The Bowen Island Community Foundation has accomplished some grand goals recently. This includes a $5,000 grant to Family Place to allow Family Place and the Youth Centre to share the same space in the Children's Centre. For children, there will be more space to play and learn. For the staff, there will be more space for programming and teaching.
Since its inception in 2001, the foundation has existed as a non-governmental organization. The foundation received its tax status in December 2002 and since then has been steadily giving back to the community.
At its annual general meeting on May 17, board chair Joyce Ganong spoke about her recent participation in a Community Foundations Conference in Vancouver. She was accompanied by board member Colleen O'Neil and two young Bowen citizens, Josh Baker and Laura Reid. More than 640 people from across Canada and 24 other countries attended the conference. They were inspired by Governor General David Johnston, a patron of community foundations. Naomi Tutu, daughter of Archbishop Desmond Tutu urged the audience to embrace the differences humans have and use those differences as a bridge to a more hopeful future. Another well-known figure, President Bill Clinton, asked the captive audience how they practise philanthropy in order to create positive social change.
Josh Baker and Laura Reid heard many different voices of inspiration and encouragement during the conference. The speakers focused on learning new ways to encourage community vitality by reinforcing young people's spirit of giving and gaining opportunities for youth leadership development.
"Michael Furdyk was my favourite," says Laura. Furdyk is an expert in the area of technology and is the co-founder and director of Technology for TakingITGlobal.org, a global online community for youth.
"He gave us a lot of inspiration about communities supporting individuals and groups. It was a once-in-a-life-time experience. I walked out of there feeling very excited."
The Bowen Island Community Foundation continues to take new paths in supporting Bowen. Along with the Family Place, this year the Foundation supported the Memorial Gardens by funding signs indicating the gardens are a precious site, deserving of respect and protection; the creation of the clothes sorting shed for the Children's Centre; and sponsoring youth in the inspiring Community Foundations Conference.
Through the Maggie Cumming Legacy Fund, the Foundation was able to assist with a scholarship, provide support for Abbeyfield House meals program, and give money to extend the trail program. The Foundation also provided support for The Aaron Sluggett and Danielle Dulong Memorial Scholarship Funds, ensuring they will provide an additional four scholarships. In addition, the Bowen Island Golf Club Junior Scholarship Fund, facilitated by the Foundation, will provide at least one more.
"Thanks to the incredible generosity of so many on Bowen, we received over $36,000 in donations to help build our endowment funds further," Ganong says. "We continue to explore ways to encourage everyone on Bowen to consider the Community Foundation as theirs. The words 'community' and 'foundation' say it all. In our case, community is the people of Bowen, who are bound by its geographical configuration. Foundation is the structure, or platform that provides strength.
A community foundation supports the people in creating and evolving a strong, caring, community where people are respectful of one another and the environment around us."
