CommuniTEA Infusion 2023
CommuniTEA Infusion is a mobile tea house run by people with disabilities. A social innovation project of Skills Society, CommuniTEA builds community and supports the inclusion and citizenship of individuals with disabilities. It does so by traveling to neighbourhoods around our city creating “pop-up” town squares for people to come together, get to know each other and strengthen connections.
We had an awesome 2023 season!
This season was the Tea Van’s 8th season and we attended 28 events, including varying-sized block parties, markets, and large City events. We also attended several events and block parties hosted by people Skills Society serves that brought the community surrounding them together. We served about 1500 cups of iced tea and lemonade, and engaged with around 3000 people in the Edmonton community! This season we made several new connections and partnerships, including attending the first annual iListen Canada Disability Network Event and Trade show. We also had opportunities this season to increase awareness of CommuniTEA, including presentations and social media collaborations with individuals and organizations.
The success of this season could not have been possible without the dedication, passion, and hard work of our 8 Community Builders, 6 drivers, and 2 volunteers. People with disabilities are the key leaders of Tea Van taking the role of Community Builders. This year’s stellar group of Community Builders, with several years of experience leading Tea Van, lent their expertise throughout the season to help shape the project. It was wonderful to see Community Builders, volunteers, and attendees of events make connections, and share in conversations and stories while enjoying some tea together, playing games, and creating buttons! We wrapped up the season with a gathering at the Skills Society Action Lab, sharing memories about the season and enjoying a meal together which included some tasty cookies from Treats by Special P. Our sincere gratitude and appreciation to the Tea Van team - each person played a vital role in the success of the season!
Shout Out to our Lead Community Builder, Erica, who played an important role in the success of the season! Erica has been a Community Builder with the Tea Van for several years. This year, she took on more of a leadership role and was hired into the Lead Community Builder position. Erica built strong connections with the other community builders and volunteer drivers through her friendly personality. She also took the initiative to suggest and help bring to life improvements for the Tea Van, including the addition of a new lawn game that community members could participate in, helping to build connections between people. In speaking with Erica, she shared how she loved experiencing the diversity of events and communities within and around Edmonton, and the opportunity to connect with people: "I looked forward to every time we were going, I always had such a great experience. I just think it's a really good opportunity for people, it really pulled me out of my shell." We are so grateful for Erica’s dedication and contributions to the project!
We had so much fun this summer supporting community building in Edmonton and area, and cannot wait for next season!
The CommuniTEA Infusion project was generously financially supported in 2023 by the RBC Foundation and TELUS Community Foundation. The RBC Foundation and TELUS Community Foundation have been devoted longstanding financial partners, enabling the continued viability of this innovative project.
This post was written by Jenna Froese, the 2023 CommuniTEA Infusion Project Coordinator