The Anawim Companion Society is opening a new residence at an undisclosed location for at-risk women in Victoria.
The 4,500-square-foot, two-storey home, a secure women-only accessible facility, will operate in much the same way as the Anawim’s Men’s House. The organization’s family-style model emphasizes everyone’s responsibility to contribute equally for a healthy, productive living environment.
The new residence, built by Aryze Developments, has seven bedrooms, including a wheelchair-accessible unit, shared bathrooms, a communal kitchen and living spaces.
“As home builders, we have a responsibility to provide diverse housing solutions for all citizens,” said Luke Mari, a principal at Aryze. “We are honoured to collaborate and support local non-profits like Anawim to build safe places for our community to call home.”
The house was made possible by an anonymous supporter who donated her property, the Carole and Clint Forster Foundation at the Victoria Foundation, Aryze Developments, community partners and local businesses. The new residence for women also received support from the City of Victoria Housing Reserve Fund.
In 2020, the Greater Victoria Point-In-Time Homeless Count and Needs Survey reported 487 homeless women in the city. Of those, 243 were in transitional housing, a hotel or someone else’s home.
• For more information , go to .
>>> PISE holds family festival at Camosun campus on Saturday
The Pacific Institute for Sport Education is holding its TD Family Sport and Recreation Festival at Camosun College’s Interurban campus on Saturday, May 6.
The festival, co-hosted by PISE and the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame, is a free half-day of interactive sport and recreation activities for all ages and ability levels.
“We are so pleased to welcome TD as the title sponsor of our beloved Family Sport and Recreation Festival,” said Robert Bettauer, CEO of PISE. “The community looks forward to this event each May, welcoming over 2,000 people to experience the joy of being active and trying new sports and activities.”
The festival features activities ranging from team sports such as soccer, rowing and hockey to individual sports such as skating, swimming and karate. The event will kick off with a children’s race around the track led by Sasha Perron, a Kwakwaka’wakw athlete, in memory of those lost in residential schools.
Food trucks will be onsite for snack and lunch options a raffle will help raise funds for PISE’s charitable activities.
For more information, go to pise.ca.
>>> Volunteers for Ironman work toward group grant
The Ironman Foundation has $15,000 worth of volunteerism grants available for sports teams, musical groups, student clubs, dry grad committees and community groups that can fill various volunteer positions for the Ironman 70.3 Victoria race, May 28.
Grant amounts are dependent on the number of shifts a group of volunteers fills. If a group of four volunteers each signs up for two shifts, that would count as eight shifts. Groups can also recruit volunteers from outside their organizations. such as friends, family, roommates, partners and coworkers. Their volunteer hours would all count toward the grant for the group.
A variety of volunteer roles are available. Volunteers can chat with athletes at athlete registration or paddle alongside swimmers as swim course support. Bike course marshals are needed along the course at key locations. Some volunteers will hand out snacks and drinks at aid stations while others give out medals and other awards at the finish line.
Shifts are available from May 25 to 28.
• For more information about the grants and how to apply, email [email protected]. Volunteers can register online or view available shifts at .
>>> Wish comes true for travel insurance coverage
Make-A-Wish sa国际传媒 will be able to fill even more wishes over the next five years after Blue Cross announced this week that it would cover travel insurance for more than 6,000 travel wishes to more than 26,000 Make-A-Wish children and their families over the next five years — starting on April 29, World Wish Day.
Often, the critical illnesses that qualify kids for a wish also exclude them from being able to secure travel insurance. This in-kind pledge means Blue Cross will cover the cost of comprehensive travel insurance for children and their families when they travel — even internationally — for the next five years.
Approximately 70 per cent of all granted wishes through Make-A-Wish sa国际传媒 involve some form of travel, with 102 travel wishes granted and booked for children with critical illness in British Columbia and Yukon and 619 wishes of all kinds pending. The total number of travel wishes either completed or booked across sa国际传媒 from October 2022 to date is 664, with the total number of wishes of all kinds pending across sa国际传媒 at 4,084.
• For more information, go to https://makeawish.ca/
>>> Tim Hortons’ Smile Cookie drive supports Jeneece Place
Tim Hortons’ Smile Cookie campaign kicks off on May 1, with proceeds from the sale of chocolate chunk cookies supporting Jeneece Place.
Smile Cookie Week runs until May 7, with funds raised by 23 Tim Hortons restaurants across the Capital Regional District to benefit the Children’s Health Foundation in support of Jeneece Place, a home away from home for families of children receiving medical care in Victoria.
“We are immensely grateful to participating Tim Hortons franchisees across Greater Victoria for their decade of support,” said Veronica Carroll, CEO of the Children’s Health Foundation. “The annual Tim Hortons Smile Cookie campaigns have raised an amazing $362,585 to support access to health care for Island kids and help us keep families close when children are in the hospital. That’s definitely something to smile about.”
The cookies can be purchased in-store or at the drive-through. Orders can also be placed through the Tim Hortons mobile app for delivery, or for pick-up.
• For a map of participating restaurants, go to bit.ly/smilecookieweek2023
>>> How you can take part in CRD art and culture survey
The CRD Arts and Culture Support Service is inviting the region’s residents to get involved in the development of the 2024-2027 CRD Arts and Culture Strategic Plan by taking a 10-minute survey.
The online survey seeks input from the arts sector and its audience.
“CRD Arts and Culture has been supporting the arts sector for over 20 years. In that time the program has evolved to match the changing realities of our communities and residents.” said Marianne Alto, the chair of the arts commission. “The input we gather will help us evaluate how the service has been doing and ensure that our goals moving forward continue to reflect the needs and aspirations of the region.”
Each year, CRD Arts and Culture distributes more than $2.5 million in grants for arts programming to non-profit organizations in nine participating jurisdictions: Saanich, Victoria, Oak Bay, Esquimalt, View Royal, Highlands, Metchosin, Sooke and Southern Gulf Islands electoral area. The service also supports collaboration and information-sharing in the arts sector through community outreach, events and social media.
• To take part in the survey, go to .
>>> To comment on this article, write a letter to the editor: [email protected]
