The Pacific Blue Cross Health Foundation recently donated $10,000 to Move Adapted Fitness — a specialized fitness centre designed to maximize the health of people with physical disabilities.
Move offers a safe and accessible place to exercise for people with spinal-cord injury, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s and other physical limitations.
The entire facility was designed to be accessible for people with physical disabilities, except for the front doors. The donation has made possible the installation of automatic front doors to ease the daily mobility concerns of clients and create a welcoming facility for everyone.
For more information, go to pac.bluecross.ca/company/ community or moveadaptedfitness.ca.
Grad-outfit non-profit needs your help
The Magic Wand Project, a non-profit organization that has been helping students attend their graduation celebrations inexpensively, needs help itself.
The service loans out like-new outfits and accessories to ensure students graduate in style — regardless of their financial situation.
Magic Wand has assisted more than 500 students in the past 17 years. In some cases, they have helped more than one student from the same family. It has enabled not just financially challenged families, but any young adult wishing to borrow rather than buy.
The stock of clothing and accessories, including more than 100 gowns and 40 tuxedos, is in a storage room in a school, but will have to move because of a shortage of space.
Magic Wand is looking for a room with accessibility for appointments. Please call Elizabeth Surerus, the project’s founder, as soon as possible at 250-658-0246 or esurerus@telus.net.
It’s time to party like it’s 1871
British Columbia joined Canada on July 20, 1871. Mark the 147th anniversary of B.C. joining Confederation — and travel back in time to the Victorian era — at the Grand Confederation Day Garden Party, July 22 at Ross Bay Villa.
At the family-friendly celebration, you can take a tour of the restored rooms in the historic house. You can also listen to live music while enjoying a traditional cream tea in the historic garden under heritage apple trees.
The event will also feature Victorian outdoor games and heritage displays.
Tickets are $10 and funds raised during this event go to the conservation, restoration and maintenance of the historic house. The celebrations run noon to 4 p.m. July 22 at the house, 1490 Fairfield Rd. Tickets at bit.ly/2N9K9Mj. For more information, go to rossbayvilla.org.
30 kids will get bikes from Nanaimo program
As many as 30 disadvantaged children in Nanaimo will have the opportunity to experience the joy of riding a bike, thanks to the Share the Ride program, early next month.
The program is an initiative of the Stevie Smith Legacy Foundation and Pink Bike.
“The Stevie Smith Legacy Foundation is excited to partner with Pink Bike again for Share the Ride this year to provide bikes to 30 children who may otherwise not have the opportunity to have a bicycle,” said Michelle Corfield, founder of the foundation.
The children will receive bicycles and basic riding essentials, such as helmets and locks.
The Nanaimo Aboriginal Association helped develop a set of criteria, based on the founding principles of the Stevie Smith Legacy Foundation, to determine the recipients.
In addition to promoting physical activity, wellness and environmental sustainability, Share the Ride strives to give kids their first taste of independence, raise their self-esteem and inspire them to believe that anything is possible.
Since the program was created, it has raised more than $150,000 in donations and has brought smiles to hundreds of children.
The bikes will be distributed by professional riders during the intermission of the Red Bull Pump Track Qualifying Races, Aug. 4 at the Stevie Smith Bike Park, Nanaimo.
The Stevie Smith Legacy Foundation was created in 2016 after the death of Smith, then Canada’s most accomplished downhill mountain biker. It funds community biking projects, such as the creation and development of the Stevie Smith Bike Park and other initiatives that support young athletes.
To learn more about Pink Bike’s Share the Ride initiative, visit pinkbike.com/sharetheride. For more information about the Stevie Smith Legacy Foundation and its partnership with Pink Bike, contact Corfield at michellecorfield@shaw.ca.
Fundraiser will help to build a barn
Connect with your local food community, and picnic in an oceanside meadow on an organic feast of local foods at Let’s Build a Barn, a fundraiser July 22 at Stillmeadow Farm in Metchosin.
The event is a collaboration between Slow Food Vancouver Island and the Island Chefs Collaborative.
Proceeds from the event will go toward helping farmer Tom Henry complete his state-of-the-art barn at the seaside farm.
Visitors can picnic in style with B.C. wine, beer and other beverages, join a tour of the building, learn about raising animals, discover heritage breeds and meet the friendly pigs.
Tickets are $90 per person or $200 for a family of two adults and children under 10. All tickets include food and beverages. The family-friendly event runs 2 to 5 p.m. July 22 at Stillmeadow Farm, 535 Wootton Rd. For more information, go to Slow Food Vancouver Island Facebook page or slowisland.ca.
Victoria teen wins public-affairs award
A Victoria student has won a 2018 Zonta International Young Women in Public Affairs Award. She was the only winner in Canada.
Aysha Emmerson, a 17-year-old graduate of St. Michaels University School, first won the Zonta Club of Victoria scholarship, went on to secure the Zonta District 8 scholarship (the district covers Alaska, B.C., Washington, Oregon and Idaho) and subsequently was awarded one of the 10 international scholarships.
Emmerson is set to attend Harvard University in the fall, and intends to concentrate on women’s gender and sexuality studies, and global health and health policy.
“I want to use my words to inspire, to empower, to build bridges and break down stigmas,” she said. “I want to give voice to the dispossessed by using my words to teach others how to use theirs.”
She had been the head girl at the school, co-chaired the prefect assembly, ran school gatherings and served as a liaison between teachers and students. She was involved in the school’s sailing, cross-country and soccer teams, and was a member of the newspaper, service council, service leadership and model United Nations.
The goal of the Zonta International Young Women in Public Affairs Award Program is to encourage young women to participate in public affairs by recognizing a young woman’s commitment to the volunteer sector, evidence of volunteer leadership achievements and dedication to the empowerment of women.
For more information, go to zonta.org
Swimmer plans to cross Strait of Georgia
Victoria-born Jill Yoneda has just announced that she is preparing to swim 70 kilometres round-trip across the Strait of Georgia in August to raise funds for Canuck Place Children’s Hospice.
She will be the first to attempt to swim a double crossing of the strait between Nanaimo and Sechelt.
Her goal is to raise $5,000 for the hospice.
Yoneda is set to tackle the difficult swim despite numerous physical challenges, including a degenerative disc disease, compartment syndrome and a rare condition called popliteal artery entrapment syndrome.
She has had more than 15 surgeries — including three spinal disc implants — with more surgeries on the horizon.
“What drew me to Canuck Place was seeing how the Canuck Place clinical team works together to ensure children and families have the best experience when time is precious,” said Yoneda. “My heart feels fuller knowing that I can have a small part in helping contribute to Canuck Place care.”
Canuck Place Children’s Hospice is British Columbia’s pediatric palliative-care provider. More than 720 children living with life-threatening illnesses and families have received care from Canuck Place through outreach programs and two provincial hospice locations.
For more information, go to canuckplace.org/jillyoneda.
Community becomes pedestrian-friendly
Drawing on Dutch experience, residents in the Oaklands Rise area are planning to create a woonerf for the community.
A woonerf is a road where traffic-calming devices have been installed to make it a more pedestrian-friendly living street. It was originally implemented in the Netherlands and in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium.
A group of 80 people is planning to creating a promenade, a less invasive traffic-calming green link incorporating the Kings Road Greenway, Mount Stephen Avenue and more.
These are all sidewalk-free streets where residents and folks from other neighbourhoods congregate for evening strolls, dog-walking and the experience of an almost rural sensibility within minutes of downtown.
This is a volunteer effort, supported by Saanich council.
For more information, go to is.gd/cKjz4N.
