The Veselka Ukrainian Dancers of Victoria came home with honours in three competition categories at this year鈥檚 sa国际传媒 Ukrainian Cultural Festival, held this month in Mission.
The 36-member troupe, under the tutelage of choreographer and instructor Lisa Hall, won:
鈥� The Oleskow Award (for the most outstanding performance in the adult category),
鈥� The TUC Trophy (for boys 10聽and under) and
鈥� The award for Hopak (National Dance of Ukraine), shared with Kvitka of Surrey.
Dressed in a variety of colourful costumes from all regions of Ukraine, 300 dancers from sa国际传媒 and Seattle performed at the annual festival.
For more information, go to .
Campaign focuses on聽critically ill children
The Victoria Hospitals Foundation has just launched You Are Vital: Pediatrics, a fundraising campaign focusing on improving pediatric care for critically ill children.
The goal of the new campaign is to raise $1.8 million to fund 40聽new monitors for life-saving neonatal and pediatric care at Victoria General Hospital.
鈥淲e want our children home and healthy. When that鈥檚 not possible, and when they need expert medical attention, we want them close, on Vancouver Island, surrounded by their support network,鈥� said Steve McKerrell, the foundation鈥檚 board chair. 鈥淲e are asking our community to help ensure our pediatric caregivers have the best possible tools so that our littlest and most fragile patients can continue to receive exceptional care, here at home. Our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit need new patient monitors.鈥�
The campaign will roll out over the next several months, with the release of patient and caregiver narratives to tell the story of pediatric excellence at Victoria General Hospital, and the importance of equipment in today鈥檚 health care.
Contributions can be made by donating online at , calling 250-519-1750 or mailing to Wilson Block, 1952 Bay St.
Tap your toes to聽catchy聽tunes
Watch a toe-tapping, dancing-in-your-seat musical extravaganza at the Greatest Show, a performance by the Arbutus Singers, June 1 and 2 in Alix Goolden Hall.
The show is a fundraiser for the ChoirKids program, which helps children get access to more singing opportunities.
The repertoire for the show, led by director and founder Jack Boomer, ranges from Broadway to movie spectacle.
鈥淭he show will feature popular music 鈥� the greatest of the greats,鈥� said Boomer. 鈥淥ur music includes Bohemian Rhapsody, He Ain鈥檛 Heavy, He鈥檚 My Brother and Let It Be, to name but a few selections.鈥�
Light refreshments will be served following the concert.
Tickets are $20 adult, $15 seniors and students and $40 for a family pack. The performance starts at 7:30 p.m. June 1, and 2聽p.m. June 2 (with accompaniment by the ChoirKids) at Alix Goolden Hall, 907 Pandora Ave. For tickets, please contact the Victoria Conservatory of Music at 250-386-5311.
Staff honoured for聽saving聽a life
Four Saanich aquatic staff were recently honoured with Vital Link awards from sa国际传媒 Emergency Health Services for their quick and skilful life-saving actions at a cardiac-arrest emergency.
The award honours the actions of bystanders at a cardiac emergency.
Current Gordon Head Recreation Centre aquatic employees Katie Bowers and Ceilidh Robertson-Jones and previous employees Jeff Harris and Wade Thoreson were given the awards for their actions after a patron collapsed due to cardiac arrest at the centre on July 4, 2017.
The recreation centre鈥檚 lifeguards, Bowers and Robertson-Jones, rushed to his side and began to perform CPR.
With help from Harris and Thoreson, the team also used the centre鈥檚 automated external defibrillator to deliver one to two shocks and were able to resuscitate him.
鈥淲e鈥檙e very proud of all of our highly trained aquatics teams at both Gordon Head Recreation Centre and Saanich Commonwealth Place, and the good work they do each and every day in their work of prevention, safety and first aid for our patrons,鈥� said Sandra Pearson, manager at Gordon Head Recreation Centre.
For more information, go to .
Women in Need is non-profit of the year
The Victoria Women In Need Community Co-operative was recognized as the Non Profit of the Year at the recent Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce Awards.
鈥淲e are so thrilled to have received the Non Profit of the Year Award and this recognition certainly inspires us even further to continue in our mission to support and empower women along each step of their journey,鈥� said Clare Yazganoglu, the co-operative鈥檚 executive director. 鈥淲e are greatly appreciative to the Victoria Chamber of Commerce, our local partners and, ultimately, the community for their incredible support in helping us to make this possible.鈥�
Victoria Women In Need Community Co-operative is a non-profit co-operative that is fully self-sustaining thanks to donations from the community. Through its New Start Program, the organization helps women and children leaving transition houses to furnish their new homes. For more information, go to .
