Make it happen! 2018 Projects

STRENGTHENING THE WELLBEING OF OUR COMMUNITY At the Victoria Foundation, we believe in connecting people who care with causes that matter®.

The support of generous donors allows the Victoria Foundation to do what it does best – strengthen community wellbeing by investing in people, opportunities and solutions.

We identify and help to address the issues in our community through the vital work of the many charitable organizations that receive discretionary and donor advised grants each year.

We encourage you to consider supporting one or more of the projects or leadership funds in this booklet.

Together we’re better. Together we can make it happen.

Make it happen!

VICTORIA FOUNDATION 200 - 703 Broughton St., Victoria BC V8W 1E2

COMMUNITY NEEDS & OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUR VITAL GRANTS

Charitable Business #:130650898RR0001 P: 250.381.5532 F: 250.480.1129 E: donorservices@victoriafoundation.bc.ca W: victoriafoundation.bc.ca /VicFoundation /TheVictoriaFoundation

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/VicFoundation /VicFoundation

Photo: Broadmead Care Society Engaging Minds and Souls Project - 2016

INTRODUCTION

2018 PROJECTS

MAKE IT HAPPEN! The Victoria Foundation has a long and valued history of strengthening community wellbeing by investing in people, opportunities and solutions. Our close connections and face-to-face dialogues with local charitable organizations – together with research from our annual Vital Signs report – allow us to provide insightful, effective grants to make this great community an even better place to live, work, grow and play.

We are pleased to share summaries adapted from community grant applications received from local charitable organizations for projects and programs proposed for 2018. They highlight the current needs of many organizations that carry out vital work in our community in five broad areas of interest. Each application has undergone an initial screening to meet our basic eligibility criteria.

In addition to supporting charitable organizations, the Victoria Foundation also works on a number of community initiatives that help to improve the understanding of important issues in our community and the best ways to address them. You can support these initiatives by contributing to the collaboration grants or our six community leadership funds.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: COMMUNITY GRANT APPLICATION SUMMARIES BY AREA OF INTEREST Arts & Culture Community Service Education Environment Health & Recreation COLLABORATION GRANT APPLICATIONS VICTORIA FOUNDATION LEADERSHIP FUNDS INDEX OF ALL CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS

2 9 17 20 24 31 33 34

This booklet is also available online at victoriafoundation.ca where you can click through to the websites of each organization to learn more about them. While on our website, we invite you to visit our See the Impact page to read about many of the organizations, initiatives and people that are working toward helping us achieve our vision of a vibrant caring community for all.

Each year, we receive more applications than we can fund. We encourage you to consider supporting one or more of the projects or initiatives in this booklet. Please use the Grant Distribution Form. For assistance, please contact our donor services staff at donorservices@victoriafoundation.bc.ca or 250.381.5532.

Working together, we can strengthen the wellbeing of our community. Together, we’re better.

VICTORIA FOUNDATION – MAKE IT HAPPEN! 1

ARTS & CULTURE

2018 PROJECTS

1BALLET VICTORIA SOCIETY REQUESTING $12,632 Funds for Production Technical Support: Lighting, Computer, Software and Videoballetvictoria.ca Ballet Victoria is seeking support to update its stage lighting with six LED theatre lights, and purchase a professional video camera and laptop computer with software to run sound, projections and lights for all performances. The lighting equipment will provide an enhanced viewing experience for audiences, in particular for seniors and in public schools. A professional video camera to record performances and a laptop for editing, rendering and storing video archival material will provide Ballet Victoria's Dance School with added educational capacity to train its students. This investment is critical to allow Ballet Victoria to meet audience expectations and maintain its professional standard.

Vital Signs Indicator: Arts & Culture 2CIVIC ORCHESTRA SOCIETY OF VICTORIA REQUESTING $10,000 Support for Operations and Bursary for Section Leaderscivicorchestraofvictoria.org The Civic Orchestra recently hired a new Music Director on a three-year contract. Its key objective over this time is to improve the quality of musicians in the orchestra. As an initial step, funding will support bursaries for locally-based young musicians to encourage them to audition as section leaders. At present, only the First Violin section leader is a paid member of the orchestra. High quality section leaders can attract strong section players and thus raise the overall quality of musicians.

Vital Signs Indicator: Arts & Culture 3COMMUNITY ARTS COUNCIL OF GREATER VICTORIA REQUESTING $20,000 Music Program for Marginalized Peoplecacgv.ca The Victoria Arts Council is requesting funding to expand the Music for Marginalized People program, an interactive, healing arts program for people marginalized by illness, disability, poverty and advanced age. The program includes singing and instrumental music, complemented by intermittent sessions of theatre, puppetry, and dance, and provides participants with opportunities for learning, self-expression, mental stimulation, enjoyment, socialization, and improved physical and mental health. The goal of the program is to address the challenges of isolation and marginalization experienced by vulnerable populations.

Vital Signs Indicator: Belonging & Engagement 4DANCE VICTORIA SOCIETY REQUESTING $11,000 Dancers of Damelahamid OutreachDanceVictoria.com Working with First Peoples House at the University of Victoria, Dance Victoria will host several outreach initiatives in tandem with its January 2018 performance of Dancers of Damelahamid at the McPherson Playhouse. Ticket subsidies will support local First Nations communities to attend the performance, while an exhibition titled By Invitation Only: Dance, Confederation and Reconciliation will be on display during the performance and later at the First Peoples House and accompanied by a presentation from its co-curators. The Artistic Director of Dancers of Damelahamid will also host a free dance workshop, open to the public, at First Peoples House.

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ARTS & CULTURE

2018 PROJECTS

5ENSEMBLE LAUDE CHORAL SOCIETY REQUESTING $9,900 Mentoring Emerging Female Artistsensemblelaude.org The Ensemble Laude Choral Society reaches out to children and youth to inspire love of music and musicianship. The Mentoring Emerging Female Artists project will address the lack of choral opportunities for girls in the local community by creating a girls youth choir. Interest and enrollment will be generated through choral clinics in local middle and high schools. The project will also hire three to five emerging professional musicians as section leads to hone their mentorship skills, provide them with soloist opportunities, and groom them for potential choral Director roles in the future.

Vital Signs Indicator: Arts & Culture 6JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTRE OF VICTORIA REQUESTING $7,000 The Victoria International Jewish Film Festivaljccvictoria.ca The Victoria International Jewish Film Festival presents newly made films from around the world that center on themes of Jewish cultural identity and history. These films are mainly independent productions that have not yet been publicly released, and are unlikely to be screened in local commercial cinemas. Films are chosen to broaden awareness of cultural diversity, deepen understanding, and increase community engagement. Primarily organized by volunteers, the Festival seeks to bring together disparate audiences to learn about, and reflect on, the universal messages expressed in these Jewish-themed films.

Vital Signs Indicator: Belonging & Engagement 7KALEIDOSCOPE THEATRE PRODUCTIONS SOCIETY REQUESTING $15,000 Family Theatre Festival 2018kaleidoscope.bc.ca Kaleidoscope Theatre will be kicking off its 2018-2019 season with its sixth-annual Family Theatre Festival, an all-ages festival in Victoria designed to introduce children to the magic of live theatre in an affordable and interactive manner. It will include a new work, The Last Beothuk, presented by Kaleidoscope as well as performances by Puente Theatre, Story Theatre, and renowned puppeteer Bonnie Duncan of the Gottabees. By presenting new work and collaborating with local performing arts groups, Kaleidoscope remains dedicated to its core values while sharing resources with local partners.

Vital Signs Indicator: Arts & Culture 8M'AKOLA HOUSING SOCIETY REQUESTING $15,000 West Shore Aboriginal Day Festivalmakola.bc.ca The West Shore Aboriginal Day Festival has been operating for the past three years. In 2017, more than 1,000 people attended and more than 100 volunteers supported the event. Before this festival was founded, there was no large community celebration on the West Shore for Aboriginal Day. The festival is open to everyone and all of its activities, food, and entertainment are free of charge, to remove barriers to participation. The event is hosted by eight Aboriginal-serving agencies, with participation from the Sooke School District and 10 local First Nations. Funding will support festival costs.

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ARTS & CULTURE

2018 PROJECTS

9MARITIME MUSEUM OF BRITISH COLUMBIA REQUESTING $40,000 Virtual Reality Dive Helmetmmbc.bc.ca The Maritime Museum of BC will develop a Virtual Reality Dive Helmet that can be used within the exhibit space and in educational programs. The Museum will work with FishEye Project, which will take a 360 video of the wreck of the Princess Sophia, a Victoria-based vessel which sunk in Alaska in 1918. Once complete, the community can explore the wreck using the Dive Helmet and learn about dive technology and maritime heritage through this uniquely immersive experience. A new school program will be developed using the Dive Helmet, allowing students to explore maritime heritage, marine life, and water safety.

Vital Signs Indicator: Learning 10PACIFIC OPERA ASSOCIATION REQUESTING $40,000 Commissioning a Children’s Opera by Haida Artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaaspov.bc.ca Pacific Opera Victoria will partner with Vancouver Opera to commission and workshop a new First Nations children’s opera. Renowned Haida artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas will adapt the libretto from his best-selling book Flight of the Hummingbird: A Parable for the Environment, an exploration of environmental issues and moral courage. Funding will support the creation of the libretto and music, as well as workshops to refine the work and invite feedback from the Indigenous community.

The result will be a compelling new opera ready for touring to schools to enrich children’s experience of Indigenous and contemporary music, arts, and culture.

Vital Signs Indicator: Arts & Culture 11PANDORA ARTS COLLECTIVE SOCIETY REQUESTING $15,000 Wellbeing – From Studio to Communitypandoraarts.ca This project will offer twice weekly facilitated studio art sessions, focused on supporting adults struggling with mental health issues and any others who would find a regular, safe, understanding, and creative community important to their well-being. The project will affect 75 to 100 individuals over the year with 10 to 20 individuals participating in any single session. It will also offer several participant and community outreach experiences (exhibitions and workshops) that together will impact more than 300 community members.

Vital Signs Indicator: Health & Wellness 12PTARMIGAN MUSIC AND THEATRE SOCIETY REQUESTING $15,000 Once Upon an Island: Building Community Through Storytellingptarmigansociety.org This project will address growing concerns about seniors' isolation through a seniors’ storytelling project that unites the Pender Island community through intergenerational engagement in storytelling. Funding will allow Ptarmigan to coordinate a series of inclusive gatherings with community partners, where seniors’ stories are told through song, music and spoken word, a night of storytelling on stage, stories filmed and shared online, and a series of senior-led community storytelling workshops for all ages. The project aims to empower seniors to share their stories and life experiences, thus creating intergenerational friendships, social connection and a lasting sense of identity and meaning.

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ARTS & CULTURE

2018 PROJECTS

13SINGYOURJOY YOUNG ADULT CHORUS SOCIETY REQUESTING $12,000 Raising the Bar: Higher Performance and Commitment Goals for SYJsingyourjoy.ca This chorus has a proven track record of engaging hard-to-reach young adults aged 16-29, who are often socially disconnected, e-device oriented, and experiencing mental health challenges.

SingYourJoy offers a combined learning, social, and community-building activity, free of charge, that enlivens the spirit and lifts the self-esteem of young people who face adversities. Funding would enable SingYourJoy to increase its impact with young adults by providing a longer rehearsal season, tackling a more challenging repertoire, and achieving a higher performance aesthetic in a more professional venue.

