The sa国际传媒 SPCA is advertising that you can find love for half the price as it kicks off a cat-adoption promotion from Monday until Aug. 2 at all of its locations across the province.
鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping this promotion, which offers 50 per cent off the usual adoption fees for all adult cats, will encourage anyone who has been considering cat adoption to take the next step and make it reality,鈥� said Lorie Chortyk, general manager, community relations. 鈥淲ith wildfires sweeping our province, it is even more urgent to get homeless cats in our care into loving homes so that we can free up shelter space to offer temporary emergency shelter for animals affected by the fires.鈥�
The promotion is presented by Hill鈥檚 Science Diet, and adoptions come with a free bag of food.
There are several benefits to adopting a more mature cat over a kitten, as they鈥檙e calmer and more settled, litter-trained, fully grown, with personalities already developed, so potential adopters are more aware of what they鈥檙e going to get.
The sa国际传媒 SPCA rescues nearly 15,000 cats and kittens every year.
To adopt an adult cat this weekend, visit your local sa国际传媒 SPCA branch during business hours, or visit spca.bc.ca/adopt to search for adoptable adult felines.
听
Young workers targets of听safety campaign
A young drummer has become the unofficial poster boy as WorkSafe sa国际传媒 launches its Young-Worker Safety Campaign.
Jack Thomas had only been on the job for two months when, at 17, he lost half of his right arm. He was working near a conveyer belt that had been turned off when the belt suddenly started up and his sleeve was caught in the machinery.
鈥淚t was a summer job,鈥� said Thomas. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think at all about making my own safety a priority. It just wasn鈥檛 on my mind.鈥�
The campaign is reaching out to both employers of young workers 鈥� and young workers themselves 鈥� to be vigilant about workplace safety. Between 2012 and 2016, more than 32,000 young workers ages 15 to 24 were injured on the job. Of those, more than 3,600 were seriously injured 鈥� an average of 14 per week.
Jack reflects often on how different his life might have been. He hopes telling his story will help other young workers think about possible hazards in their workplaces and speak up.
鈥淎ll young-worker injuries and deaths are unacceptable,鈥� said Trudi Rondou, WorkSafe sa国际传媒 senior manager of industry and labour services.
鈥淲e want to address reservations young workers may have about raising safety concerns with their bosses, encourage them to trust their instincts and help them understand their rights and responsibilities on the job.鈥�
WorkSafe sa国际传媒 launched the Listen to Your Gut awareness campaign to encourage young workers to speak up when faced with a potentially unsafe situation. Young workers can visit worksafebc.com/ListenToYourGut for tips on bringing safety concerns to their bosses.
The organization鈥檚 also has short videos titled What I Know Now, based on employers reflecting on their first jobs 鈥� and lessons learned. The videos represent three industry sectors with high numbers of young-worker serious-injury claims: The service sector (restaurants), the construction sector and the retail sector. The videos and other resources can be found at worksafeBC.com/WhatIKnowNow.
WorkSafe sa国际传媒 is an independent provincial statutory agency governed by a board of directors that serves about 2.3 million workers and more than 225,000 employers. For more information, go to worksafebc.com.
听
Camp Courage aimed at听children at risk
Last week, 80 children participated in the first Camp Courage in Nanaimo, a day camp that raises awareness of the role of emergency-service personnel.
The camp is an opportunity for children at risk to meet uniformed emergency service personnel. The camps are a joint effort between the RCMP, International Association of Firefighters Local 905, Nanaimo Parks and Recreation, and Nanaimo Fire Rescue.
Too often, children see people in uniform during serious events that can involve negative circumstances. Camp Courage provides an opportunity for these children to gain confidence and recognize that uniformed emergency-services personnel are safe.
Participants included 42 neighbourhood children and 38 Syrian refugee children.
At the camp, the children got an opportunity to be kids around static displays of firefighting apparatus. They got to take part in training drills adapted into playful activities 鈥� such as a mini-firefighter challenge, bucket brigade and the fire-safety house fire-evacuation demonstration.
Fire crews demonstrated tools and fire-hose streams, and helped kids dress up as real firefighters in authentic gear.
For more information, go to nanaimo.ca.
听
Co-op donates $51,000 to听Wildfire Appeal
The Canadian Red Cross recently received almost $51,000 toward its sa国际传媒 Wildfire Appeal thanks to a donation from Vancouver Island Co-ops and Federated Co-operative in Saskatoon.
鈥淲e are committed to supporting the communities where we do business and causes that matter to our member-owners. In light of the recent wildfires throughout the province, we are honoured to support the ongoing efforts of the Canadian Red Cross,鈥� said Dave Hoy, chair of the Vancouver Island Co-op Management Group and CEO/general manager of Peninsula Co-op.
