Pooch party aids low-income families
Dress up your four-legged best friend to meet new friends at the Victoria Pet Food Bank’s annual Dog Party at Clover Point on Monday.
The event is an opportunity for dog lovers to socialize, to raise awareness, and to raise funds to help street and low-income pet families in our community.
Volunteers of the organization — children who grew up helping to tame feral kittens and sorting returnables — will be on hand to organize games for participants.
There will be treats for both humans and pooches, with coffee donated by Serious Coffee on Broad Street.
The event is free to attend, with donations gratefully accepted. It runs 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Feb. 13 at Clover Point.
For more information, call 778-352-2999, go to safars.org or Boneless Project on Facebook.
Count birds from your own backyard
Register to take part in the 20th annual Great Backyard Bird Count from wherever you are — in a backyard, park, nature centre, hiking trail, school ground, balcony or beach, Feb. 17 to 20.
Bird lovers need to count for only 15 minutes on one (or more) days and enter their tally online. The data contribute to a snapshot of bird distribution and help scientists see changes that have taken place over the past 20 years.
For more information, go to gbbc.birdcount.org.
Victoria Health Co-op maps the future
Discover the services the Victoria Health Co-op provides for members and the wider community at its annual general meeting, Feb. 25 at Fairfield United Church.
The co-operative serves more than 5,000 patients through its Co-op Health Centre, 547 Menzies St., a building owned by the James Bay Community Project.
Along with tabling the annual report, the meeting will lay out the group’s vision in five areas: The organization in the bigger picture, services for members, community outreach, Co-Op Health Centre and achieving financial stability.
The event is free to attend. It runs 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Feb. 25 at Fairfield United Church, 1303 Fairfield St. (at Moss).
For more information, go to victoriahealthcooperative.com or Facebook.
ALS walk needs a new co-ordinator
The 16th Annual Walk for ALS Victoria is in jeopardy of cancellation because the organization needs to fill the position of walk co-ordinator.
The event typically raises nearly $1 million toward patient services and research for people affected by ALS in the community. The loss of the walk will be detrimental to countless families across the region hoping to see a future without this debilitating disease.
Support and training will be provided by the ALS Society of B.C. to the person or people willing to take on the role.
To save the Victoria walk, the deadline to find a volunteer to lead the event is set for Feb. 28.
If interested, contact the ALS Society of B.C. to discuss commitment, timeline and training. The society has a large, dedicated group of volunteers willing to support and mentor the incoming walk co-ordinator.
The Walk for ALS Victoria is scheduled to take place Sept. 17.
Interested parties should contact Iman Ghahremani, manager, Volunteer and Resource Development, ALS Society of B.C. at volunteer@alsbc.ca, phone: 604-2782257 ext. 229; cell: 778-999-7278; toll free: 1-800-708-3228. For more information, go to alsbc.ca or Facebook.
Thrifty Foods helps Easter Seals
Thrifty Foods presented a $23,003 cheque to Easter Seals British Columbia/Yukon on Friday.
The grocery chain donated 50 cents from the sale of every 700-ml container of Thrifty Kitchens Soup in January. Customers were also able to contribute to the cause by donating their three-cent reusable bag refund or making a cash donation at the till.
The donation is part of Thrifty Foods’ year-long 40th-birthday celebrations.
For more information, go to eastersealscamps.ca or sobeys.com.
Victorian among scholarship winners
Sarah Berod of Victoria was one of 85 students across Canada chosen to receive post-secondary scholarships, valued at $5,000 each, from the Horatio Alger Association of Canada.
The scholarships are awarded to high school students in financial need who have overcome significant adversity while demonstrating strength of character, strong academics and a commitment to pursuing higher education, as well as a desire to contribute to society.
“Each year, our association looks for the hardest-working, most-deserving Canadian students to award our post-secondary scholarships,” said Prem Watsa, president of the association. “Our 85 scholarship recipients for 2017 make us proud, and we are honoured to help them as they strive to overcome adversity.”
Funds can be used for postsecondary vocational or university studies. The association has awarded almost $2 million in scholarships to 387 recipients since 2012.
For more information, go to horatioalger.ca.
Tasty treats for a good cause
Send your love — and give back to the community at the same time — with HeartGrams.
Each HeartGram consists of a cute, witty card from BooToYou Designs and a deluxe chocolate from Chocolate Tofino wrapped and delivered by HeartPress PR.
HeartGrams is a grownup version of a nostalgic pastime with the same whimsy as the I choochoo-choose you cards. There are 13 card designs to choose from, ranging from the very sweet to the racy and hilarious.
People can choose to give a truffle sampler, a chocolate bar or a box of chocolates.