Vital Signs Indicator: Arts & Culture 14THE BELFRY THEATRE SOCIETY REQUESTING $40,000 Indigenous Artists & Arts Administrators Projectbelfry.bc.ca In partnership with Full Circle: First Nations Performance, the Belfry Theatre seeks funding to support graduates of the First Nations Aboriginal Ensemble to join the Belfry as paid associates. Through the Indigenous Artists & Arts Administrators Project, associates will gain experience and receive mentorship in areas of interest, whether that be performance, design, construction or administration. Funding will also support a Cultural Liaison position, to be filled by an Indigenous artist or administrator, to help guide the integration of associates and Belfry staff, and the weaving together of Indigenous practices and colonial ways of making theatre.

Vital Signs Indicator: Arts & Culture 15THE OCTA COLLECTIVE SOCIETY REQUESTING $21,455 artsREACH In-School ProgramartsREACH.ca The artsREACH In-School program provides free 90-minute workshops in visual arts, dance, and theatre in public schools that serve the highest populations of low-income families in the Capital Region. Workshops are offered to kindergarten to grade 5 classes selected by school principals.

Taught by professional artists, artsREACH fosters imaginative play, encourages individual creativity, and promotes collaborative teamwork. Classroom teachers learn new skills and techniques by observing artsREACH artist-instructors. Instruction and all materials are provided free of charge.

Funding would support workshops in 2018.

Vital Signs Indicator: Arts & Culture 16THE ROYAL AND MCPHERSON THEATRES SOCIETY REQUESTING $10,000 National Geographic Live at the Royal Theatrermts.bc.ca The Royal and McPherson Theatres Society (RMTS) is launching a series of speakers from the National Geographic Live roster of award-winning photographers, scientists, authors, adventurers, filmmakers and innovators. This first foray into presenting for the RMTS represents a shift in business practices and requires developing the organization's capacity in the areas of marketing, sponsorship, programming, and working with school districts. Developing this capacity will bring new, diverse work to the theatres' stages while building a new revenue stream for the Society. This, in turn, will make the theatres more affordable for arts groups and audiences.

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ARTS & CULTURE

2018 PROJECTS

17THE SOOKE PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY REQUESTING $15,000 th 20 Anniversary Music Programsookephil.ca The 2018 season marks the Society's 20 th anniversary. This community Orchestra of 60 musicians and the 40-voice Chorus have a long-standing presence in Sooke and the West Shore. Funding would support the Music Program, which includes 8-10 concerts annually, with over 70 rehearsal sessions in preparation for these performances. Rehearsals take place every week throughout the year, with the season including a free concert in July, and two Christmas concerts. Funding is also requested to support the Sooke Harbour Chamber Music Workshop Program.

Vital Signs Indicator: Arts & Culture 18THE STORY THEATRE PRODUCTIONS SOCIETY REQUESTING $12,500 The Library Club storytheatre.ca Story Theatre would like to produce a new touring show for their 2018-2019 season. Tentatively titled The Library Club, it will be set in a library and will bring multicultural stories to life. Funding will support the work-shopping of the show, which includes a new set and props, masks and puppets, and a wireless microphone system in order to make its elementary school shows accessible to more children. Story Theatre believes that the use of wireless microphones will help students focus better in gyms, where the acoustics are notoriously poor.

Vital Signs Indicator: Arts & Culture 19THEATRE SKAM ASSOCIATION REQUESTING $33,300 Fashion Machine 100skam.ca This project is a collaboration between Theatre SKAM, the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria, the Royal BC Museum and The Makehouse sewing studio. It will engage 100 youth from diverse backgrounds over one month and connect them with professional artists in the fields of theatre, textiles, and photography. Participants will build skills in sewing, performance, and media and learn about impacts and opportunities in the fashion industry. The project culminates in a public showing where 25 audience members have their outfits re-made into wearable works of art. The project expands upon SKAM's successful show Fashion Machine, which has toured internationally.

Vital Signs Indicator: Arts & Culture KALEIDOSCOPE THEATRE PRODUCTIONS SOCIETY -The Family Theatre Festival will include a new work, ‘The Last Beothuk’, as well as performances by Puente Theatre, Story Theatre and renowned puppeteer Bonnie Duncan of the Gottabees.

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ARTS & CULTURE

2018 PROJECTS

20VIA CHORALIS PERFORMANCE SOCIETY REQUESTING $3,000 Liebeslieder Waltzer (Brahms) and Madrigalsviachoralis.ca Via Choralis Performance Society is a high quality arts & culture organization that draws singers from the Capital Region to collaborate in a rare event that is interesting both intellectually and musically.

The Liebeslieder Waltzer (Brahms) and Madrigals project will provide performance and musical educational opportunities to student vocalists, taking place in the Town of Sidney. It will also provide a unique repertoire that has not been performed in the Capital Region for some time, featuring four hands and one piano during the Liebeslieder Waltzer. Partial proceeds will be donated to Jeneece Place.

Vital Signs Indicator: Arts & Culture 21VICTORIA BAROQUE MUSIC SOCIETY REQUESTING $10,000 Baroque, Music, Concerts and Outreachvictoria-baroque.com The Baroque, Music, Concerts and Outreach project will increase the artistic and administrative capacity of the Victoria Baroque Music Society to allow for an enriched and expanded program of baroque music in Greater Victoria, as well as more streamlined administrative management of the organization, dedicated to those ends. The benefits that will accrue from this exercise in program and administrative development will be the expansion of audiences and greater appreciation in the community of baroque music and its remarkable quality, as well as its important place in the development of western musical culture.

Vital Signs Indicator: Arts & Culture 22VICTORIA CHORAL SOCIETY REQUESTING $8,000 Performance of Beethoven's Missa Solemnisvictoriachoralsociety.ca Funding will produce the first-ever Victoria performance of Missa Solemnis by both the Victoria Choral Society and the Victoria Symphony. Considered to be one of Beethoven’s supreme achievements, this masterwork arguably equals or exceeds the Ninth Symphony in its depth, majesty, and demands on both the choir and soloists. This concert will be performed Sunday, February 11, 2018 at the Farquhar Auditorium, University of Victoria, and conducted by the Victoria Choral Society Music Director, Brian Wismath.

Vital Signs Indicator: Arts & Culture 23VICTORIA CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC REQUESTING $18,500 Getting Started - Early Childhood Music Education Outreachvcm.bc.ca The Getting Started – Early Childhood Music Education Outreach project provides access to music education through childcare centres and preschools, free of charge for young children from infant to five years of age and their parent or guardian. The initiative focuses on centres that serve marginalized communities including Indigenous children, refugees, teenage mothers, and military families. Early education in music has benefits that transcend the musical domain. Funding for this project will help ensure that no child is denied access to these benefits on the basis of financial contraints. This specialized music outreach initiative for young children is foundational for future cognitive and emotional health.

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ARTS & CULTURE

2018 PROJECTS

24VICTORIA PHILHARMONIC CHOIR SOCIETY REQUESTING $8,500 Bach's B Minor Mass Choral Concertvpchoir.ca The Victoria Philharmonic Choir (VPC) has become a vital part of the region's musical culture.

Support is required for a choral concert integral to the choir's season: J.S. Bach's B Minor Mass, a seminal work and audience favourite. In March 2018, the VPC will treat a Greater Victoria audience to a performance of the highest quality music featuring 80 voices, a professional orchestra, and internationally-notable soloists. Health and well-being benefits accrue to choristers, musicians, and audience: volunteers engage in activities promoting a sense of belonging and community, and an audience of almost 400 enjoys a financially-accessible cultural event.

Vital Signs Indicator: Arts & Culture 25VICTORIA THEATRE GUILD & DRAMATIC SCHOOL REQUESTING $27,250 Volunteer Development: Building Skills, Capacity & Communitylanghamtheatre.ca Langham Court Theatre's project will enhance and develop the skills of over 300 youth and adults in Greater Victoria through an expanded and comprehensive learning program focused on artistic skills and community engagement. Funding will support monthly workshops, a theatre immersion partnership with Central Middle School, a three week Musical Theatre Summer Intensive, and a playwright-in-residence program. The anticipated result of this program is an increase in the number of skilled volunteers available to support Langham Court Theatre and the expanding creative ecosystem of cultural resources across Greater Victoria.

Vital Signs Indicator: Arts & Culture 26VIVA YOUTH CHOIRS SOCIETY OF VICTORIA REQUESTING $5,645 Let the Youth Make Musicvivavoices.ca Celebrating its 30 th year of making music, Viva Youth Voices exists to enrich the lives of singers, their families and the community. Viva believes that music should be available to all children and that this “artistic nutrition” promotes health through its emotional and physical expression. In 2016, Viva developed a program that invited two siblings to join Viva for the season, with tuition funded by a parent donor. Viva wishes to expand the program to waive tuition for eight additional children from low-income families, new Canadians, or refugee families, as a way to integrate children into the community through music.

Vital Signs Indicator: Arts & Culture 27WEST COAST CHILDREN'S CHORAL SOCIETY REQUESTING $7,000 Prelude Choir Expansionvictoriachildrenschoir.ca Funding for the West Coast Children’s Choral Society (Victoria Children's Choir) will support the Prelude Choir, a non-auditioned ensemble for children aged seven to nine years. There is a local need for this program, as last year's pilot was filled to capacity with 25 choristers. The organization would like to double the size of the Prelude Choir in 2018, offering up to 50 children in Greater Victoria the opportunity to be part of this program, introducing them to voice, sound, and music through fun and interactive group exercises, and empowering their future musical pursuits. As this ensemble is nonauditioned, it also provides opportunity for younger children who may be deterred by auditioning.

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COMMUNITY SERVICE

2018 PROJECTS

28BRIDGES FOR WOMEN SOCIETY REQUESTING $40,000 Bridges Self-Employment Programbridgesforwomen.ca The Bridges Self-Employment program is an innovative entrepreneurial skills training program for women survivors of abuse in the Greater Victoria area. The aim is to grow the personal skills of participating women to identify and overcome the impact of violence, abuse, and trauma on employment, as well as provide entrepreneurial skills to develop and operate an economically-viable small business. This program seeks to contribute to, and nurture, local community economic development by elevating and integrating women from poverty or near poverty into successful, sustainable self-employment.

Vital Signs Indicator: Economy 29COMMUNITY SOCIAL PLANNING COUNCIL OF GREATER VICTORIA REQUESTING $15,000 Building Housing Stability: Sheltering Renters in the Capital Regioncommunitycouncil.ca This project will contribute vital knowledge about the various factors that leave tenants vulnerable to housing instability in the Capital Region, including municipal and provincial policy, aging housing stock, low vacancy rates, and high cost of rent. It will also illuminate some of the impacts of rental housing instability on the region and its communities. Using a community-based research methodology, the project will produce tools and recommendations to support housing stability and help inform evidence-based decision-making in our region.

Vital Signs Indicator: Housing 30FAIRFIELD COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION OF VICTORIA REQUESTING $24,980 Coming of Age During the Transgender Tipping Pointfairfieldcommunity.ca The Fairfield Gonzales Community Association will host three weekend-long writing retreats for a cohort of 20 regionally and ethnically-diverse transgender and Two-Spirit youth. These experientiallydriven retreats will promote socializing, include intergenerational mentoring, and culminate in the publication of an edited book collection that braids first-person youth narratives with emerging scholarship and multi-disciplinary best practices in working with young trans people. Funding will support a project manager, eight mentors per workshop, and all workshop materials and supplies required.

