This month Social Tech Brewing in Toronto joins fellow "social tech" group NewPath as we spread holiday cheer at the Yonge Street Mission's Annual Christmas Market.

The Christmas Market is a very special and unique experience for everyone. Yonge St Mission opens a Market to families in need who would otherwise not be able to give gifts to their children and family members for Christmas or eat heartily, like so many who are more fortunate, during the season of joy and giving. Volunteers have found the experience quite transformative in terms of being a part of an event that gives so much to our community’s most needy.

The Yonge Street Mission distributes donated new toys, food and clothing for 2000 Regent and Moss Park families in need during 9 days leading up to Christmas. Group Volunteers make all the difference in YSM's ability to make this a wonderful festive event for families. Duties may include: preparing for the Market, receiving and sorting donations, greeting families, assisting them in shopping for their needs and providing good cheer. For a complete listing of job descriptions for this event, check the NewPathNetwork.org website.

Date
Dec 21, 2006

Time
9:30 am - 12:00 pm

Location
Yonge St Mission
270 Gerrard St E
Toronto, ON M5A 2G4

Details and event registration

It was three years ago this month that the first Social Tech Brewing in Toronto was announced. That was just one year after Social Tech Brewing founder Andre Charland started the event in Vancouver.

Social Tech Brewing has been a catalyst or fertile ground for many new movements in Toronto, including Penguin Day Toronto, "Geek Ends," DrupalCampToronto, Wireless Toronto, and several others. It has run with relative frequency from November 6th, 2003 mostly in part to the work of incredible volunteers and participants like you.

So, for our event this Thursday, we'll have an informal discussion about the future of Social Tech Brewing in Toronto; the discussion will explore how Social Tech Brewing can find new energy, leadership, and vision for the next three years.

Please RSVP on Upcoming.org if you're interested in being a part of Social Tech Brewing in 2007!

We'll meet at the Centre before 6PM and then promptly move the discussion to a nearby bar.

August 3rd, 2006...

Social Tech Brewing presents "Women in IT: Challenges and Opportunities"

Given the progress that women have made in society, are women still facing unique challenges in the IT sector?

Join us on Thursday, August 3rd for an interactive session on challenges facing women in technology today, and the opportunities available to overcome them. An expert panel discussion leading into breakout sessions will explore the major factors impacting women working in technology. We will also feature organizations that work with women in technology, bringing their unique perspectives to addressing these needs. With your support, this can be the first in a series of ongoing discussions about the myriad of ways in which women impact IT - and vice versa.

This is a FREE event will take place at the Center for Social Innovation at 215 Spadina Ave at 5:30pm to 7:30pm. SPACE IS LIMITED! So, If you’d like to attend the event, please register at our Mollyguard site.

There will be a variety of speakers, panels, and speed presentations at the event. Details to follow next week.

If you work at the intersection of technology and community-building, we hope you'll join us for a July 17th gathering of Social Tech Brewing's Vancouver chapter. Social Tech Brewing brings together folks from nonprofit organizations, community service, social activism, social ventures and technology to share ideas -- and beer!

Our July 17th event will feature a conversation with Katrin Verclas, the incoming director of The Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network (N-TEN), an American group that works to support the diverse people and organizations who help nonprofits employ technology effectively. We've booked a great quiet space in which to have this conversation, conveniently located above a great spot to drink beer.

Katrin will lead an informal discussion about whether/how US npos can work more effectively here in Canada. She'll also introduce us to a new project from the N-TEN Technobabes Community: "BraCamp," which we're hoping will lead to a broader conversation about gender issues in nonprofit technology.

Katrin's presentation and Q&A will start at 7:15 and wrap by 8, so please plan to arrive on time. If you're early, folks will gather underneath Radha at the Brickhouse for a brew or two. And if you're still hot to talk after we wrap, we'll be moving back down to the Brickhouse again for another hour of libations, gossip exchange, and general consipracy-hatching.

Please join the Social Tech Brewing organizers and the usual suspects for our annual Spring Social event next Thursday at 5:30 PM. The weather is forecast to be 29 degrees on Wednesday (but potentially rainy on Thursday), so we’re going to hang out at the Imperial Public Library, which has a lovely patio and a roomy interior (should it rain). If you’ve never travelled east of Yonge Street before: now’s your chance!

When: Thursday, June 1st, 2006

Time:: 5:30 - 7PM

Where: IMPERIAL PUBLIC LIBRARY (Upstairs) 58 Dundas East, at Victoria, 416-977-4667. This is a four minute walk from Dundas subway station!

Map: http://tinyurl.com/6x34w

RSVP: http://upcoming.org/event/62065/

Hopefully, we’ll get some impromtu debriefs from folks that attended the recent DrupalCampToronto, BarCampTdot, and Mesh conference. Either way, it will be a jolly good time and there will be billiards and foosball and friends.

If you work at the intersection of technology and community-building, we hope you'll join us for a May 4th gathering of Social Tech Brewing's Vancouver chapter. Social Tech Brewing brings together folks from nonprofit organizations, community service, social activism, social ventures and technology to share ideas -- and beer!

Our May 4th event will look forward to the June meeting of the UN's World Urban Forum (WUF) here in Vancouver. WUF will bring a remarkable range of government leaders, community development workers and urban activists to Vancouver to talk about the future of sustainable cities. And the lead-up to WUF has already featured one of the Net's most ambitious online dialogue efforts to date, the Habitat Jam.

The STB meeting on May 4th will feature a short panel and Q&A session to illuminate some of the innovative technology projects that are happneing around the WUF meeting. We'll hear from Gayle Moss, the Director of International Marketing for Habitat Jam, about what was learned from the Jam experiment. And we'll also hear from one of the folks at the Global Urban Sustainable Solutions Exchange, a Vancouver-based information and social networking resource that will launch at the WUF in June.