Endowment honours TLC volunteer
The Land Conservancy of British Columbia has created a $100,000 endowment fund in honour of a longtime volunteer.
The Jack Eldridge Memorial Fund for Abkhazi Garden honours the contribution of Jack Eldridge, a conservancy member of 18 years who died in October.
He was a volunteer at many of the land trust’s sites, but was passionate about the Abkhazi Garden. He lovingly tended the garden weekly alongside a team of committed volunteers.
To commemorate Eldridge’s legacy, the Land Conservancy has created a memorial fund in his name thanks to a bequest from his estate.
People can make taxdeductible contributions to the fund through the Victoria Foundation, donating to the Land Conservancy or designating a gift in their estate planning.
Admission to the Abkhazi Garden is by donation. It is open daily, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. throughout the spring and summer at 1964 Fairfield Rd.
For more information, go to conservancy.bc.ca.
Field to be named for longtime volunteer
The community is invited to witness a ceremony to name the main baseball diamond at Lambrick Park Field in honour of a longtime president of Gordon Head Baseball.
The ball field will be named Joe Stephenson Field, to honour the contributions of Joe Stephenson, who has spent countless hours volunteering at various baseball programs over the past 18 years, including serving as president of the club.
As president, he led a team of board members and volunteers in some significant achievements. He raised $500,000 during his time at the helm, including securing other in-kind sponsorship that led to the construction of the lights, scoreboard, grandstands and dugouts at the field.
The opening ceremonies run from 11:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. today at Lambrick Park Field, on Lambrick Way in Saanich. The event includes an unveiling of the new name and an announcement by Saanich Mayor Richard Atwell.
The Jenner Chevrolet Grillvarado will be on hand to cook up a storm, and people can check out the Shop n’ Swap (10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.) for gear and equipment.
For more information, go to gordonheadbaseball.ca.
Tour tea and cake at fundraiser
Eat cake, drink locally blended tea and raise money for a good cause at the Tea and Cake Food Tour, a fundraiser for the Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada, April 15 at various venues in town.
During the tour, people can learn more about the history and culture of tea, sample cakes and pastries, and hear about history and architecture of the stops along the way.
The tour is hosted by Off the Eaten Track, a culinary tour company.
“Victoria has a vibrant culinary scene, and two trends that are very popular here are tea shops and beautiful bakeries. This tour celebrates both,” said Bonnie Todd, owner of the company. “We are happy to be partnering with the Children’s Wish Foundation and hope to raise $750 on the tour.”
The guided tour will visit three tea shops and two bakeries, including the Terroir Tea Salon, Crust Bakery, Special Teas, La Roux Patisserie, and Venus and Sophia Tea Room.
All proceeds from the tour will go to the B.C. and Yukon chapter of the Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada. The foundation is the only all-Canadian charity dedicated to granting wishes to Canadian children age 3 to 17, who are diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. For more information, go to childrenswish.ca.
Cost of the tour is $63.14, which includes all tea and cake samples, tour guide, taxes and fees. The event runs 2 to 4 p.m., April 15.
Tickets and information at teaandcakevictoria.eventbrite.ca. Tickets must be purchased in advance, and only 15 seats are available.
Partnership will support organ recipients
The David Foster Foundation and Country Grocer have announced a partnership ahead of National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week, April 16 to 22.
During the month of April, the grocery chain will launch a promotion and in-store raffle in each of its seven Vancouver Island stores.
Shoppers will have the opportunity to enter to win the Gift of Flight when purchasing a $5 raffle ticket at the till. Assorted products on shelves will be marked throughout the month, with a portion of the proceeds from each sale being donated to the foundation. Customers will also be encouraged to purchase a $2 token at the till.
Latest figures show that although 90 per cent of Canadians think organ donation is beneficial, less than 20 per cent are registered as donors.
The David Foster Foundation contributes to non-medical expenses of more than 1,000 families with children undergoing life-saving pediatric organ transplants. It celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.
For more information, go to davidfosterfoundation.com.
Two students from Vancouver Island are among 15 from across Canada who have won the UniversityHub Future 15 award for making positive change in their schools, communities and beyond.
The two are Jamison Franco, who attends St. Michaels University School, and Linnea Munro, a Mill Bay resident enrolled at Brentwood College.
UniversityHub is a socialnetworking platform designed to help students choose a university, including the University of Victoria. For more information, go to universityhub.ca.