Vital Signs Indicator: Belonging & Engagement 31FERNWOOD NEIGHBOURHOOD RESOURCE GROUP SOCIETY REQUESTING $40,000 Neighborhood Food Access & Literacy Development Projectfernwoodnrg.ca The Neighborhood Food Access & Literacy Development project expands the family, child and youthfocused food programs offered through the eight community centers that make up the Coalition of Neighborhood Houses, serving 20,000 individuals annually. This project will increase capacity by centralizing distribution through Fernwood NRG, which has added infrastructure to expand food distribution, and will create efficiency through partnership with the Good Food Box program. The project will also develop staff and volunteer time at each Coalition agency for food distribution, and explore adding new community centre members, donors and partners to enhance the impact and reach of the program.

Vital Signs Indicator: Standard of Living VICTORIA FOUNDATION – MAKE IT HAPPEN! 9

COMMUNITY SERVICE

2018 PROJECTS

32FRIENDS OF LIVING AND LEARNING THROUGH LOSS REQUESTING $5,150 Supporting Youth Through Difficult Times - Community Traininglearningthroughloss.org Learning through Loss trains community youth workers to support youth through difficult times and grief, whether it be death, family breakdown, illness, substance use, cultural loss, or other events that youth face that disrupt their health and wellness. Training is led by two qualified facilitators and focuses on skills and practical strategies using the Learning Through Loss approach. Funding would support the delivery of three full-day education training sessions, reaching over 75 youth-serving professionals within the Capital Region, including staff working with Indigenous youth, and schoolbased counselors and teachers.

Vital Signs Indicator: Health & Wellness 33GALIANO ACTIVITY CENTRE SOCIETY REQUESTING $15,000 Galiano Community Daycare Pilot Program and Evaluationfacebook.com/GalianoActivityCentre Funding for this project will support the pilot and evaluation of Galiano Island’s first licensed daycare. The daycare will be open three days a week and care for eight children each day. An Early Childhood Educator will provide play-based care with a focus on outdoor experiences and creative exploration. This service will improve the lives of young families by reducing stress, increasing family together time, and improving families' economic prospects. This will help enable families to remain living on Galiano. It will also position Galiano to access government funding in the future.

Vital Signs Indicator: Getting Started in our Community

PACIFICA HOUSING ADVISORY ASSOCIATION - Virtues Youth Group is a program offered free and onsite to 100 children, ages 4-14, living in Pacifica Housing’s family housing complexes. Based on the internationally-renowned Virtues Project™, this weekly program features 52 virtues such as confidence, generosity, integrity, respect, responsibility and thankfulness. (Page 12) REQUESTING $15,000 10 VICTORIA FOUNDATION – MAKE IT HAPPEN!

COMMUNITY SERVICE

2018 PROJECTS

34GREATER VICTORIA VOLUNTEER SOCIETY REQUESTING $15,000 Teenage Volunteers: Belonging & Learning through Community Engagementvolunteervictoria.bc.ca Youth under 16 years are often challenged to find meaningful volunteer positions outside of the school environment. Recent changes to the career education curriculum will exacerbate this challenge for up to 4,000 youth living in the Capital Region, as Grade 9 students will be required to focus on the career value of volunteering, and the role of community in career planning. Funding will help Volunteer Victoria identify and test new and sustainable volunteering opportunities for youth aged 14-16; reduce barriers to younger youth engagement; collect knowledge, tools, and best practices from volunteer coordinators serving youth; and create new age-appropriate materials.

Vital Signs Indicator: Belonging & Engagement 35HEROWORK PROGRAM SOCIETY REQUESTING $15,000 Social Enterprise Developmentherowork.com HeroWork helps strengthen local charities by renewing and refreshing their physical infrastructure through exciting special events called Radical Renovations, where community comes together with cooperation and common vision to renovate a charity's building. Like all charities, HeroWork requires stable and sustainable funding. Funding is requested to develop one or more social enterprises that will both fill a community need and contribute to financial sustainability. HeroWork is in the feasibility stage of developing two social enterprises, with Tiny Houses in response to the housing crisis, and Handy Heroes, an online portal to connect trades people to local projects.

Vital Signs Indicator: Economy 36INDUSTRIAL AREAS FOUNDATION CANADA REQUESTING $15,000 Greater Victoria Acting Togethergvat.ca Greater Victoria Acting Together (GVAT) is a collaborative network of diverse organizations including labour, faith, and community groups working together to tackle common social issues in the Capital Region. Member groups are taught the skills of relational organizing to bring about social change through acting together on the most important issues in the region. This is grassroots, membershipdriven, values-based community organizing. Funding is requested to help develop the capacity of the GVAT collaborative and to facilitate public engagement with its members and the broader community.

Vital Signs Indicator: Belonging & Engagement 37OAKLANDS COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION REQUESTING $32,230 Mixed Allotment and Commons Community Garden in Oaklandsoaklandscommunitycentre.com With funding, the first phase of this project will transform an underutilized lawn in Oaklands Park into 31 allotments and several communal garden beds, supplying fresh produce to local food initiatives such as the Oaklands Community Dinners. The garden will be a place of beauty and whimsy that is inviting to children, accessible to seniors and those with disabilities, and that fosters connections between neighbours. It will contribute to increased food security and capacity, especially for apartment dwellers in the Oaklands neighbourhood, and boost local biodiversity and pollinator populations.

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COMMUNITY SERVICE

2018 PROJECTS

38OUR PLACE SOCIETY REQUESTING $40,000 Empowering Employmentourplacesociety.com This program supports homeless and vulnerable adults to enter the workforce through providing a combination of skills training, job placements, and mental health supports. It supports adults over a long time period, through every stage of work readiness, harnessing all five senses in learning and popular education principles. The program is comprehensive, from pre-employment skills to employer support and follow-up. Empowering Employment is an innovative program that uses a delivery model specifically tailored to the unique community needs, replicating a successful model piloted in Winnipeg that builds networks with employers to help homeless adults earn a living income.

Vital Signs Indicator: Economy 39PACIFICA HOUSING ADVISORY ASSOCIATION REQUESTING $15,000 Virtues Youth Group Programpacificahousing.ca Virtues Youth Group is a program offered free and onsite to 100 children, ages 4-14, living in Pacifica Housing’s family housing complexes. Based on the internationally-renowned Virtues Project™, this weekly program features 52 virtues such as confidence, generosity, integrity, respect, responsibility and thankfulness. Children enjoy arts and crafts, engage in physical activities, celebrate holidays, and go on field trips. Virtues Youth Group also includes cooking and gardening workshops that teach healthy living and foster childrens' connectedness to their natural environment. Children practice socially-appropriate behaviour that builds self-esteem and develops strong and healthy family relationships and friendships.

Vital Signs Indicator: Health & Wellness 40PEERS VICTORIA RESOURCES SOCIETY REQUESTING $18,776 Peers Dinner Group Program - Culture, Education and Social Networkingsafersexwork.ca This project is targeted at two sub-populations served by Peers Victoria: Indigenous sex workers and indoor agency escorts. Each service population will be invited to take part in a monthly dinner group at Peers, which will consist of a community meal, guest speaker, and group discussion. The dinner group model aims to reach under-served populations who have particular needs that cannot be met through generalized programming at Peers. Group participants will meet with a range of community members and cultural leaders through the program, while also building community support and alliances and combating stigma and discrimination.

Vital Signs Indicator: Belonging & Engagement 41READY TO RENT BC ASSOCIATION REQUESTING $21,000 Expanding Supports for Successful Tenanciesreadytorentbc.org Ready to Rent's RentSmart model combines education, certification, and support to enable people to have successful tenancies and prevent housing instability. With over 2000 RentSmart graduates and 180 Community Educators, Ready to Rent is developing and piloting a digital platform to support successful tenancies. Based on years of experience, research, and best practice, this platform will include features that alleviate many common issues that often lead to housing instability. Integrating with the existing RentSmart telephone/text/instant messaging support, the platform will provide a 12 VICTORIA FOUNDATION – MAKE IT HAPPEN!

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comprehensive and cost effective method of supporting thousands to achieve successful tenancies and housing stability.

Vital Signs Indicator: Housing 42SALT SPRING & SOUTHERN GULF ISLANDS COMMUNITY SERVICES SOCIETY REQUESTING $15,000 Core Innsaltspringcommunityservices.ca Funding is requested to support an architectural and engineering assessment and improvement plan to revitalize the Core Inn, an essential hub of community service activity for Salt Spring Island. The property is an impressive three-story heritage building in the heart of Ganges that provides a home for youth services, services for the developmentally disabled, and the Second Harvest food recovery program. The building requires structural, safety, and energy efficiency upgrades to maintain functionality, as well as some upgrades to ensure that all of the building space is used optimally.

Vital Signs Indicator: Health & Wellness 43SOCIETY OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL OF VANCOUVER ISLAND REQUESTING $40,000 Equipping Community Toward Food Securitysvdpvictoria.com This project takes advantage of the increasing availability of fresh perishable food due to the Food Rescue project and, through community engagement, extends the life of the food and provides healthy meals that benefit many people experiencing food insecurity within the St. Vincent de Paul system. Utilizing existing kitchen and food preparation space, recovered perishable food will be transformed into healthy meals that can be refrigerated or frozen, and turned into healthy snacks and smoothies for the children who attend onsite childcare. This program has the added benefit of building relationships, increasing food literacy and skills, and creating positive community.

Vital Signs Indicator: Health & Wellness 44SOOKE FAMILY RESOURCE SOCIETY REQUESTING $25,000 Prenatal Education and Outreach Programsfrs.ca The Sooke Family Resource Society's Prenatal Program provides pregnancy education, prenatal/postnatal support, and outreach through locally-accessible group and individual services for families from Sooke to Port Renfrew. The goal of the program is to support the overall health and well-being of new babies and their families. Participants gain prenatal/postnatal knowledge and confidence, increase protective factors for themselves and their baby, become more aware of community resources, and develop a shared sense of community. The program serves 30-65 pregnant women each year through 3-4 prenatal courses and over 250 one-to-one outreach sessions.

Vital Signs Indicator: Getting Started in our Community 45THE JOHN HOWARD SOCIETY OF VICTORIA REQUESTING $14,000 Feeding Ourselves and Others Therapeutic Community Garden Projectjhsvic.ca Feeding Ourselves and Others is a unique therapeutic garden project located in the Blenkinsop Valley that provides important support, stabilization, and community building to some of the region's most disadvantaged citizens, including persons with mental health and/or addictions issues and individuals doing court-mandated community service work. In 2016, the project engaged 64 participants and 23 community volunteers, which was over four times the number of people involved in 2012. As an VICTORIA FOUNDATION – MAKE IT HAPPEN! 13

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organic food-producing social enterprise, the project also sold over $7,000 worth of produce to the community.

