A group of mostly business people from Cowichan who care about their community have raised $12,300 for the Cowichan District Hospital Foundation.
100 People Who Care Cowichan was recently formed by local businessmen Cam Drew and Michael Lee, and they formed a steering committee that also includes Julie Winter and Lindsey-Lee Mercer.
The group will meet four times a year and at each gathering, the participants will donate $100 each and a local charity will be chosen by the members each time to be the recipient of the money.
100 People Who Care Cowichan held its inaugural meeting on March 11 and it was decided that the Cowichan District Hospital Foundation would receive the $12,300 that was raised at the event.
One of the reasons the foundation was chosen is that, in January, Jimmy Pattison, one of Canada’s leading philanthropists, partnered with it in a campaign to raise up to $10 million to purchase state-of-the-art medical equipment for Cowichan’s new hospital, scheduled to open in 2027.
Pattison has agreed to match all donations up to $5 million in the fundraiser, so the money raised by 100 People Who Care Cowichan will double to $24,600.
David van Deventer, president of the Duncan Cowichan Chamber of Commerce and publisher of the Cowichan Valley Citizen, said he’s pleased that he was invited to be part of 100 People Who Care Cowichan in its efforts to help non-profit groups in the community.
“This is a fantastic philanthropic organization to be a member of,” he said.
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Khowutzun Development Corporation, Cowichan Tribes’ economic arm, has partnered with EMB Management Ltd. to provide contract work for FortisBC as part of the utility company’s GasAMI Project.
The Gas AMI Project consists of upgrading more than 100,000 gas meters to new, wireless meters on Vancouver Island in the next three years, beginning in May 2025.
“With Khowutzun Development and EMB partnering together to provide the contract work for FortisBC, we will be employing Indigenous individuals with the goal of developing skills and career opportunities,” Khowutzun Development said in a statement.
“As an Indigenous company whose focus is to foster powerful connection, abundance, and self-determination for our people, we are setting up a pre-employment program, in partnership with EMB, with the support of Cowichan Tribes Quwutsun Employment and Training, and the House of Friendship.”
Members of Cowichan Tribes and neighbouring Indigenous citizens are welcome to sign up for the pre-employment training, which begins in March.
The training will consist of life skills, attaining certificates, hands-on training, and short-term work experience placement.
For more information, contact Khowutzun Development’s Employment and Training administrator, Amanda Peter, by email at Amanda.peter@khowutzun.com or by phone at 250-710-5661.
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The Malahat SkyWalk is celebrating spring break again this year with a high-sky experience the whole family can enjoy.
Malahat SkyWalk has brought back its popular Kids Visit Free offer and from March 15 to 30, children and youth (17 and under) will receive free admission when one adult ticket is purchased.
“We are delighted to offer families an affordable way to experience Malahat SkyWalk, a truly authentic Vancouver Island adventure, this spring break,” said Nathan Bird, the facility’s general manager.
“With live music, fun activities, great food, and some of the best views in Canada, there’s no better way to spend your holiday locally.”
Since its opening in 2021, the award-winning attraction has welcomed more than 800,000 guests from across the globe.
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A number of people in the Cowichan Valley are among the 13 recipients of the ALS Society of British Columbia’s annual Volunteerism & Service Awards for 2024.
Duncan’s Sheldon Cleaves received the Dr. Andrew Eisen Leadership Award which recognizes outstanding leadership of an individual’s efforts to the ALS Society of BC; Duncan’s Norm Jackson was honoured with the Exceptional Public Awareness Award (Individual), which recognizes the efforts of an individual who has significantly contributed to educating and increasing public awareness about ALS/PLS over the past year; and Judy Huska and Tyler Gladstone, co-chairs of Cobble Hill’s Steve Huska Memorial Golf Tournament, won the Exceptional Fundraising Award (Event).
“Congratulations to all those who have been honoured for their contributions in 2024” said Donald Miyazaki, executive director of the ALS Society of BC.
"We are immensely grateful for our volunteers' unwavering support, commitment, and dedication to making a difference in the lives of those affected by ALS and PLS.”
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Students from Cowichan who are attending the University of Victoria now have another option to get to their classes.
Victoria’s Marc Stoiber is helping a carpooling startup COREO set up trials at universities across Canada, including UVic.
COREO's “share-the-expense” carpooling platform allows app users to automatically coordinate their morning and afternoon commutes with co-workers and neighbours.
Stoiber said COREO is a very evolved platform, taking away the pain of carpooling, calling your friends, getting schedules mixed up and paying for gas money.
“It’s doing for carpooling what UBER did for taxis, and Trivago did for hotel reservations,” he said. “Our UVic trial needs students who live in the Cowichan area, including people who aren't near transit, and have a long way to go to get to school. I need to emphasize this is not a money-making trial. In fact, we're reimbursing students for taking part. It's intended 100 per cent to help COREO ensure the product is working well.”
Stoiber said COREO has a target of having 50 students sign up, and that can be done at https://gocoreo.com/pilot/.