Group of 245 women raises thousands
It took 245 philanthropic women just one hour to raise $24,500 to help people living with mental illness in Victoria.
At its March meeting (they take place four times a year), the 100 Women Who Care Victoria chose to donate the night’s collection of $100 each to Connections Place, affiliated with Saanich Legacy Society.
Connections Place is a community centre that offers people who have mental illness hope and opportunities to achieve their full potential.
The society also offers a variety of programs, including supported housing, education, transitional employment, social programs, and young adult and youth programs.
For more information, go to connectionsplace.org or 100 women victoria.
400 girls look to the future at conference
Participants are encouraged to look past the challenges of the future to envision unique solutions at Head and Hearts to Action, a leadership conference for girls in Grades 5 to 10 set to take place April 20 and 21 at St. Margaret’s School.
Organizers expect to host as many as 400 girls from public and independent schools from southern Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.
The conference features presentations, hands-on opportunities for participants, and speakers who have flourished professionally in the STEM fields, an acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It also signifies an inquiry-based, interdisciplinary educational philosophy centred on question, observation, reflection and communication.
“We want to provide girls with all the tools required to put themselves front-and-centre as leaders in all realms of society and contribute their passion and ethical ingenuity in this fast-developing world,” said Cathy Thornicroft, St. Margaret’s head of school. “Our focus on STEM education at St. Margaret’s is one way we do that; this conference is another.”
Keynote speakers include Natalie Panek, an aspiring astronaut currently working in space robotics and named one of Canada’s Female Explorers of the Year; Rosemary Chapdelaine, vice-president of Lockheed Martin Canada; and Donna Garbutt, CEO of Maxxam and member of the Governor General’s Science, Technology and Innovation Council.
Workshops will explore a range of topics, including augmented and virtual reality, art and applications of 3D printing, women working in the wild, as well as personal-development topics.
Tickets for students are $50 and free for teacher chaperones. The conference runs from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 21 at St. Margaret’s School, 1080 Lucas Ave. For more information, go to stmarg.ca/stemcon or email stemcon@stmarg.ca.
Institute wants mentalhealth researchers
Are you eager to make the next big discovery in mental health? The Royal Institute of Mental Health Research is looking for five of the best and brightest researchers to join an incubator for young researchers with promising big ideas.
The institute, which is affiliated with the University of Ottawa, recently announced the biggest individual donation in its history — $6 million from an anonymous donor, earmarked to accelerate the future of mentalhealth research and discovery.
The money will fund a new research incubator called Emerging Researchers in Mental Health. The five primary research priorities are depression, the brain-heart connection, stress and trauma, brain stimulation and multimodal brain imaging — but it will also consider mental-health research with other focuses.
“Right now with mental illness, we are where we were with heart disease and diabetes more than 100 years ago,” said Dr. Zul Merali, president and CEO. “We need curiosity-driven, innovative researchers — the best and brightest young minds — eager to advance the field of mental health research.”
The program is the first of its kind in Canada. It’s a chance for young researchers to put their careers into overdrive, while working in a supportive environment alongside experts in their field, with salary and grant support for up to five years.
Organizers are looking for applicants to propose projects exploring out-of-the-box ideas that might have scant supporting evidence at the moment, but hold the potential to transform current thinking.
“The donor believes that curiosity drives innovation, and that mental health needs more of it,” said Nancy Stanton, acting president and CEO of the foundation.
The Royal is one of Canada’s foremost mental-health care, teaching and research hospitals.
Applicants must be within the first five years of completing a PhD or MD. The deadline to apply is April 30. For more information, visit theroyal.ca/erimh.
Terry Fox exhibit to open at museum
A young man’s vision for a world without cancer is reflected in Terry Fox: Running to the Heart of Canada, an exhibition set to open April 12 at the Royal British Columbia Museum.
The exhibit opens 37 years to the day after Terry Fox dipped his prosthetic leg into the Atlantic Ocean and started his Marathon of Hope to raise money for cancer research.
The travelling exhibition was developed by the Canadian Museum of History in partnership with the Terry Fox Centre. People can also share their memories and share their experience of the feature exhibition with #RBCMTerryFox.
The exhibit is included in the price of regular admission. It will be on display 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily April 12 to Oct. 1 at the museum, 675 Belleville St.
For more information, go to royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/visit/ exhibitions/terryfox.