Vital Signs Indicator: Belonging & Engagement 46THRESHOLD HOUSING SOCIETY REQUESTING $40,000 Life-Foundations for Youth at Risk of Homelessnessthresholdhousing.ca The goal of the Life-Foundations program is to provide at-risk youth with life skills that will prepare them for tenancy and other aspects of life. While transitionally housed, the youth build self-reliance so they can exit homelessness and avoid re-entry as adults. The basis of Life-Foundations is to build practical skills and to ensure consistent engagement. The program's engagement component ultimately builds the capacity of youth to become contributing members of the community. Four activities are at the core of the program: Ready to Rent, grief management, financial literacy, and anxiety management through creative engagement.

Vital Signs Indicator: Housing 47TOGETHER AGAINST POVERTY SOCIETY REQUESTING $5,000 The ID Projecttapsbc.ca Possessing photo identification (ID) is a necessity of modern day life. Without official identification, individuals cannot access many government and community services and programs. While some community service agencies currently support individuals to help with the process of obtaining ID, there is a significant unmet need for this support. Led by a partnership of the Downtown Service Providers and with the support of other knowledgable partners, volunteers will host a biweekly ID Clinic to help homeless and precariously-housed people apply for ID, improving their access to basic services and supports. Funds would support ID replacement costs, volunteer meals, and advertising.

Vital Signs Indicator: Standard of Living GREATER VICTORIA VOLUNTEER SOCIETY - It can be challenging for youth to find meaningful volunteer opporunities. Funding will help Volunteer Victoria identify and test new and sustainable volunteering opportunities for youth aged 14-16; collect knowledge, tools, and best practices from volunteer coordinators serving youth; and create new ageappropriate materials.

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48UMBRELLA SOCIETY FOR ADDICTIONS AND MENTAL HEALTH REQUESTING $40,000 A Better Way: Community Collaborations to Support Women with Addictionsumbrellasociety.ca Umbrella has many years of experience helping individuals who struggle with substance use issues navigate multiple systems of care. Recent statistics indicate that women are not connecting with services through traditional methods. To establish and build healthy relationships with women in the community, Umbrella will collaborate with organizations such as Young Parents Support Network, HerWay Home and Victoria Women's Transition House, as well as the wider community, to improve and support women's health, wellness and recovery. Funding is requested to support the outreach team that will provide connection, education, counselling, food and access to health services.

Vital Signs Indicator: Health & Wellness 49VANCOUVER ISLAND AIDS SOCIETY REQUESTING $15,000 Society of Living Illicit Drug Users (SOLID) Peer Navigation and Support Projectavi.org Vancouver Island AIDS Society will partner with SOLID to develop and pilot peer navigation and support services for people with problematic substance use issues who are either experiencing or atrisk of homelessness. The project will offer training of peers with lived experience of substance abuse and/or homelessness and provide a range of supports, including accompaniment to appointments, navigation of social and non-profit services, advocacy, and capacity-building. The benefits of the project will include increased access to services, enhancement of individual self-determination, and improved health and well-being for participants.

Vital Signs Indicator: Health & Wellness 50VICTORIA COOL AID SOCIETY REQUESTING $40,000 Building Lives Through WorkCoolAid.org This initiative will provide employment and life skills as well as increase the availability of work opportunities for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Funding will support those who face barriers to traditional employment models and will provide participants with required safety equipment, tools, and training to work in the trades and construction sectors. The project will include increased and strategic job development activities to attract employers in these sectors. Its aim is to increase employment opportunities while addressing the labour shortages faced in the top growth sectors of the regional economy.

Vital Signs Indicator: Economy 51VICTORIA IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE CENTRE SOCIETY REQUESTING $20,000 Welcome Gardens!vircs.bc.ca The Welcome Gardens! project promotes and facilitates the exchange and preservation of diverse horticultural knowledge and skills, enhances newcomers' access to local food production resources, and supports the establishment of a culturally-diverse local food network. It is distinct in that it combines food production and social connection objectives to directly address food security for newcomers. The 130 participants from 16 countries range in age from 10 to 76 years. Participants increase their food literacy and share food cultures while realizing opportunities for social connection.

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52VICTORIA NATIVE FRIENDSHIP CENTRE REQUESTING $15,000 Youth Leadership Program Traditional Food Security, Harvesting and Cooking Programvnfc.ca This program is the hub to many urban Aboriginal/Indigenous youth in Greater Victoria. Food security programming focuses on cultural teachings with a strong emphasis on harvesting and preparing traditional foods. By engaging in traditional harvesting practices specific to Indigenous food systems, knowledge, and revitalization, youth develop understanding of cultural food security practices, which, in turn, supports their families and community to be more independent of urban food sources. Funding will support the Community Kitchen as well as cooking classes and workshops that teach harvesting and preparation of traditional foods and traditional medicines.

Vital Signs Indicator: Health & Wellness 53VICTORIA RESTORATIVE JUSTICE SOCIETY REQUESTING $39,869 Strengthening Caseworker and Staff Capacityvrjs.org The first element of this project will enhance the capacity of the organization's two staff and 70+ volunteer caseworkers through five skill-building workshops delivered by respected practitioners.

Restorative justice practitioners from across Vancouver Island will also be invited to participate.

Workshops will focus on cultural sensitivity, difficult/challenging/complex client behaviour and needs, and a new restorative practices model. The second element extends a new staff position, the Complex Case Manager, which the BC government funded in 2016-2017. Funding will help the organization meet the need for this valuable position, which increases support for clients/volunteers.

Vital Signs Indicator: Belonging & Engagement 54VICTORIA SINGLE PARENT RESOURCE CENTRE SOCIETY REQUESTING $20,000 Resiliency Stream: Building Strong and Healthy Single Parent Familiessingleparentvictoria.ca Resiliency Stream parenting and life skills courses improve the capacity of low income, isolated, and vulnerable single parents to care for themselves and their children, resulting in healthier and more resilient children, families, and communities. Funding is requested for the delivery of 24, four to eight week, strength-based, practical and peer-supported parenting and life skills courses to over 100 single parents. Single parents will gain confidence, self-efficacy and practical tools to empower them to move themselves and their children to a position of greater economic and family stability.

Vital Signs Indicator: Standard of Living 55WORKLINK EMPLOYMENT SOCIETY REQUESTING $4,200 Client Supports Project: Building Strong and Healthy Single Parent Familiesworklink.bc.ca WorkLink Employment Society is contracted to provide BC Government employment services and programs to job-seeking clients. Some governmental financial assistance is available to purchase specific items towards clients' participation, but needed purchases are often not eligible expenses.

Individuals with no financial resources may be blocked from employment or programming by a relatively simple expenditure. The Client Supports project provides financial assistance where no other options exist, including food, shelter-related costs, phones, clothes, grooming, licenses, transportation, and training-related needs. This project will directly help approximately 80 clients reduce impoverishment by either securing work or enhancing job skills to compete for work.

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561000X5 CHILDREN'S BOOK RECYCLING PROJECT SOCIETY REQUESTING $7,000 Book Recycling Project1000X5.ca 1000x5 Children's Book Recycling Society provides books for babies and preschoolers in a crucial early brain development and literacy stage. The Society's goals are that every child has a home library and that those books are read to them 1,000 times by age five, building lifelong language, literacy and social-emotional skills. Many families, due to poverty or unfamiliarity with early reading, own few or no books. Through the project, 1,000 children will receive three books monthly, distributed by 24 agencies. Funds will contribute to buying books for babies and support the parttime Project Leader.

Vital Signs Indicator: Learning 57BOOK CLUBS FOR INMATES INC. REQUESTING $10,000 Book Clubs for Inmates and Victoria Writers Initiativebookclubsforinmates.com This project will support the Book Club for Inmates monthly book clubs at William Head Institution and expand programming to include six to eight writing workshops, facilitated by local writers in partnership with the Federation of BC Writers. Writers from Greater Victoria will facilitate workshops for a group of 20 inmates. Through writing prompts and exercises, writers will help inmates develop language tools, boost their self-esteem and confidence in learning, and build a community around writing and creative self-expression. The workshops will enhance inmates' communication skills, ultimately helping them develop the life skills necessary for successful reintegration into the community.

Vital Signs Indicator: Learning PACIFIC PEOPLES' PARTNERSHIP ASSOCIATION - The Pacific Impact project will create an unforgettable learning experience for grades 69. The project will connect youth across cultural lines, facilitate multimedia learning experiences, and center on Indigenous environmental stewardship. (Page 18) REQUESTING $40,000

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58JUSTICE EDUCATION SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA REQUESTING $25,000 Victoria Courthouse Education Programjusticeeducation.ca In the 2016-2017 school year, over 1,800 students and members of the general public visited the Victoria courthouse for Court Orientations, Provincial and Supreme Court-watching, Mock Trials, and sessions with Judges, Lawyers, and Sheriffs. Funding will expand the Victoria Courthouse Education Program so that 600-800 additional visitors can participate. Funds will be used to increase the coordinator’s hours and to purchase media and teaching resources to improve instruction. This program provides educational opportunities for students, improves legal capability, and encourages life-long learning for the general public.

Vital Signs Indicator: Learning 59PACIFIC PEOPLES' PARTNERSHIP ASSOCIATION REQUESTING $40,000 Pacific Impact: International Indigenous Climate Curriculumpacificpeoplespartnership.org This project will produce curriculum that explores experiences of climate change as articulated by Indigenous communities across British Columbia and the South Pacific. Building off the success of past initiatives, Pacific Impact will create an unforgettable learning experience for grades 6-9. The project will connect youth across cultural lines and the Pacific, facilitate multimedia learning experiences, and center on Indigenous environmental stewardship. By the project's end, youth will have an increased relationship with the lands, waters and diverse peoples around them; better understand Indigenous protocols/environmental stewardship; and have greater knowledge of crosscultural communication and climate change impacts.

Vital Signs Indicator: Learning 60PROJECT LITERACY VICTORIA REQUESTING $40,000 Noisy Kids Expansion and Story Studio Collaborationvictorialiteracyconnection.ca Victoria Literacy Connection’s project will support children with literacy issues through the expansion of the Noisy Kids Reading Club after-school program from 7 to 14 schools in Greater Victoria. Further, a partnership with Story Studio Writing Society will allow children to learn the basics of story construction and produce their own comic books and adventure stories through group and individual work. Story Studio will instruct the Noisy Kids teachers on narrative facilitation and follow up with the children throughout 2018. Children will be presented with their own Story Studio printed books.

Vital Signs Indicator: Learning 61STORY STUDIO WRITING SOCIETY REQUESTING $30,000 Creative Writing Programming for Schools with Vulnerable Student Populationsstorystudio.ca Since 2012, Story Studio has helped over 5,000 youth tell their stories while improving literacy skills.

In 2018, Story Studio will build on its successful model for public elementary and middle schools, offering creative writing programming designed to build confidence, encourage creativity and improve communication skills in students. Each participating school will receive a week of workshops and events, plus teacher resources and individually-bound books of student stories. Funding is requested to assist in subsidizing the cost of delivering programming to 950 youth, particularly in schools that are identified as having a high percentage of vulnerable students.

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62THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 63 (SAANICH) REQUESTING $20,000 W̱ SÁNEĆ Youth Media Project: Truth and Reconciliationsd63.bc.ca This project will engage youth at Bayside Middle School in a film project exploring residential schools and reconciliation through stories told by Elders in their communities. This comprehensive project involves a variety of skills and experiences for the students, including film production, photography, videography, digital literacy, and public speaking. Students will work alongside local Elders practicing SENĆOŦEN, creating opportunities for local voices and stories to be heard and told. Based in the traditional territory of the W̱ SÁNEĆ Peoples, the project will allow students to develop practical career skills while strengthening W̱ SÁNEĆ culture and language.

