Building healthy community together

James Bay Community Project

By Pam Prewett

We recently held a thank you reception for our donors. The event was a great occasion for us to thank our supporters in the community. It was also an excellent opportunity to reinforce how individual contributions working together build a stronger community.

James Bay Community Project is very grateful to receive funding from government organizations like the Ministry of Children and Family Development, Vancouver Island Health Authority, City of Victoria, the Province of BC (Gaming Policy Branch), Public Health Agency of Canada, United Way of Greater Victoria, Vancouver Foundation and Thrifty Foods Smile Card Program.

However, approximately 46% of the funding for our annual operating budget comes from individual donations.

That means that the majority of our programs and services could not operate at the capacity that they do, if at all, without support from the community.

Programs like Connections, which offers a group setting for seniors who may be experiencing health concerns, isolation or depression. Or our Volunteer Services, which include assisted medical drives, friendly visits, minor repairs, gardening, walking, reading, shopping, dog walking and downsizing or de-cluttering.

Outreach services assess eligibility for oneonone volunteer services, providing information about programs and services and referral to community resources, and we also offer programs for seniors such as Macular Degeneration & Low Vision Support Group, Foot Care, Blood Pressure Clinic, Tai Chi, Yoga and Reiki.

At the Family Centre, there are a variety of dropin programs available, including Toddler Drop In, Creative Play Drop In and Family Dinner, which is open to families from any neighbourhood in Victoria with children up to 12 years old. Other programs at the Family Centre include Baby Group, Parent Child Mother Goose, Welcome Playgroup, Triple P Parenting Course and Cool Cues Social Group for kids 8-10 years old.

James Bay Community Project has both a Family Development Worker and Youth and Family Outreach Worker to offer counselling, information and support to families wanting to work on parenting or family concerns. The Youth and Family Outreach Worker also provides support, information, referrals, parent-teen mediation and mentoring. Services are available to youth 13-19 years old and their families, and the Youth and Family Outreach Worker works with families living in James Bay, Fairfield, Oak Bay and Downtown. Our ultimate goal is helping families build strengths and resilience.

In partnership with the Greater Victoria Public Library we offer a Community Library which averages 450 visits per month, and we have two Community Computers that are available Monday – Friday 8 am – 4 pm in our lobby.

We also offer Community Volunteer Income Tax Preparation, which runs from the beginning of March to the end of April annually and is offered to low income individuals, couples and families in our community.

All of these programs and services are made possible through generous donations from community supporters.

American psychiatrist and best-selling author, M. Scott Peck, said “There can be no vulnerability without risk; there can be no community without vulnerability; there can be no peace, and ultimately no life, without community.” Community is the main reason why we are here, but we couldn’t continue to do what we do without your support.

Thank you for helping us build healthy community together.