The initiative is an easy way to give back on Valentine’s Day, with $1 from every HeartGram donated to a cause of the purchaser’s choice.
HeartGrams will be delivered to a few select blocks of downtown businesses or can be picked up at select locations within Greater Victoria: Metrics Chartered Accounting Professionals, the Watershed, Picot, Max Furniture, Coastal Offices.
For more information, go to heartpress-pr10.mybigcommerce.com/about/.
Seniors program offers training session
Seniors Serving Seniors is looking for people to sign up for a March training session to prepare them for volunteering with the Return to Health Program, March 9 and 10.
The Return to Health program provides companionship and support for independent seniors returning home after a hospital stay.
Topics at the two-day training session include: Effective communication skills, nutrition, the effects of disease on normal aging, navigating the health-care system and how to connect with community programs.
Volunteers visit clients and offer assistance to help them connect to services and regain selfconfidence. The goal of the program is to assist the client in re-socializing and making new friends at seniors’ social programs in the area.
The program, funded by the United Way of Greater Victoria and Island Health, is followed by monthly support meetings throughout the year.
Occasionally, lasting friendships develop between volunteer and client.
Please call Jane at 250-3824331 for more information. For more information, go to seniorsservingseniors.bc.ca.
It’s nomination time for SS Beaver Medal
The Maritime Museum of British Columbia is inviting nominations for the SS Beaver Medal, an annual award that recognizes outstanding achievements in B.C.’s marine sector.
Nominations are encouraged for individuals who have made noteworthy contributions to B.C. marine interests, including but not limited to: science, technology, business, applications of maritime skills, nautical heritage, and culture and academic offerings.
An award is also made to recognize a noteworthy organization, vessel or technological project.
“We have been encouraged by the growing diversity of nominations as the award becomes more widely known,” said Jan Drent, a member of the medal steering committee.
Past winners include entrepreneurs, naval architects, publishers, authors, historians, a hydrographer, innovators in technology, a marine artist and a museum curator.
The gold-plated medal is struck from copper salvaged from the paddlewheel steamship SS Beaver, which pioneered commercial navigation on the B.C. coast as a floating trading post, hydrographic survey ship and towboat on the northwest coast for 53 years. It sank near Vancouver in 1888.
Potential recipients will be selected by an awards committee with members from the Chamber of Shipping of B.C., the Prince Rupert Port Authority, B.C. Ferries, a former coast guard captain, a marine historian, a marine writer and a past-president of the Maritime Museum.
Nominations close on May 20. For more information, go to mmbc.bc.ca/about/s-s-beavermedal/.
Longtime James Bay volunteer retires
The board of the James Bay Market Society has announced the retirement of Pat McGuire, a contributor to the market and the member of the society for more than 20 years.
McGuire was one of the original James Bay Market Society community members and helped establish the market initially at South Park School. Thanks to her organizational skills and her deep commitment to the community, the market has grown to become a vibrant community hub.
Another project, Seedy Saturday, has grown to become the premier seed and garden show in Victoria, attended by more than 2,200 people each time it is put on.
In McGuire’s honour, the society has planted three apple trees at Todd Park, a stone’s throw from her home.
For more information, go to jamesbaymarket.com.
Mouthwatering food aids Our Place
Tickets are going fast for the Hungry Hearts, a savoury culinary soirée that also feeds the coffers of Our Place Society, Wednesday at the Inn at Laurel Point.
Six of Victoria’s top chefs engage in a friendly cook-off for the coveted title of Hungry Hearts Champion by creating exquisite small bites. The chefs include: Castro Boateng of Castro Boateng Catering, Mike Dunlop of Vista 18, Takashi Ito of the Inn at Laurel Point, Tyler Paquette of Fishhook and Nicholas Waters of Toque Catering.
Ticket holders determine the winner by voting for their favourite culinary creation.
As a bonus this year, attendees can sample a mouthwatering and edible Chocolate Show put on by the Quebec-based Chocolat Favoris. People will be entertained with live music and get to bid at high-end auctions between bites.
This is the fourth year of the event, which has raised more than $380,000 in the past three years in support of Victoria’s most vulnerable citizens.
Tickets are $125 — with 100 per cent of proceeds benefiting Our Place. The event runs 5 to 8 p.m. Feb. 15 at the Inn at Laurel Point, 680 Montreal St. Reserve tickets at 250-413-3161 ext. 228 or email hungryhearts@ourplacesociety.com.
The hotel is offering a Ridethe-Elevator Home rate for Hungry Hearts guests who would rather not drive — $99 for a standard room or $149 for an Erickson Wing studio suite. Please call 250-386-8721 to reserve.
For more information, go to ourplacesociety.com/ hungry-hearts.