Vital Signs Indicator: Arts & Culture 63WITS PROGRAMS FOUNDATION REQUESTING $30,000 WITS Program Revitalization 2018witsprogram.ca This project will expand WITS Programs into more Victoria schools and build better organizational systems to improve program delivery and effectiveness. WITS Programs - Walk away, Ignore, Talk it out, Seek help - are literacy-based bully prevention and problem-solving programs delivered in elementary schools designed to help make cultural changes among children, teachers, parents and the community. These year-round programs are structured to complement school curricula, while supporting teachers with the delivery of the program. Project funding will enable the WITS Programs Foundation to train more community leaders, engage thousands of children, and upgrade program delivery and evaluation systems.

Vital Signs Indicator: Safety JUSTICE EDUCATION SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA - In the 2016-2017 school year, over 1,800 students and members of the general public visited the Victoria courthouse for Court Orientations, Provincial and Supreme Court-watching, Mock Trials, and sessions with Judges, Lawyers, and Sheriffs. Funding will expand the reach of this project. (Page 18) REQUESTING $25,000

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64GALIANO CONSERVANCY ASSOCIATION REQUESTING $32,000 Food for the Future Projectgalianoconservancy.ca The Galiano Community Food Forest is a model of climate change-resilient local food production that can be applied anywhere on the BC coast. The Galiano Conservancy will share its experience through the delivery of Food Forest workshops and training to local community members and regional groups interested in learning about, and replicating, this permaculture model. Further, an on-site nursery will begin producing food forest seeds and starts, making these plants available to the greater community. Nursery sales along with the launch of Forest Garden Teas will contribute to the financial sustainability of the Community Food Forest.

Vital Signs Indicator: Environmental Sustainability 65GEORGIA STRAIT ALLIANCE REQUESTING $25,000 It's Black & White - Orcas Can't WaitGeorgiaStrait.org Georgia Strait Alliance (GSA) is scaling up efforts to make the connection between orca health and the environmental sustainability of local waters, highlighting the extreme vulnerability of the remaining 78 red-listed Southern Resident Orcas. Funding will allow GSA to add a traveling documentary film festival to its Orca Month campaign and increased participation in local outreach events, which reached 5,591 people in the Capital Region in June 2017. Through direct engagement with decision-makers and the mobilization of citizens, GSA will also help to bring about legislation and policies focused on the recovery and protection of at-risk species.

Vital Signs Indicator: Environmental Sustainability 66HOME IS WHERE WE LIVE-LIFECYCLES PROJECT SOCIETY REQUESTING $35,000 Rescuing Abundance in the Urban Orchardlifecyclesproject.ca LifeCycles' Fruit Tree Project imagines the urban orchard as a place where abundance is created together. Each year, hundreds of volunteers harvest tens of thousands of pounds of fruit from backyard trees in the Capital Region. Fruit is shared among homeowners, volunteers, food banks and community organizations. LifeCycles is requesting funding to expand its capacity by developing an online scheduling system and to review project practices to eliminate current bottlenecks. Expanded capacity would allow LifeCycles to better meet community need by increasing the volume of fruit picked from 60,000lbs to 100,000lbs per year.

Vital Signs Indicator: Environmental Sustainability 67NORTHWEST WILDLIFE PRESERVATION SOCIETY REQUESTING $22,500 Wildlife in Schoolsnorthwestwildlife.com This organization provides free wildlife education programs to young people throughout the Capital Region. Funding will support costs for Wildlife in Schools, a program to reach young people in the community who often miss out on opportunities to learn about their local environment and sustainability. Wildlife in Schools also teaches children and youth how they can become actively involved and help their community. The program is free to low-income school children and at-risk youth. The organization has reached nearly 15,000 students since starting full-time programming in the Capital Region in 2013.

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68PENDER ISLAND RECREATION & AGRICULTURAL HALL ASSOCIATION REQUESTING $10,000 Community Education Classespenderislands.org This organization will partner with the non-profit Heartwood Folk School Society to develop and deliver Pender Island community-serving classes on three topics: Sustainable Food Growing, including water systems, pollinator support, seed saving, fruit tree growing, regenerative agriculture, and food preservation; Sustainable Energy Use, including conserving energy in how people move/eat/live, lowtech and high-tech energy device options to decrease carbon emissions; and Belonging and Engagement, including classes to connect with local Indigenous teachers and participants, drop-in folk & popular dancing, and compassionate communication training. These classes will support health and wellness of Pender Island residents and the environment.

Vital Signs Indicator: Environmental Sustainability 69PENINSULA STREAMS SOCIETY REQUESTING $15,000 Creating Young Stewards Environmental Education Programpeninsulastreams.ca Peninsula Streams Society delivers three annual environmental education programs to 1,450 students in more than 13 Saanich Peninsula schools. Funding would support three programs: Watershed and Salmon Life-cycle (Gr. 2/3), Connecting Kids to Nature (Gr. 5) and Creatures of Habitat (Gr. 6/7), all of which engage students in hands-on, place-based learning at their schools and nearby green spaces. Students learn concepts of environmental sustainability from local experts and engage in ecological restoration and stewardship activities. Through these programs, Peninsula Streams Society engages students in educational experiences at least three times over the students' elementary and middle school years.

Vital Signs Indicator: Environmental Sustainability 70RAINCOAST CONSERVATION FOUNDATION REQUESTING $24,035 Salish Sea Emerging Stewards Programraincoast.org The Salish Sea Emerging Stewards Program will enable Raincoast Conservation scientists to connect youth with local terrestrial and marine environments, Indigenous ecological knowledge holders, and stewardship champions, to inspire the next generation of Salish Sea stewards. This year-long program will see Raincoast’s 68-foot scientific research vessel transformed into a mobile classroom for youth to experience the region’s ecosystems and coastal wildlife. Students will embark on an engaging and transformative multi-day journey through the Salish Sea, visiting a variety of sites including marine, intertidal and forest ecosystems, salmon-spawning streams, ancient cultural sites, and wildlife viewing areas such as sea lion haul-outs and critical killer whale habitat.

Vital Signs Indicator: Learning 71ROCKY POINT BIRD OBSERVATORY SOCIETY REQUESTING $25,000 Monitoring Migratory Bird Populationsrpbo.org Birds are key indicators of the health and sustainability of the natural environment. Rocky Point Bird Observatory’s ongoing monitoring project helps to assess whether natural or human-caused changes are negatively impacting natural spaces. Due to the anticipated increase of traffic in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the scope of monitoring has expanded to include the seabirds that access this area.

Additionally, the outreach program is growing and volunteer involvement is rapidly increasing.

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Funding is requested to support the expansion of the monitoring project, build upon the success of outreach, and improve the quality of volunteer engagement.

Vital Signs Indicator: Environmental Sustainability 72SALT SPRING ISLAND FARMLAND TRUST SOCIETY REQUESTING $40,000 The Root: Building Community and Local Foodssifarmlandtrust.org The Root is a multi-functional food hub that will enhance local food security and sustainability by providing all-season, temperature-controlled storage for locally grown food as well as a commercial food processing kitchen, permaculture demonstration gardens, dry storage barn, and community seed saving vault. The Root will also provide food education for the community and food-related training, mentoring, and supported employment for youth. Construction on the The Root building will begin in Fall 2017. Funds are requested to purchase and install equipment for the commercial kitchen as well as for water catchment installations to divert greywater used to wash produce.

Vital Signs Indicator: Economy 73SATURNA ISLAND MARINE RESEARCH AND EDUCATION SOCIETY REQUESTING $15,000 Salish Sea Acoustic Monitoring & Educational Outreach Projectsaturnamarineresearch.ca Saturna Island Marine Research and Education Society (SIMRES) has one of the most advanced hydrophone systems in the world today and is monitoring the impact of human activity on Salish Sea's marine ecosystem, particularly the endangered Southern Resident Orca and other at-risk marine species. This project will be using the data from the monitoring network along with additional information from collaborating individuals and organizations to produce an inventory of educational and outreach material. The project's objective is to make a significant contribution to public awareness about the fragile ecosystem of the Salish Sea, and how threats to its whale populations can be mitigated.

Vital Signs Indicator: Environmental Sustainability PENINSULA STREAMS SOCIETY - Funding would support three programs: Watershed and Salmon Lifecycle (Gr. 2/3), Connecting Kids to Nature (Gr. 5) and Creatures of Habitat (Gr. 6/7), all of which engage students in hands-on, placebased learning at their schools and nearby green spaces. (Page 21) REQUESTING $15,000

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74SEACHANGE MARINE CONSERVATION SOCIETY REQUESTING $15,000 Blue Grouse Open Classroomseachangesociety.com Created in 2004, EcoRowing is a hands-on, feet-wet marine science, ethno-botany, restoration and canoeing program for schools within the Capital Region. Funding will support the addition of an Indigenous science and SENĆOŦEN language laboratory within the new Blue Grouse Open Classroom.

This 12' x 16' floating classroom is a recent replacement to the aging Tod Inlet Nature Float. Four W̱ SÁNEĆ (Saanich) youth will be prepared to teach traditional uses of plants, and to help guide students in the terrestrial restoration of Tod Inlet during the EcoRowing program days.

Vital Signs Indicator: Learning 75SIERRA CLUB OF BRITISH COLUMBIA FOUNDATION REQUESTING $15,000 Mentoring and Supporting CRD Teachers in Place-Based Outdoor Learningsierraclub.bc.ca This pilot project will provide mentorship and support to K-8 teachers in School Districts 61, 62 and 63, providing them with knowledge, tools, and best practices for increased confidence in taking students outdoors for regular hands-on, place-based learning opportunities. An Environmental Educator will work with 15 schools in the Capital Region to build their capacity for environmental education by leading place-based workshops for students and offering individualized support and mentorship to teachers in their school environments. This will, in turn, cultivate the environmental stewards of tomorrow. The project includes monthly gatherings, bringing together and strengthening this community of practice.

Vital Signs Indicator: Learning 76THE BATEMAN FOUNDATION REQUESTING $15,000 The Art of Healing Sketching Programbatemancentre.org Funding will support the Art of Healing pilot to develop and implement an outdoor sketching program for participants with substance abuse issues, mental health challenges and developmental disabilities. The goal of the program is to improve the mental health and well-being of participants through art and exposure to the outdoors, which has been linked to increases in confidence and decreases in anxiety. The Bateman Foundation will partner with local organizations working with these populations to effectively deliver the program. Once the pilot is concluded, lessons will be incorporated into the program for a Fall 2018 launch.

Vital Signs Indicator: Health & Wellness 77VICTORIA COMPOST AND CONSERVATION EDUCATION SOCIETY REQUESTING $16,500 Healing City Soils: Expanding the Soil Health Networkcompost.bc.ca Ensuring soil is healthy is the first step to any urban agriculture project, from backyard growing to community and boulevard gardening. Soil testing is expensive and the results can be confusing or disheartening, often creating a barrier to growing food. Funding for this project will provide free analysis of the region’s soils, adding two municipalities annually, to build on the virtual soil health map of the Capital Region, which highlights areas where heavy metals may need to be addressed before growing food and empowers people with the knowledge and skills to grow food safely and heal the soil.