Walk for Brain Tumour聽Foundation
Lace up your shoes to take part in the Victoria Brain Tumour Walk, today at the University of Victoria.
This is the 24th year of the annual event, hosted by the Brain Tumour Foundation of sa国际传媒.
Joining this year鈥檚 event is Tasha Finley, despite grieving the recent loss of her young son, Kaiden, who succumbed to the disease in March.
鈥淚 will continue to share Kaiden鈥檚 story in the hope that it helps other families,鈥� said Finley. 鈥淲e prayed that Kaiden would be able to join us for the Brain Tumour Walk,鈥� explains Tasha 鈥淏ut we know that he will be here with us in spirit. He was at the event last year and was keen to raise awareness so that other families don鈥檛 follow our journey.鈥�
Registration starts at 8:30 a.m., a Survivor Photo event happens at 9:46, the opening ceremony at 9:50 and the walk starts at 10 a.m. from parking lot 10 at the University of Victoria, 3800 Finnerty Rd.
For more information, go to .
High-school grads get聽free bus trips
High school graduates from more than 70 communities across British Columbia will be able to ride the bus for free for two days thanks to sa国际传媒 Transit and the GradPASS program.
sa国际传媒 Transit and its partner communities are once again offering the popular program for graduating Grade 12 students all over the province.
鈥淕rad season can be a busy and exciting time for high school graduates 鈥� and GradPASS provides them with access to a free and safe transportation option,鈥� said Claire Trevena, minister of聽transportation and infrastructure.
鈥淭hank you to sa国际传媒 Transit for another year of GradPASS, and to the more than 70 local governments in sa国际传媒 and the Victoria Regional Transit Commission for their support of this increasingly popular program.鈥�
GradPASS is meant to encourage safe transportation options during prom season for recent graduates. The Victoria Regional Transit System adopted the program in 1990, with other communities following suit over the years. Today, more than 70 communities across the province offer GradPASS to new graduates at the end of May for their use in June.
GradPASS cards will be distributed to local schools in late May. Students only need to scratch off their two chosen travel days (they do not need to be consecutive) and show the card to their bus driver at the time of boarding.
For more information, go to and select your local transit system.
Do you have room for聽a聽cat?
Meow鈥檚 the time to make a new friend as the sa国际传媒 SPCA offers limited-time half-price adoption of adult cats.
If you have room in your home 鈥� and your heart 鈥� for a new best friend, the SPCA has amazing cats looking for their furr-ever family during their adult cat adoption promotion.
The event, presented by Hill鈥檚 Pet Nutrition, takes place now until May 31.
鈥淲e鈥檙e offering 50 per cent off adoption fees for all adult cats, which is a great incentive for people who have been thinking about adopting and it allows us to find homes more quickly for the incredible cats in our care,鈥� said Lorie Chortyk, sa国际传媒 SPCA general manager of communications. 鈥淭his spring we have taken an overwhelming number of cats into care through hoarding cases and other rescue situations, so our shelters are very full.鈥�
She said older cats tend to be calmer. They have also been litter-box trained and their personalities are developed, so it is easier to find just the right match.
Last year, the animal-advocacy organization found new homes for nearly 10,000 cats and kittens throughout the province.
Visit your local branch, or go to .
Down Syndrome walk聽is聽June 2
The Greater Victoria Down Syndrome Society is holding a GO21 Walk and Fun Day for Down Syndrome on June 2 in Beckwith Park in Saanich.
The event supports people with Down syndrome and brings together the community to learn about diversity.
In addition to the traditional walk, organizers have added a Family Fun Day with a variety of activities including inflatable amusements, face painting, the Super Heroes and Princesses of Victoria and other games.
This year, the goal is to raise $7,500. You can raise funds for a team, join a team or come as an individual.
Registration is online or in person on the day of the event. The event runs 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 2 in Beckwith Park, 857 Beckwith Ave. The community is also welcome to participate in the Fun Day activities by donation.
For more information, go to .
Seniors鈥� outreach program receives grant
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Cowichan Valley recently received $5,000 from the New Horizons for Seniors grant program for community-based projects.
This allows the group to carry out an outreach campaign aimed at recruiting more senior volunteers to serve as mentors for vulnerable children in the Cowichan region.
They hope to match 15 to 20 new senior mentors with a corresponding number of at-risk children and youth through their Seniors for Kids program.
Intergenerational mentoring is聽an important form of community engagement for both senior volunteers and vulnerable children.
For more information, go to .