Apart from the local store, contributions have come from Mid-Island, Port Alberni, Comox, Tofino, Ucluelet, North Island, Hornby and Sointula.
Federated Co-op recently donated $1 million over five years to the Canadian Red Cross in support of its Disaster Management Program across Western sa国际传媒.
For more information, go to peninsulaco-op.com.
听
Music on two wheels roams Victoria
Audience participation is taken to the next level as listeners pedal to hear the tunes at the inaugural Victoria Bicycle Music Festival July 30 at two outdoor venues in Victoria.
Local and regional musicians will perform at the family-friendly event. Members of the audience get to contribute their energy to the event by hopping on one of the two generator bikes and helping to power the music.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a dream of mine since I was young to learn how to generate electricity using people power, and I am happy to say that it is being crossed off my bucket list,鈥� said Vic Horvath, a local musician and organizer of the event. 鈥淪howing others how to make their own energy is an incredible feat. On top of that, the Bicycle Music Festival is giving artists the option to really think about how much [energy] they consume.鈥�
The event is free to attend. The festival kicks off with performances at 1 and 2 p.m. in Central Park (beside Crystal Pool). The festival then packs up and moves over to Vic West by bike. MEGANG, a one ma鈥檃m busking band, will get things rolling in Banfield Park at 4 p.m. and then BOUSADA (a.k.a. Graeme Bousada) will headline the festival with a solo performance at 5 p.m.
For more information, go to vicbikemusicfest.ca.
听
Help to Strike Out Diabetes
Diabetes sa国际传媒 is partnering with the Victoria HarbourCats, Island Savings, Pacific Coastal Airlines and New Balance/Frontrunners to host a special Strike Out Diabetes game night when the HarbourCats play the Kelowna Falcons at Royal Athletic Park, July 25.
The event is both a fundraiser and an opportunity to educate and inspire people to take steps to making healthier lifestyle choices to reduce their risk of diabetes.
Funds raised will be used to send a child with Type 1 diabetes to camp and support the local Diabetes sa国际传媒 Food Skills for Families program.
There are about 100,000 individuals in the Capital Regional District living with diabetes.
Island Savings will donate $100 for every strike-out thrown during the game. Island Savings is also an avid supporter of the Full Cupboard, a program that raises food, funds and awareness for Island food banks.
Other activities include face-painting, button-making, a 50/50, a draw to win a pair of New Balance shoes or Pacific Coastal airlines return flight for two to Kelowna.
Regular admission applies. Tickets are $12 to $25. The game starts at 6:35 p.m. July 25 at Royal Athletic Park, 1014 Caledonia Ave.
For more information, go to diabetes.ca or harbourcats.com.
听
Victoria artist finalist in听Art Battle
P茅n茅lope Angelin of Victoria is one of the finalists at 2017 Art Battle sa国际传媒, with the finale taking place in Toronto on Thursday.
Art Battle is a global tournament of live art. At each event, the audience chooses the winner of a multi-round timed art competition. That winner goes on to compete at higher levels in new cities and countries.
Art Battle sa国际传媒 will bring sa国际传媒鈥檚 16 finalists together Thursday at the Great Hall in Toronto.
This is the finale to the 2016/2017 Art Battle season, with more than 150 events across the country since August 2016.
Angelin is joined by Shannon Thiesen of Abbotsford to represent sa国际传媒
Recent international events have been held in New York, Amsterdam, Genoa, Sao Paulo, Los Angeles, Manila and Tokyo.
For more information, go to artbattle.com.
听
Big Bike raises funds for听Heart and Stroke
Sutton Group 鈥� West Coast Realty鈥檚 29-person Sutton Lister team raised almost $1,200 for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of sa国际传媒 during a charity event in June.
The group participated in the foundation鈥檚 Big Bike fundraiser.
For two days in June local teams took turns riding a multi-person bicycle for two kilometres. The event raised more than $38,000 overall during the annual fun event.
For more information, go to suttonspirit.com or heartandstroke.ca.
听
Party on the Plaza returning
Proceeds from last year鈥檚 Vining Street Party on the Plaza have been distributed to support local community-improvement projects.
The organization donated $10,000 to the Learning Curve Society toward serving children with learning and behavioural challenges.
It also paid for lighting up of the Fernwood Community Association heritage building, 1923 Fernwood Rd., which enhances existing lighting in Fernwood Square and Fernwood Village.
The Vining Street Party on the Plaza returns Sept. 10. The group is on Facebook.