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78CENTENNIAL UNITED CHURCH REQUESTING $2,500 Wheelchair Access Rampcucvictoria.com Centennial United Church has renovated a former Sunday School and Daycare area to provide the Burnside Gorge neighbourhood with much needed community meeting space. Through an agreement with the Burnside Gorge Community Association, the Church often provides overflow capacity to the Association for community meetings and events. Funding is requested to install a wheelchair access ramp to make the space fully accessible to people with disabilities or mobility issues.

Vital Signs Indicator: Belonging & Engagement 79CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION & COUNSELLING SOCIETY OF GREATER VICTORIA REQUESTING $15,000 Raising Happi Kids Konnectvcapcc.com This program at the Mary Manning Centre builds regional capacity for serving families affected by abuse in the Westshore and Victoria. Funding will support expansion of a proven, cost-effective, evidence-based model of group counselling services through on-site service delivery, mentoring partnerships, and regional collaboration. The program will build new elements of mentorship into this tested model, and address waitlists of trauma-affected families. It will result in increased service capacity across the region, shared knowledge between clinicians, 60 families served, increased protective factors for children, safety planning, self-regulation skills, and reduced isolation, stigmatization and family stress.

Vital Signs Indicator: Health & Wellness 80CITADEL THERAPY CANINE SOCIETY REQUESTING $12,500 PTSD Service Dog Programcitadelcanine.com Citadel Canine Society provides training and delivery of service dogs to veterans and first-responders experiencing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or Operational Stress Injuries. Dogs are rescued from local animal shelters and provided to candidates at no cost. Impacts of the program are profound: substance abuse issues begin to disappear, prescribed medication use drops, sleep patterns recover, and personal mobility, physical and mental health, and relationships improve. Funding would support rescue, adoption, training fees, boarding, and veterinary costs associated with the training and delivery of the service dogs.

Vital Signs Indicator: Health & Wellness 81CITY OF VICTORIA – CRYSTAL POOL & FITNESS CENTRE REQUESTING $14,104 Inclusive Swimming Programvictoria.ca The Inclusive Swimming Program will provide access to swimming lessons for children with disabilities and women from the Muslim community; or for other women with cultural sensitivity requirements. Both groups require extra staff and facility support to make swimming lessons a possibility. Muslim women will not swim with males in the facility, so their lessons are special afterhours swims staffed by women. Children with disabilities often require one-to-one support. Funding for this project will help ensure that these individuals are not excluded from the life-saving opportunity to learn how to swim because of the financial barriers associated with specialized programming.

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HEALTH & RECREATION

2018 PROJECTS

82CRISIS INTERVENTION & PUBLIC INFORMATION SOCIETY OF GREATER VICTORIA REQUESTING $30,000 Youth Suicide and Mental Health-Expanding Supportsneed2.ca NEED2 seeks to expand its youth suicide prevention and mental health awareness efforts. It aims to grow the Mindfulness for Middle School program, providing social and emotional learning mindfulness tools to 200 additional students in regional middle schools, and improving students' mental health and their ability to cope with distress. Further, this grant would increase the capacity of NEED2's online emotional support chat service (youthspace.ca) to better meet growing service demand, and increase the chat service capabilities through the addition of follow-up service for youth at high risk of suicide and/or self-harm.

Vital Signs Indicator: Health & Wellness 83ESQUIMALT NEIGHBOURHOOD HOUSE SOCIETY REQUESTING $40,000 You're Not Alone: Access to Community-Based Counselling Supportenh.bc.ca This community-based mental health and addiction program provides supportive counselling to 350 adults annually. The program is rooted in accessibility, especially in at-risk and low-income communities. It is free of charge, inclusive, and client-centered, using a strengths-based approach.

Forty trained volunteer counsellors respond compassionately to the full person, listening, advocating, and following up with each individual client. Funding will allow Esquimalt Neighbourhood House to continue this low-barrier program free of charge, including after-hours availability, matching, and client referrals.

Vital Signs Indicator: Health & Wellness 84GREATER VICTORIA CITIZENS' COUNSELLING CENTRE REQUESTING $30,000 Volunteer Counsellor Trainingcitizenscounselling.com This organization provides short-term, affordable counselling to 1,200 adult residents annually. With funding, Citizens’ Counselling will select, train, and supervise 36 volunteers in two concurrent 10month training programs of 200 hours each. They will also develop and conduct a four-month Couples Counselling Training program for 16 graduate volunteer counselors. Timely and appropriate short-term emotional support for issues including depression, stress/anxiety/panic attacks, anger, grief and loss, self-esteem, relationships and communication, abuse, and addiction helps prevent family breakdown and exacerbation of mental disorders, suicide, and violence against others. It provides stability and support for clients in difficult, sometimes overwhelming, situations.

Vital Signs Indicator: Health & Wellness 85HEART AND STROKE FOUNDATION OF CANADA REQUESTING $15,000 HeartSmart Kidsheartandstroke.ca This program is a unique classroom resource that delivers a holistic approach to cardiovascular health from a prevention perspective. The program focuses on direct engagement of primary schoolaged children through "learning by doing", and combines a train-a-teacher approach with comprehensive activity books for children to use in the school and home environment. HeartSmart Kids gives children and youth the best start for a long, healthy life by educating them about healthy behaviours and building their awareness of environmental factors that impact overall health.

Vital Signs Indicator: Health & Wellness VICTORIA FOUNDATION – MAKE IT HAPPEN! 25

HEALTH & RECREATION

2018 PROJECTS

86ISLAND DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING CENTRE ASSOCIATION REQUESTING $40,000 Sound of Change Initiativeidhhc.ca Hearing loss is the most common sensory deficit in North America and has become a severe social and health problem. Especially in the elderly, hearing loss can significantly impact everyday life, causing loneliness and isolation. IDHHC has established the Sound of Change Initiative to provide free refurbished hearing aids to vulnerable and at-risk populations, especially low-income seniors and adults. This initiative will remove barriers to accessing hearing supports and provide a full range of services to vulnerable persons with hearing loss, including technical aids, family supports, aural rehabilitation, communication assistance, and employment supports.

Vital Signs Indicator: Belonging & Engagement 87JUVENILE DIABETES RESEARCH FOUNDATION CANADA REQUESTING $20,000 T1D Peers Support and Mentoring in the CRDjdrf.ca The Community Engagement Program brings together children, youth, and their families to build meaningful support networks and provide vital information and access to resources, ensuring that no family faces Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) alone. Starting with the Bag of Hope program, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation staff and volunteers connect with newly-diagnosed families, sharing critical tools on how to effectively manage their disease. Families also connect with peer mentors, consisting of other families and Youth Ambassadors who understand life with T1D and can impart advice and emotional support.

Vital Signs Indicator: Health & Wellness 88KIDCARECANADA SOCIETY REQUESTING $22,025 Optimize Access to Trusted Development Resources on Mobile Deviceskidcarecanada.org Funding is requested to support the accessibility of KidCareCanada's free online resources about child social and emotional development by optimizing them for mobile devices. Professionals regularly use these resources in their work supporting families. This project will improve accessibility for young families, the target audience, by enabling them to directly connect using mobile devices.

Statistics show that 74% of website users will return to a mobile-friendly website, while 61% will leave the site if it is not mobile-friendly. Access to vital information can change the outcome for young families.

Vital Signs Indicator: Health & Wellness 89KIDSPORT CANADA REQUESTING $25,000 So ALL Kids Can Play Sport Registrationkidsportvictoria.ca This sport registration program, at KidSport Greater Victoria, provides local children in financial need the opportunity to play organized sport alongside their peers and under the supervision of qualified coaches and positive adult role models. This organization works with over 200 sport organizations to cover registration fees and provide kids living in poverty with the chance to get in the game and benefit from lessons about teamwork, work ethic, fair play, and leadership. Involving kids in sport and physical activity is a powerful preventative measure to combat isolation, current trends of childhood obesity, and related long-term health consequences.

Vital Signs Indicator: Sports & Recreation 26 VICTORIA FOUNDATION – MAKE IT HAPPEN!

HEALTH & RECREATION

2018 PROJECTS

90PENDER ISLAND CHILD CARE SOCIETY REQUESTING $15,610 Fostering Relationships for Healthy Child Developmentdragonflycentre.ca This project will continue the successful Parents and Babes weekly drop-in program at the Dragonfly Child Care and Family Resource Centre. A trained facilitator provides a healthy snack, connects parents and children, offers educational toys and resources, and introduces island services. Funding will also support an eight-week attachment parenting course to assist parents in building healthy relationships with their children, helping to ensure healthy brain development. In addition, this project will give child care providers the opportunity to attend professional development courses about promoting resiliency in children.

Vital Signs Indicator: Getting Started in our Community 91SAANICH NEIGHBOURHOOD PLACE REQUESTING $15,000 Growing Together: Community Early Screening Projectsaanichneighbourhoodplace.com Coordinated by Saanich Neighbourhood Place, the Victoria Early Years Centre is concerned with the nearly 30% vulnerability rate of children entering Kindergarten in School District 61. Working with community partners and targeted strategies, this project will develop a community plan to ensure universal access to developmental and health screening for children ages zero to five. Screening will ensure that children have developmental and health concerns identified well before they reach Kindergarten, by strengthening and aligning community supports for families. Fundamental to the project is the formation of the Early Screening Network to advance sustainable systems-level change.

Vital Signs Indicator: Getting Started in our Community 92SHORELINE COMMUNITY SCHOOL ASSOCIATION REQUESTING $20,000 Shoreline Programmingshorelinecommunityschool.ca Shoreline Community School Association offers various programming to children, youth and adults, including Boys and Girls Groups which provide opportunities for skill development and recreation, and Night's Alive - a teen drop-in program that provides free food and opportunities for physical activity. Funds would support these programs as well as the expansion of programming to potentially include instruction in basketball and volleyball, as well as a theatre club, art class, and a yoga and transcendental meditation class. These programs create a sense of well-being and belonging, provide opportunities for skill development, and reduce the likelihood of engaging in high-risk behaviours.

Vital Signs Indicator: Sports & Recreation 93SOCIETY FOR KIDS AT TENNIS (KATS) REQUESTING $15,000 Free Tennis Lessons For Disadvantaged Children & Youth in CRDkidsattennis.ca Working in conjunction with 40 community social organizations and schools, this program provides free tennis lessons to more than 2,000 children and youth. These children are selected by partner organizations and have disabilities, including Autism and Down Syndrome, or come from families with chronically low income. Benefits to the children include learning the fundamentals of physical literacy, which encourages a life-long interest and involvement with physical activity and sport.

Funding for this project will support the free lessons, which are conducted in a manner that promotes social and emotional benefits, including improved self-confidence and better relationships.

Vital Signs Indicator: Sports & Recreation VICTORIA FOUNDATION – MAKE IT HAPPEN! 27

HEALTH & RECREATION

2018 PROJECTS

94STIGMA-FREE SOCIETY REQUESTING $15,000 Stigma-Free Zone Initiativestigmafreezone.com The Stigma-Free Society’s (formerly Bipolar Disorder Society of BC) Stigma-Free Zone Initiative (formerly Stigma Stomp program) is an exciting and effective educational initiative offered in Greater Victoria schools and in the community. Presentations create awareness of the stigmas that exist in society, help youth develop an understanding of the challenges numerous people face, and encourage youth to foster acceptance of themselves and others. They also help individuals to manage their mental health by connecting them to effective community resources. In 2018, the Society plans to reach over 1,500 Grades 7-12 students in up to 24 schools.

