Last week’s Mustard Seed Christmas Dinner at the Bay Street Armoury was made possible thanks to the dozens of volunteers who helped out with preparing, serving and cleaning up.
Thinking of lending a hand to help the city’s vulnerable citizens over the holidays? Volunteer positions are still available at some of the Mustard Seed programs:
• Spirit of Giving Gift Wrap
When: Now till Dec. 24
Volunteers wrap gifts and interact with busy shoppers in four malls (Tillicum Centre, Mayfair Shopping Centre, the Bay Centre and Hillside Shopping Centre) in exchange for a financial donation or a gift for a child, as part of the Give a Gift Program.
Contact: Nicole: 250-220-7091 or [email protected]
• Curbside Donation Collection
When: Now until Dec. 30.
Volunteers Required: Two to four people at any time from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Flexible shifts.
During December, the Mustard Seed requires a steady presence outside to accept donations of food, clothing and gifts from folks who come or drive by.
Contact: Ted: 250-220-6991 or [email protected]
• The Huron Carole
When: Dec. 16.
Volunteers Required: Staff the silent auction, setup for concert, receipt-writing, logistics setup and take-down.
This gala event supports food banks across Canada during the holiday season, featuring Tom Jackson.
Contact: Lisa: 250-953-1591 or [email protected]
• Christmas Hamper Week
When: Dec. 12 to 19.
Volunteers Required: About 30 each day
People needed to greet, prepare hampers and interact with those receiving hampers.
Contact: Shawn: 250-220-6991 or [email protected]
For more information, go to mustardseed.ca or [email protected].
Local firms give the gift of wheels
Joi Saunders received an early Christmas present on Monday — but many in the community will benefit from her gift of a vehicle.
For the past five years Superior Collision has been involved with the Azko Nobel Acoat Benevolence Program, whose mission is to generate goodwill and improve the image of the collision-repair industry.
The program centres on giving refurbished vehicles to deserving individuals or organizations. Participating shops work with local charitable organizations to identify a worthy individual in need of reliable transportation.
This year, they selected Saunders to receive a rebuilt 2006 Toyota Matrix, as well as thousands of dollars in gift certificates, food and other donated items.
“Overwhelmed doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel,” said Saunders, 55. “Although I have taken good care of my last car, it had more than 500,000 kilometres on it. The new car gives me more confidence and is far-reaching on what it means to me.”
Not only is her vehicle the primary mode of transportation to take her to work at the Victoria Cool Aid Society, it also serves as a means for her to pick up laundry or food for seniors and those without access to a vehicle.
“You quickly discover that even everyday mundane things that need to be done can be a lot more challenging without a vehicle,” said the mother of three.
Although Superior Collision presented the car to Saunders, many others were behind the effort. Ten employees of the company donated hundreds of hours of their time to repair and paint the body of the car and detail the interior. The vehicle, an insurance write-off, was donated by Coast Capital Savings — which also supplied the first year of vehicle insurance. OK Tire contributed to mechanical issues and new tires. In total, more than 50 sponsors supported the initiative.
“This gift is pivotal in my and other people’s lives,” said Saunders. “Any change in a global level has to happen on an individual level.”
To fill out a nomination application for next year’s vehicle or for more information, go to superiorcollision.ca/ community-involvement.
United Way-funded programs fill many needs
People in crisis often require more than one service to get the assistance they need — a need satisfied by a range of social services provided by the United Way, the leader in the non-profit sector in the CRD.
“It is because of over 11,000 donors that United Way was able to support a network of programs and services that assisted nearly 97,000 people in our community in 2015,” said Patricia Jelinski, CEO at United Way. “At United Way we work hard to ensure a network of services is available at all times for individuals, families, children and youth.”
United Way-funded programs include:
• Umbrella Society for Addictions and Mental Health Peer Outreach Program: This program works with anyone for whom substance use has become a problem, assisting clients and members of their families as they identify their own need. Emotional and tangible supports include counselling and connections to related community resources.
• Our Place Society Food Services Program: This food services program provides 1,600 nutritious meals a day to Victoria’s homeless, working poor, seniors, and people with physical and mental health challenges. It also offers an opportunity to engage with outreach staff, build relationships and connect with community resources.
• Victoria Cool Aid Society REES Outreach and Support Program: The Resources, Education, Employment and Support program provides accessible, responsive and barrier-free supports and services to adults facing mental-health and/or substance-use challenges, poverty, unemployment, homelessness, unstable housing, chronic health and disability conditions, isolation, and other personal and societal challenges. Through outreach services, peer support and employment opportunities, participants are assisted to improve their well-being.
• Pacifica Housing Advisory Association Greater Victoria Streets to Homes Program: This program works to move people experiencing homelessness directly to private-market housing obtained through a comprehensive landlord-support system. S2H provides a rent subsidy, case planning and supports through direct service and referrals to community resources to ensure participants remain housed and progress toward self-sufficiency.
For more information on programs, or to donate, go to uwgv.ca.
Trees and wreaths at Santa’s Forest
The Braefoot Community Association’s Santa’s Forest is back, with a large assortment of premium B.C. trees, stands, wreaths and table-top arrangements.
The Christmas tree lot has been affiliated with the association for more than 21 years.
Partial proceeds from sales support the neighbourhood association, which offers youth and sports programs throughout the year.
The tree lot is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at 359 McKenzie Ave.
For more information, go to braefoot.ca.
Calling artists, young and old
Greater Victoria Eldercare Foundation’s Remembering Our Canada intergenerational project is looking for senior and youth artists from all genres to volunteer and help tell stories about what the community’s seniors have revealed about what Canada means to them.
Funded in part by the Government of Canada’s New Horizons for Seniors program, the initiative will culminate at the foundation’s Embrace Aging Month in March 2017.
Contributions are considered from theatre, music, dance, multimedia, photography, visual arts and the literary arts.
A theatre performance and art exhibit will run March 13, 15 and 17 at the Dave Dunnet Theatre in Oak Bay High School.
Interested artists should contact the Eldercare Foundation, 250-370-7260 or Trudy Pauluth-Penner, 250-385-7260.
For more information, go to gvef.org.
For the Love of Music in Sooke
Enjoy an evening of film, live music and refreshments at For the Love of Music, a fundraiser for both the Sooke Philharmonic Society and Harmony Project Sooke, on Wednesday.
The evening begins with a screening of For the Love of Music, a recently produced half-hour documentary that gives viewers an intimate look at the Sooke Philharmonic Orchestra and its relevance to the community.
The event will be followed by several shorter films about the Harmony Project and research on the benefits of learning to play a musical instrument.
After the screenings, moviegoers are invited to enjoy live music by members of the orchestra followed by coffee, mulled cider, baked goodies and popcorn in the theatre foyer.
Founded in 1997, the Sooke Philharmonic Orchestra has more than 60 members and is recognized as one of Canada’s finest community orchestras.
The Harmony Project was founded in Los Angeles in 2001 to provide free musical education to children in inner-city neighbourhoods. Several years ago, Maestro Norman Nelson visited the Harmony Project in L.A. and came away inspired to bring a similar program to Sooke.
Harmony Project Sooke was founded less than a year ago. It runs a Beginning Strings Class for Grades 2 to 4 students and a Drumline Class for Grades 6 and up. The children and youth attend classes two to three times a week outside of school time.
Proceeds from the door and concession sales will go toward the work of Sooke Philharmonic Society and Harmony Project Sooke to continue promoting and producing music in the community.
Admission by donation. The films run 7 to 8:15 p.m., with refreshments from 8:15 to 9 p.m. Dec. 14. at Edward Milne Community School, 6218 Sooke Rd. Sooke. For more information, go to awarenessfilmnight.ca, harmonyprojectsooke.ca or sookephil.ca.
SPCA gets a hand from drivers
The Driven to Give test-drive event, hosted by the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board and Steve Marshall Ford Lincoln in September raised $7,500 for the SPCA Nanaimo.
“The B.C. SPCA receives no operational funding from government and relies solely on the kindness of our community,” said Leon Davis, manager, Nanaimo and District SPCA. “Without the ongoing support we get from wonderful community organizations like VIREB and Steve Marshall Ford Lincoln, we wouldn’t be able to help the many thousands of animals and people we do each year.”
This is the second time VIREB collaborated with Steve Marshall on Driven to Give. In 2015, the two organizations raised $10,000 for Nanaimo’s Haven Society. Just as in 2015, a steady stream of VIREB members supported Driven to Give by test driving a vehicle.
“Realtors are one of the most philanthropic groups of individuals anywhere,” said VIREB director Kaye Broens. “Many are heavily involved in charitable causes all across Canada. The Canadian Realtor community gave over $91 million to charity between 2012 and 2015.”
For more information or to donate to the SPCA, go to spca.bc.ca.
