Your donation can help float museum's boat
Help put the wind in the Maritime Museum of British Columbia’s sails by contributing to its annual Float the Boat fundraising campaign, now until April 4.
This is the fourth year of the campaign, which calls on the public for donations to help keep its programs and exhibits running.
The fun fundraiser marks donation milestones by filling a tank with water to float a miniature boat higher and higher.
To date, the Float the Boat fundraising campaign has raised almost $9,000 toward its $25,000 goal.
Western Canada’s oldest maritime museum, the Maritime Museum of B.C. showcases the rich maritime culture and history of the Pacific Northwest.
• For more information, or to donate, go to mmbc.bc.ca/event/float-the-boat-fundraising-campaign.
Island Health seeks bids for wellness grants
Applications are being accepted from people and communities on Vancouver Island for grants of up to $12,000 from Island Health’s Community Wellness Grants.
The focus this year is on community resilience, with projects aimed at promoting a connected, diverse, safe, active and nourished community.
The maximum individual grant is $12,000 per project. A partnership grant — a collaboration amongst a minimum of three organizations — is eligible for up to $50,000 per project.
The grant pool is up to $800,000.
This is the seventh year of the grants, which enable not-for-profit organizations, local government organizations, and Indigenous Nations and organizations to apply for one-time funding for community-led wellness projects that reduce barriers and increase supports.
“The Community Wellness Grant Program is highlighting community resilience again this year, which is a key priority for Island Health,” said Dr. Réka Gustafson, vice-president population health and chief medical health officer. “These grants provide an opportunity for local organizations to improve the social determinants of health in their communities in creative and community-specific ways.”
Projects that received funding in 2023 included an Indigenous lifeguard training program run by the Strathcona Regional District in collaboration with the We Wai Kai and Nuchatlaht Nations; a discussion and education series on the environmental impacts of wood burning led by the Thetis Island Community Association; and an intergenerational food security learning program for children run by the LifeCycles Project Society in Victoria.
• For more information and to apply, go to communitygrants.islandhealth.ca.
Family donates $1 million to hospital imaging program
The Victoria Hospitals Foundation has received a $1-million gift toward its Imaging Is Power campaign by a donor in memory of his late wife.
Both Alex and Betty Miller had received care at Royal Jubilee Hospital. With Betty’s passing in 2021, Alex wanted to give back in her memory.
“Throughout her life, Betty was a committed friend and participant in her community from Regina, Saskatchewan, Calgary, Alberta, and Edinburgh, Scotland to Brackendale, B.C. and, of course, Victoria. As a Deacon at Christ Church Cathedral, helping and serving others was deeply important to her,” said Miller. “Since Betty was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017, and passed away from the disease in 2021, myself and other loved ones have increasingly recognized the critical importance of medical imaging in early disease detection. This gift is a continuation of Betty’s commitment to serving others; I know that it will make a difference to people’s lives and will help many for years to come.”
The donation will go toward the campaign, which will see the modernization and replacement of six pieces of imaging equipment at Royal Jubilee and Victoria General hospitals.
Miller joins more than 4,400 other donors as the campaign moves closer to its $11-million goal.
For more information, or to donate, go to victoriahf.ca/imaging.
Bingo games support bus-shelter project
The Rotary Club of Sidney is holding its third and last Back in Time Bingo, to raise funds for a bus shelter, at the Mary Winspear Centre, Sidney, March 24.
The service club’s last bingo event had on average a prize value of $75 per game for the first hour.
Money raised will go toward the installation of a bus stop shelter, complete with solar-powered lighting, on West Saanich Road (in front of the ȽÁU, WELṈEW̱ Tribal School) in Brentwood Bay.
Slider bingo cards are $2 per game. The event runs 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, March 24 in Room 2 of the Mary Winspear Centre, 2243 Beacon Ave., Sidney.
• For more information, go to rotaryclubofsidney.org.
Lend a hand to Rwandan village
Help the most vulnerable people in a rural village in Rwanda by volunteering with the Friends of Gashora this summer.
The organization is looking for volunteers to help them run craft fairs and markets in Victoria, Nanaimo, Port Alberni and Vancouver. Volunteers will help sell the handwoven baskets and other sewn items hand-made by women in a village named Gashora, Rwanda.
Net proceeds from the sales will be sent back to the village to help pay for educational, nutritional and health care programs.
Volunteering need not be a long-time commitment nor involve a lot of hours.
Tasks at the stalls could include pricing, setting up, taking down or selling. You can participate individually, as a family or with a group of friends.
• For more information, go to friendsofgashora.com or [email protected].
A cold swim will turn into lunch for kids
Laura Thomson, a board member of Support Soweto Junior School, is looking for pledges for a cold swim at Willows Beach she intends to take March 30 to raise money for hot lunches at a school in Kibera, Africa’s largest slum.
To make it an international event, the children at the school will simultaneously swim in Nairobi, Kenya, to raise funds.
“I’m willing to endure this discomfort to ensure that every child at Soweto Junior receives a nutritious meal,” said Thomson. “Often it’s the only meal they will get that day.”
She intends to swim for 20 minutes and is asking people to pledge at least $1 per minute. A $20 pledge is enough to feed one child for one month at the school.
“But that’s not the only way people can help. You can get pledges yourself and dip or swim along with me,” says Thomson. “Or just come out to cheer me on. I’ll need all the support I can get.”
Support Soweto Junior School is a non-profit organization and a registered society. Its mission is to promote the children’s physical and emotional well-being by providing funds to ensure regular meals every school day.
The swim will start at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 30 at Willows Beach.
For more information, to pledge or to donate, go to supportsowetojuniorschool.org.
