sa国际传媒 columnist Jack Knox has earned his share of accolades, but being called a newspaper executive鈥檚 鈥渕an candy鈥� has to be a first.
That鈥檚 how retail advertising sales manager Jason Scriven jokingly described his table-mate Tuesday evening at the National Philanthropy Day awards event at the Fairmont Empress.
After joking it was because of a rock-paper-scissors game outcome that 鈥淚 get to speak for Jack,鈥� Scriven graciously accepted the Corporate Citizenship Award on behalf of the sa国际传媒.
鈥淛ob No. 1 at the sa国际传媒 is making sure the paper goes out on time six days per week. But a close second is supporting the charitable organizations that are represented here tonight,鈥� Scriven said.
It was one of six major awards presented to local philanthropists during the annual event presented by the Association of Fundraising Professionals Vancouver Island.
Ashleigh Tregear, 16, was there to represent Sooke鈥檚 Edward Milne Community School Leadership Class, which received a Youth in Philanthropy Award presented by Telus.
鈥淲e like to do service because it makes everybody feel good, and it鈥檚 a great way to have fun and enrich that connection with your community,鈥� the Grade 11 student said.
She was particularly proud of their 10,000 Tonight food-drive initiative. With widespread community support, they exceeded their goal, collecting 12,000 items for a local food bank.
鈥淲hen we first went to the food bank, the shelves were empty,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淭o be able to experience that [transformation] was pretty amazing.鈥�
Hundreds of local philanthropists and business and community leaders attended Tuesday鈥檚 event, including Dodd鈥檚 Furniture and Mattress founder Gordie Dodd.
The soft-spoken philanthropist, whose local charitable endeavours include his annual Thanksgiving and Christmas meals, was overjoyed by what he saw.
鈥淚鈥檓 really happy to see so many people doing community work,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is important, and if you recognize people who do community work, others will learn from it.鈥�
Philanthropy plays a pivotal role provincewide, said Veronica Carroll, CEO of the Children鈥檚 Health Foundation Vancouver Island. The foundation presented a Youth in Philanthropy Award to six-year-old Andrei Marti, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes last year, for his work raising funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
鈥淚 think when you鈥檙e inspired and motivated to support causes in your community, it makes your community stronger,鈥� said Carroll, whose foundation assists children with disabilities and health challenges and their families.
鈥淥ur strategic focus right now is on mental health,鈥� added board vice-chair Sandra Hudson. 鈥淲e have a pilot project on the north Island for youth mental health, and we鈥檙e very close to announcing a major project for the south Island, a youth mental health hub.鈥�
The community causes supported each year are as diverse as the individuals and organizations whose community contributions are honoured, from health organizations to artistic institutions.
Canadian College of Performing Arts president Marguerite Rowe, for instance, was nominated for the United Way of Greater Victoria鈥檚 Generosity of Spirit award that went to the Hopkins family and Team 4 Hope for its fundraising events for neuroblastoma research.
鈥淚 love the fact that we have this college here in Victoria,鈥� said Rowe, who has volunteered for seven years and been a passionate supporter of the college owned and operated by the non-profit Canadian Heritage Arts Society. The mandate of the college, best known for its musical-theatre program, is to educate, train and support promising young Canadians for performing-arts careers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a national college, and from the board鈥檚 perspective, we want it to continue to grow. We never give up.鈥�
Emcee Bruce Williams, the local philanthropist and CTV Vancouver Island personality, said National Philanthropy Day鈥檚 鈥淐hange the World with a Giving Heart鈥� slogan is particularly meaningful this year.
鈥淲e鈥檝e seen a lot of change in the world, certainly politically and socially in the last little while 鈥� everything from the [Chicago] Cubs to Donald Trump,鈥� he said.
鈥淐hange can happen in a lot of different ways caused by different catalysts. Doing it with the heart is different than doing it politically or business-wise 鈥� it鈥檚 about the sincerity that this event represents.鈥�
