SANDERS, ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT In the years that I have been involved in Vanspec, I have had the great pleasure of meeting many wonderful families and their amazing kids. I have numerous great memories, but one stands out above all others. In 2014, “D”, a young teen with Down Syndrome, was preparing for his First […]

Serve and Be Served

CECILIA CHO, TEACHING ASSISTANT Every Saturday morning, I drive from Surrey to Vancouver for Bela. I’m just an aide, though, and only recently learned about Vanspec. Bela’s teacher has been commuting that same distance for the past two years. What wakes us up with a smile each Saturday is knowing that Bela is growing in […]