Please Welcome happyfrog.ca

The Perfect Matchmaker

by Rebecca Ephraim

photo by Jaime Kowal

It’s one thing to have hundreds of businesses out there that are offering us healthy and sustainable options. It’s quite another thing to find them.
As the Lower Mainland’s leading magazine focusing exclusively on sustainability—personal and global—SharedVISION is the window to the world (in B.C. anyway) of eco-matters (I swear you can put that word in front of anything).

Yet, one print publication cannot be the be-all and end-all. Truly, in our estimation, the one, single service that B.C. needs to shift into high gear around sustainable community-building is a go-to dynamic resource on the web.

For instance, how do you consider your options when seeking an holistic vet for your dog, or solar panels for that house you’re renovating, or a financial planner who’s into socially responsible investments, or restaurants that carry organic, or, or, or...

You’ve probably hit a brick wall yourself wanting to find something with “eco” attached to it—generally businesses, services, and organizations that are dialed into your values of wanting to be part of the solution.

So please help me welcome happyfrog.ca.

SharedVISION is partnering with happyfrog.ca to bring B.C. residents a locally-driven synthesis of the best the web has to offer: a bit of Google (excellent search capabilities) and a dash of Facebook (fun and functional social networking) in an innovative and unique guide to everything sustainable and healthy. We believe that happyfrog.ca is the perfect matchmaker, connecting conscious consumers who are eager to better integrate their values with the many thousands of green, sustainable, and spirited businesses that are also looking for their dream markets.
I invite you to visit happyfrog.ca (in beta version of course). You’ll find comprehensive listings across 28 different categories in B.C. Businesses and NGOs are invited to submit a free listing for consideration on happyfrog.ca.

Transitions
It is with great sadness that we have learned at press time of former SharedVISION staff member John Pifer’s passing. John was a valued member of our team and made important contributions to this magazine. We will hold his memory with love and gratitude.

Driven to Drive?
Open Door Yoga co-owner Georgina Varveris is shaking her head over a City of Vancouver regulation that’s threatening her Commercial Drive business. The issue is about parking. And in a city that’s encouraging car-free transportation, this is where the rubber hits the road. Open Door currently has three parking stalls, 24 short of what City Hall requires for the studio to get a business license.

Varveris says that the vast majority of its yoga students live in the neighbourhood and walk or bike to the studio. But the City has been unyielding so far. Varveris is hoping to use Open Door’s case to get public support for its studio and other studios in a similar situation. She is encouraging people to contact the city’s point person on this, Hamid Sharifi (hamid.sharifi@vancouver.ca), in order to register their support to make the regulation less onerous.

Tall, Dark, and Ready to Run?
Be sure to check out our profile on MLA Gregor Robertson’s green agenda. Rumour has it that municipal politics could be getting mighty interesting in the months ahead.

It’s all good. It’s all a SharedVISION.