Category Archives: Community

3 Cortes Island Projects receiving $40,000 to advance gender equality

Three Cortes Island projects are about to receive a $40,000 grant to advance gender equality. This is part of a $3.4 million collaboration between the Community Foundations of Canada and the Equality Fund supported by the Government of Canada. 

Manda Aufochs Gillespie, Executive Director of the  Cortes Island Community Foundation, explained, “We were able to partially fund three different projects. Those include our Women’s Centre, which everybody knows, runs with very little funding and a real bootstrap mentality, like ‘we’re gonna get it done.’ So it’s going to be a little bit of funding for supporting their work. The other really exciting project that I hope is going to make a major difference in many families’ lives is the Playschool expansion, so that there’ll actually be almost full-time childcare available on Cortes for the first time ever. The third one is basically an intergenerational helping hands project being put forward by the Family Support Services of the CCHA (Cortes Community Health Association).”

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Cortes Foundation obtains $100,000 grant for Cortes charities and nonprofits 

The Cortes Foundation just signed an MOU, which opens the way for it to receive $100,000 in funding for Cortes Island charities and nonprofits.

In today’s interview Mark Spevakow, Chair of the Cortes Island CommunityFoundation, and Executive Director Manda Aufochs Gillespie explain how this will work.

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Tackling Barriers for LGBTQ2S+ Canadians in the Workplace

By Zak Vescera,  The Tyee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The job seekers that Nick Ebbadi-Cook works with have two things in common. The first is that they’re  LGBTQ2S+. And the second is that almost all of them have faced  discrimination in the workplace because of it.  

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B.C. unprepared to house immigrants Canada is welcoming, experts say

Editor’s not: Very few of the people moving into our area appear to come from directly from overseas. According to  State of Campbell River 18 of the 4,029 people (i.e. about ½%) that moved to Campbell River between 2015 and 2019 came from outside of Canada.  Quadra Island’s Community profile states 12 of the 470 people (2.55%) that moved to Area C between 2011 and 2016 were immigrants. The Cortes Island Profile does not differentiate between people from ‘another province or another country,’ but states 27.7% of the household moves between 2011 and 2016 were made by people from outside of B.C. The vast majority were most likely Canadians.

By Shalu Mehta,  New Canadian Media, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Simran Sahani took a leap of faith in October, 2022 and moved from Mumbai, India to Victoria with her husband and six-year-old daughter. The couple left their long-standing jobs, family and home behind in the hopes of forging a brighter future for their daughter. While they knew it wouldn’t be easy, Sahani says it’s been harder than anticipated to find housing and jobs that match the education and experience she and her husband have.

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Quadra Foundation to administer $100,000

The Quadra Island Foundation will be distributing approximately $100,000 to Quadra Island organizations during the Spring of 2023. According to their press release, Grant amounts will range from $10,000 to $20,000.

This money is part of the government of Canada’s National COVID Recovery Fund to support charities, non-profits and indigenous governing bodies. 

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