On Tuesday, Aug. 21, Nourish Cowichan Society and Starfish Back Pack Program both received generous donations from Vancouver Island Wall and Ceiling Association (VIWCA).
VIWCA hosted a members golf tournament to raise funds for both of these local charities that help provide nutritious food for children in the community. This is the second year that VIWCA has donated to Nourish Cowichan.
Cathy LaPointe (Dryco Systems), treasurer of VIWCA and John Butler (Slegg Building Materials) member of VIWCA, presented their cheques outside the commercial kitchen space that will be the new home for both Nourish Cowichan and Starfish Back Program at École Mt. Prevost Elementary this fall.
Derek Hardacker, from Starfish Back Pack Program (a Rotary Club initiative — starfishpack.com/cowichan-valley) received $5,250, which will provide food for 10 children to bring home over the weekends, for the full 2018-19 school year.
Nourish Cowichan board members Anita Carroll, Fatima Da Silva, Deana Robertson and Doug Thomson accepted a cheque for $4,000 to go towards the building costs of the new kitchen space.
Both organizations are successful due to the generosity of community members and local businesses who believe in the work that is being done to help support children in the commuinty
Nourish Cowichan is now providing meals to nine local schools and one daycare; they have recently built relationships with the Penelakut and Arcadian Daycares and the maternity clinic at Cowichan District Hospital and will be providing food for these programs with a grant they received from Island Health this past summer.
Nourish Cowichan provides more than 1,100 meals each week to children in the community and has a dedicated group of volunteers who make the program a success. If you would like to learn more about Nourish Cowichan you can visit their website at nourishcowichan.ca, or email: www.nourishwcowichan@gmail.ca, or check them out on Facebook (Nourish Cowichan Society) or Instagram (Nourish Cowichan).
Starfish Backpack Program provides backpacks to 50 children at a local school in the valley. They are currently fundraising to take on another school in the community. They can be reached at 250-709-1903 on Facebook (Starfish Cowichan Valley) or by email: starfishcowichanvalley@gmail.com.