Vital Signs Indicator: Health & Wellness 95SURROUNDED BY CEDAR CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES SOCIETY REQUESTING $15,000 Culturally Informed Care Training for Caregivers Parenting Traumatized Childrensurroundedbycedar.com Based on research in Trauma-Informed Practice and Indigenous Modalities of Helping, caregiver training will address the daily challenges of parenting a child living with complex trauma. Funding for this project will support training programs that build caregivers' capacity to help children and youth reduce symptoms of stress, enhance emotional and behavioural regulation, and foster cultural identity and attachment, in a culturally-appropriate manner. In addition, participants will learn cultural sensitivity and cultural safety in parenting Indigenous survivors of intergenerational trauma.

Reduced symptoms of traumatic stress will improve the outcomes for children and families.

Vital Signs Indicator: Health & Wellness 96SWOVA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND RESEARCH SOCIETY REQUESTING $15,000 Pass it On Boys Mentorship and Leadership Projectswova.org Funds are requested for the Pass It On Boys mentoring program on the Southern Gulf Islands, in which young men in high school mentor Grade 8 boys to help prepare them to transition into high school. Mentors also receive support, as the program integrates opportunities for high school mentors to receive mentoring. The program provides for structured group mentorship and leadership opportunities for young men, and creates a venue for adult men to pass on their skills and expertise to the next generation. Additionally, it will educate boys and young men about their health and safety, and accessing community supports.

Vital Signs Indicator: Belonging & Engagement 97THE CAPITAL REGION PROSTATE CENTRE REQUESTING $25,000 Know Your PSA - Vulnerable Populations Screening & Health Literacyislandprostatecentre.com The Island Prostate Centre provides men and their families with prostate health information, education and counselling. The Centre offers free programs, supports, and public screening events, where men can learn about their health and access a free Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test. Early PSA screening (a simple blood test) is vital to early diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer, which affects one in eight men. As vulnerable populations are not often present at public screening events, funding is requested to provide screening and health promotion on site at Victoria Cool Aid Society locations.

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HEALTH & RECREATION

2018 PROJECTS

98THE MARIE ESTHER SOCIETY REQUESTING $18,000 Safe Transfer of Individuals with Physical Disabilitiesmountstmary.ca At Mount St. Mary Hospital (MSMH), 200 residents have ceiling-mounted lifts in their rooms. Lifts allow caregivers to transfer residents to and from their bed to their sitting chair, wheelchair, or bathroom. They guarantee the resident's safety, comfort, and dignity while being moved and repositioned, and reduce the risk of injury to care staff. Lifts should last 8-10 years: MSMH lifts are over 14 years-old and in need of replacement to ensure reliability. Funds to purchase 25 new lift motors will ensure vulnerable residents continue being safely transferred, allowing their participation in activities that reduce loneliness and isolation and improve quality-of-life.

Vital Signs Indicator: Safety 99THE VICTORIA YOUTH CLINIC SOCIETY REQUESTING $30,000 Cracking the Cocoonvictoriayouthclinic.ca The vision of this project is to build community through an inclusive arts program that is responsive to the diverse experiences of youth served through the Victoria Youth Clinic, allowing youth to find their unique voice. The Clinic has been developing an art therapy program for the last few years. The need for a responsive arts program has been clearly identified through input from participating youth. Art therapy has proven successful as a fun tool to build community among participants, and has also proven successful as a means for youth to find their voice.

Vital Signs Indicator: Health & Wellness 100VANCOUVER ISLAND KIDS KLUB CENTRE SOCIETY REQUESTING $20,000 Brown Bag Lunch Programkidsklub.ca Since 2000, this program has offered a nutritious “Brown Bag” lunch to children in need at local elementary and middle schools in the Victoria, Saanich, and Sooke School Districts. Lunches are offered at no cost to the school or families. During the 2016-2017 school year, this program provided 125 lunches daily to children who would otherwise be hungry at school. Funding will support program costs to provide daily school lunches from January 2018 through June 2019.

Vital Signs Indicator: Health & Wellness CITADEL THERAPY CANINE SOCIETY - This organization provides service dogs to veterans and first-responders experiencing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or Operational Stress Injuries. Funding would support costs associated with the training and delivery of the service dogs. (Page 24) REQUESTING $12,500

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HEALTH & RECREATION

2018 PROJECTS

101VICTORIA SEXUAL ASSAULT CENTRE SOCIETY REQUESTING $35,000 Youth-Led Participatory Action Research Project to Address Cyber Violencevsac.ca According to Project Respect’s youth leaders, aged 12-21 years, the most prevalent form of violence in their lives is cyber violence, which is the expression of systemic violence enacted through social media, including controlling/manipulative messaging, non-consensual sharing of photos, rumours, and predatory behaviour. This project will engage youth leaders in implementing a broad-scale youth needs assessment that will become the basis for youth-designed workshops, training, and online learning tools to effectively address cyber violence in ways that are youth-centred and traumainformed. This approach will challenge current fear-and shame-based education in schools.

Vital Signs Indicator: Safety 102VICTORIA THERAPEUTIC RIDING ASSOCIATION REQUESTING $15,000 Program Funding - 2018vtra.ca This organization provides three therapeutic horseback riding programs for children and adults with physical, cognitive and social challenges. The Early Intervention Program aids in the physical and cognitive development of at-risk children ages 3 to 5 years; the Adaptive Riding Program helps meet physical and occupational therapy goals, provides safe and effective recreation and increases individuals' well-being; and the Stable Management Program builds on the Adaptive Riding Program, incorporating stable management practices to develop personal responsibility, behavioral regulation, and time management skills. Funding would support 90+ students to participate in these programs.

Vital Signs Indicator: Health & Wellness 103VICTORIA WOMEN'S TRANSITION HOUSE SOCIETY REQUESTING $28,000 Women's Drop-In Support Grouptransitionhouse.net This support group is a psycho-educational counselling program that provides immediate access for women affected by domestic abuse. Facilitated by two specialized counsellors, each two-hour group session will explore topics such as abuse, healthy relationships, stress management, and communication skills, with guest speakers and yoga. This weekly program will be delivered for 48 weeks in partnership with the YMCA-YWCA of Vancouver Island. Childminding will be provided.

Delivery of this program will help alleviate domestic abuse counselling waitlists and will support women leaving an emergency shelter or waiting to access individual counselling.

Vital Signs Indicator: Health & Wellness 104YOUTHCO HIV & HEP C SOCIETY REQUESTING $25,000 Reflecting Back, Looking Forward: Intergenerational Storytelling to Address HIV/AIDSyouthco.org This intergenerational oral history project will collect, preserve, and share stories of community resilience of the earliest generation of HIV/AIDS survivors and their allies. Through YouthCO's programming, stories from the first decade of British Columbia's AIDS epidemic will be shared with the province's youth who remain particularly at risk of HIV transmission. Goals are to improve care and services for people living with HIV/AIDS, re-invigorate ongoing education and prevention efforts, and help eradicate HIV/AIDS in BC. This will be achieved through a combination of partnerships with local and provincial HIV/AIDS organizations.

Vital Signs Indicator: Learning 30 VICTORIA FOUNDATION – MAKE IT HAPPEN!

COLLABORATION GRANTS

2018 PROJECTS

COLLABORATION GRANTS The organizations below are applying on behalf of a collaboration. Collaboration grants are available to groups working across sectors to address long-term regional change. Supporting the work of these groups is one way in which the Victoria Foundation aims to strengthen the community and support the capacity of large-scale initiatives working to effect significant change. In 2016, the Victoria Foundation granted $220,000 through collaboration grants. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 105ABORIGINAL COALITION TO END HOMELESSNESS SOCIETY REQUESTING $100,000 Strengthening Connectionsaboriginalhomelessness.ca Aboriginal people are over-represented in the homelessness population, accounting for 32.6% of Victoria's homeless population. The Aboriginal Coalition to End Homelessness (ACEH) brings leadership and expertise to address Aboriginal housing and homelessness and define the problems and solutions through an Indigenous lens. The ACEH is governed by Indigenous people with representation from various Indigenous organizations and the three Tribal Groups on the Island.

Funds are requested to achieve goals outlined in the Action Plan in the areas of shelter, housing and homes; governance, policy, and resources; community relations; and support services, as well as organize an Indigenous Housing Symposium.

Vital Signs Indicator: Housing 106CAMOSUN COLLEGE FOUNDATION REQUESTING $50,000 Greater Victoria Alliance for Literacycamosun.ca Camosun College requests funding on behalf of Greater Victoria Alliance for Literacy, a collaborative to coordinate literacy service delivery in the region. The Alliance seeks to increase the number of people accessing and committing to literacy services to improve their social and economic opportunities. Funding would support a Coordinator position to enhance work currently underway.

Specifically, a network analysis of literacy services would identify opportunities as well as gaps, overlaps, and possible inefficiencies. The Coordinator would draw on this research to help optimize the literacy system so that it reduces barriers and stigma, increases access to services, and improves assessment and evaluation.

Vital Signs Indicator: Learning VICTORIA FOUNDATION – MAKE IT HAPPEN! 31

COLLABORATION GRANTS

2018 PROJECTS

107GREATER VICTORIA COALITION TO END HOMELESSNESS SOCIETY REQUESTING $140,300 Addressing Youth Homelessness through a Prevention Frameworkvictoriahomelessness.ca This cross-sectoral collective impact initiative seeks funding to address youth homelessness through a prevention framework. It will support a range of activities under the purview of the Youth Task Force with a focus on early intervention. Specifically, this project will support the region in piloting a school-based youth at-risk identification and assessment tool that will connect youth at-risk to appropriate school-based, community-based, or clinical support services. This will reduce the numbers of youth experiencing homelessness and the duration of a youth homelessness episode, and will enhance the functioning of the region-wide homelessness servicing system from the perspective of youth.

Vital Signs Indicator: Housing 108SOCIETY OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL OF VANCOUVER ISLAND REQUESTING $30,000 Food Share Networksvdpvictoria.com The Food Share Network (FSN) is a collaboration of 50 non-profit agencies aligned around the vision of improving food access for the 50,000 food insecure individuals in the Capital Region. In 2018, activities will focus on facilitating the distribution of more than three million pounds of food through the GiveFoodGetFood website and the Food Rescue project. Funding will support coordinating the Network, expanding programs, and developing a financial sustainability plan. The FSN works with the Good Food Network to achieve goals of food security.

Vital Signs Indicator: Standard of Living 109VICTORIA COMMUNITY FOOD HUB SOCIETY REQUESTING $60,000 Good Food Collective Impact Initiativecrfair.ca The Good Food Network has come together so that all people in the Capital Region have access to healthy, local food and that the local food system will provide Good Food for generations to come.

Good Food is food that is good for the planet, good for the producer, and good for the health and well-being of all. Funding will support the Good Food Strategy, a regional food system initiative to align resources and action for significant outcomes by 2025 in the areas of food literacy, food access, and local food economy, towards a vision of Good Food for all.

