From Familiar Faces to Friends in Local Places

“Vivo provides the same sense of community as a small town,” says Susan Green, a member at Vivo for many years.

She emphasizes the need to experience togetherness within a community and how important this is for people of all ages. Having grown up in a small town, Susan felt that her two daughters needed to feel a greater sense of community while growing up in Calgary. By going to Vivo, Susan found a sense of connectedness and camaraderie; consistently going to Vivo turned familiar faces into friends.

Say “Hi” to Rosie at Guest Services; one of the many friendly faces at Vivo.

The reason why Susan loves Vivo is the strong community feel that it provides. Walking into Vivo, she sees the friendly faces of staff and members who also live near her and some with whom she would eventually build relationships.

Initially, Susan and her family used Vivo’s facility to access the library when her daughters were young, then several years ago, they became Vivo members. They joined when their daughters were younger because their family was looking for something to do together.

As her daughters grew, Vivo became a fitness center for her and a play center for her children. Eventually, her daughters no longer needed childminding, so Susan switched her monthly payment from the childminding fee to a continuous monthly donation to Vivo. The kindness of the childminding employees and the fun that she would see her kids having throughout the days made coming to Vivo worthwhile. Now, Susan’s impactful contribution to Vivo will help more parents and guardians experience Vivo with their children.

Through the years, Vivo became a destination for a fun afternoon for the whole family. From open skates to library time on a hot summer’s day to open swims, there was always something fun and ways to be active they could do as a family.

Susan knows that Vivo is an accessible and inclusive space that many families enjoy. Still, she also knows that financial barriers prevent many families from using the facilities at Vivo. She believes this is one of the most pressing needs in our community. Susan describes that “we are lucky to have a place like Vivo because there are a lot of kids and families that make use of it, but there are more kids and families who would benefit from it.”

Susan believes that Vivo has made the area of Calgary she lives in feel like a community. She appreciates the feeling of togetherness Vivo has given to the community, and she looks forward to that sense of engagement growing when Vivo’s expansion is complete in 2023.

Rendering of a night event in the new indoor park.

“With its central location among so many communities, Vivo is almost like a physical reminder to be active. It is a great big string around your finger reminding you to get moving. Vivo’s expansion is a showcase to emphasize physical wellbeing and will increase its profile in general wellbeing,”  says Susan.

She, her husband, and their two daughters look forward to Vivo’s expansion, where they will spend more time making memories. They also look forward to more families getting the opportunity to play, learn, grow, and be able to experience familiar faces and friends in the local spaces at Vivo.

Susan is All In for her Community. Be like Susan and start your monthly gift to expansion and the All In for Community campaign today.