Vital Signs Indicator: Health & Wellness 110VICTORIA INTEGRATION SOCIETY REQUESTING $50,000 One Abilityrivonline.org OneAbility is a collaboration of community partners committed to improving access and inclusion to sport and physical activities for persons with disabilities throughout the Capital Region. Living an active lifestyle has been demonstrated as a key determinant in the overall health and well-being of persons with disabilities. Through collaborative leadership and a collective impact approach, OneAbility will build on the strengths of each community partner to create more accessible programming, identify program gaps, attract new participants, and deliver training so more programs are inclusive of people with disabilities. Funding will support the program coordination and the collaboration of community partners.

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LEADERSHIP FUNDS VITAL VICTORIA FUND The Vital Victoria Fund supports community applications in all areas of interest. Grant decisions, made annually by our Board of Directors on the recommendation of our Community Engagement Committee, support the needs identified through our Victoria’s Vital Signs® report. Current strategic priorities for the Vital Victoria Fund are Homelessness & Housing and Food Security. Many donors choose to make their gifts to this fund, allowing the Foundation to respond to critical issues in the community as they arise. When this fund receives support, it allows us to be flexible and responsive.

FOOD SECURITY FUND The Food Security Fund was established in 2015 to improve regional food security. As many as an estimated 50,000 people in Greater Victoria are food insecure, with higher rates among vulnerable populations such as seniors and children. This fund has helped provide fresh, healthy food for families in Greater Victoria through the Food Rescue project. This collaborative initiative recovers food from grocery stores that would otherwise be wasted and distributes it to food banks, schools, the working poor and community-based programs that connect people through meal planning and cooking.

ENVIRONMENT FUND The Environment Fund supports programs promoting environmental stewardship, restoration, education, biodiversity, and green transportation. The current focus for this fund is initiatives that address climate change in our region.

LITERACY FUND A love of reading led Harry and Mary Morrow of Victoria to leave a legacy for literacy. Following Mary’s death in 1999, Harry found consolation in his love of reading. Through a generous bequest gift upon Harry’s death in 2014, the Literacy Fund was established to support initiatives in our region that strengthen literacy skills. The fund has supported the development of a literacy alliance, the production of a Strategy Roadmap to improve literacy in the region, and literacy programs for First Nations youth.

SMART & CARING COMMUNITY FUND The Smart & Caring Community Fund supports programs that are proactive, measurable and responsive to findings from our local and national Vital Signs reports. Our current initiative focuses on the finding that Canada’s children are less active and at greater risk from childhood obesity than ever before. In partnership with the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence, the ABCs of Physical Literacy program provides young children with the skills, confidence, and physical competence to engage in physical activities for life. Since 2012, $344,555 has been granted to support physical literacy programs reaching 4,000 children and youth in the region.

VITAL YOUTH Our Vital Youth program provides students at nine high schools on southern Vancouver Island with hands-on experience in philanthropy and community development. The Victoria Foundation allocates each school group an annual grant of $2,500 to distribute to local charitable organizations of their choice and adds $500 to each school’s endowment fund to model the importance of legacy gifts.

Since the program began in 2003, youth have recommended grants of over $230,000 to local charitable organizations.

VICTORIA FOUNDATION – MAKE IT HAPPEN! 33

INDEX OF ORGANIZATIONS ORGANIZATION NAME 1000X5 CHILDREN'S BOOK RECYCLING PROJECT SOCIETY ABORIGINAL COALITION TO END HOMELESSNESS SOCIETY BALLET VICTORIA SOCIETY THE BATEMAN FOUNDATION THE BELFRY THEATRE SOCIETY THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 63 (SAANICH) BOOK CLUBS FOR INMATES INC. BRIDGES FOR WOMEN SOCIETY CAMOSUN COLLEGE FOUNDATION THE CAPITAL REGION PROSTATE CENTRE CENTENNIAL UNITED CHURCH CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION AND COUNSELLING SOCIETY OF GREATER VICTORIA CITADEL THERAPY CANINE SOCIETY CITY OF VICTORIA – CRYSTAL POOL & FITNESS CENTRE CIVIC ORCHESTRA SOCIETY OF VICTORIA COMMUNITY ARTS COUNCIL OF GREATER VICTORIA COMMUNITY SOCIAL PLANNING COUNCIL OF GREATER VICTORIA CRISIS INTERVENTION & PUBLIC INFORMATION SOCIETY OF GREATER VICTORIA (NEED2) DANCE VICTORIA SOCIETY ENSEMBLE LAUDE CHORAL SOCIETY ESQUIMALT NEIGHBOURHOOD HOUSE SOCIETY FAIRFIELD COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION OF VICTORIA FERNWOOD NEIGHBOURHOOD RESOURCE GROUP SOCIETY FRIENDS OF LIVING AND LEARNING THROUGH LOSS GALIANO ACTIVITY CENTRE SOCIETY GALIANO CONSERVANCY ASSOCIATION GEORGIA STRAIT ALLIANCE GREATER VICTORIA CITIZENS' COUNSELLING CENTRE GREATER VICTORIA COALITION TO END HOMELESSNESS SOCIETY GREATER VICTORIA VOLUNTEER SOCIETY HEART AND STROKE FOUNDATION OF CANADA HEROWORK PROGRAM SOCIETY HOME IS WHERE WE LIVE-LIFE CYCLES PROJECT SOCIETY INDUSTRIAL AREAS FOUNDATION CANADA ISLAND DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING CENTRE ASSOCIATION JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTRE OF VICTORIA THE JOHN HOWARD SOCIETY OF VICTORIA JUSTICE EDUCATION SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA JUVENILE DIABETES RESEARCH FOUNDATION CANADA KALEIDOSCOPE THEATRE PRODUCTIONS SOCIETY KIDCARECANADA SOCIETY 34 VICTORIA FOUNDATION – MAKE IT HAPPEN!

2018 PROJECTS

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INDEX OF ORGANIZATIONS

2017 PROJECTS

ORGANIZATION NAME KIDSPORT CANADA M'AKOLA HOUSING SOCIETY THE MARIE ESTHER SOCIETY MARITIME MUSEUM OF BRITISH COLUMBIA NORTHWEST WILDLIFE PRESERVATION SOCIETY OAKLANDS COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION THE OCTA COLLECTIVE SOCIETY OUR PLACE SOCIETY PACIFIC OPERA ASSOCIATION PACIFIC PEOPLES' PARTNERSHIP ASSOCIATION PACIFICA HOUSING ADVISORY ASSOCIATION PANDORA ARTS COLLECTIVE SOCIETY PEERS VICTORIA RESOURCES SOCIETY PENDER ISLAND CHILD CARE SOCIETY PENDER ISLAND RECREATION & AGRICULTURAL HALL ASSOCIATION PENINSULA STREAMS SOCIETY PROJECT LITERACY VICTORIA PTARMIGAN MUSIC AND THEATRE SOCIETY RAINCOAST CONSERVATION FOUNDATION READY TO RENT BC ASSOCIATION ROCKY POINT BIRD OBSERVATORY SOCIETY THE ROYAL AND MCPHERSON THEATRES SOCIETY SAANICH NEIGHBOURHOOD PLACE SALT SPRING AND SOUTHERN GULF ISLANDS COMMUNITY SERVICES SOCIETY SALT SPRING ISLAND FARMLAND TRUST SOCIETY SATURNA ISLAND MARINE RESEARCH AND EDUCATION SOCIETY (SIMRES) SEACHANGE MARINE CONSERVATION SOCIETY SHORELINE COMMUNITY SCHOOL ASSOCIATION SIERRA CLUB OF BRITISH COLUMBIA FOUNDATION SINGYOURJOY YOUNG ADULT CHORUS SOCIETY SOCIETY FOR KIDS AT TENNIS (KATS) SOCIETY OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL OF VANCOUVER ISLAND SOOKE FAMILY RESOURCE SOCIETY THE SOOKE PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY STIGMA-FREE SOCIETY THE STORY STUDIO WRITING SOCIETY STORY THEATRE PRODUCTIONS SOCIETY SURROUNDED BY CEDAR CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES SOCIETY SWOVA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND RESEARCH SOCIETY THEATRE SKAM ASSOCIATION THRESHOLD HOUSING SOCIETY

PAGE 26 3 29 4 20 11 5 12 4 17, 18 10, 12 4 12 27 21 21, 22 18 4 21 12 21 5 27 13 22 22 23 27 23 5 27 13, 32 13 6 28 18 6 28 28 6 14

VICTORIA FOUNDATION – MAKE IT HAPPEN! 35

INDEX OF ORGANIZATIONS ORGANIZATION NAME TOGETHER AGAINST POVERTY SOCIETY (TAPS) UMBRELLA SOCIETY FOR ADDICTIONS AND MENTAL HEALTH VANCOUVER ISLAND AIDS SOCIETY VANCOUVER ISLAND KIDS KLUB CENTRE SOCIETY VIA CHORALIS PERFORMANCE SOCIETY VICTORIA BAROQUE MUSIC SOCIETY VICTORIA CHORAL SOCIETY VICTORIA COMMUNITY FOOD HUB SOCIETY VICTORIA COMPOST AND CONSERVATION EDUCATION SOCIETY VICTORIA CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC VICTORIA COOL AID SOCIETY VICTORIA IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE CENTRE SOCIETY (VIRCS) VICTORIA INTEGRATION SOCIETY VICTORIA NATIVE FRIENDSHIP CENTRE VICTORIA PHILHARMONIC CHOIR SOCIETY VICTORIA RESTORATIVE JUSTICE SOCIETY VICTORIA SEXUAL ASSAULT CENTRE SOCIETY VICTORIA SINGLE PARENT RESOURCE CENTRE SOCIETY VICTORIA THEATRE GUILD & DRAMATIC SCHOOL (LANGHAM COURT) VICTORIA THERAPEUTIC RIDING ASSOCIATION VICTORIA WOMEN'S TRANSITION HOUSE SOCIETY THE VICTORIA YOUTH CLINIC SOCIETY VIVA YOUTH CHOIRS SOCIETY OF VICTORIA WEST COAST CHILDREN'S CHORAL SOCIETY WITS PROGRAMS FOUNDATION WORKLINK EMPLOYMENT SOCIETY YOUTHCO HIV & HEP C SOCIETY

36 VICTORIA FOUNDATION – MAKE IT HAPPEN!

2018 PROJECTS

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STRENGTHENING THE WELLBEING OF OUR COMMUNITY At the Victoria Foundation, we believe in connecting people who care with causes that matter®.

The support of generous donors allows the Victoria Foundation to do what it does best – strengthen community wellbeing by investing in people, opportunities and solutions.

We identify and help to address the issues in our community through the vital work of the many charitable organizations that receive discretionary and donor advised grants each year.

We encourage you to consider supporting one or more of the projects or leadership funds in this booklet.

Together we’re better. Together we can make it happen.

Make it happen!

VICTORIA FOUNDATION 200 - 703 Broughton St., Victoria BC V8W 1E2

COMMUNITY NEEDS & OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUR VITAL GRANTS

Charitable Business #:130650898RR0001 P: 250.381.5532 F: 250.480.1129 E: donorservices@victoriafoundation.bc.ca W: victoriafoundation.bc.ca /VicFoundation /TheVictoriaFoundation

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Photo: Broadmead Care Society Engaging Minds and Souls Project - 2016