On a rare cool weather August day, representatives from various Sunshine Coast organizations met with Mayor Darnelda Siegers, Geoff Craig, President and Dave Lasser, Operations Manager of the Sunshine Coast Community Forest to receive cheques from the Legacy Fund.
left to right: Clarence Li, Executive Director and Gabrielle Pape, Program Coordinator SCACL; Sarah Bradley, President RCCA; Dave Lasser, Operations Manager SCCF; Paul Davis, Self-Advocate Representative SCACL; Simon Grant, Hatchery Manager SCSES; Susan Kimm-Jones of St Bart’s; Katherine Reber of SCSES; Pamela McElheran, Parish Warden St Bart’s; Mayor Darnelda Siegers, Matthew Lovegrove, Curator/Manager SCMA; Geoff Craig, President and Chair SCCF; Ian Thomson, Director SCMA.
Sunshine Coast Association for Community Living – COVID 19 Community Inclusion Support – $8,000
The Sunshine Coast Association for Community Living supports some of our community’s most vulnerable members. During the first months of the current provincial state of emergency they experienced unprecedented need by their clients, and were in a position of being able to help due to their ongoing supportive relationship with these vulnerable individuals, but did not have the funds to do so. While life is starting to look more like normal for some of us, for many of their clients self-isolation continues with association staff being the only point of contact. This grant will help ensure that they are in a position to help keep their clients safe with food and secure housing in the months to come.
Roberts Creek Community Association – Commercial Kitchen Upgrades – $7,000
The Roberts Creek Community Association’s Roberts Creek Hall is a community hub which is very well used. The Hall kitchen is the only commercial kitchen in Roberts creek and in addition to food service provided at events, it is rented at a low cost to local small businesses and market attendees to prepare food for sale. Upgraded, efficient appliances for this kitchen will help make the community more food secure and be an asset during good times and during emergencies. This grant can pay for half of the cost of the appliances.
St Bart’s Food Bank – Cold Storage and Client Shelter – $5,400
The St Bart’s Food Bank is the only no-barrier food bank in our community, serving those who may not have or do not feel comfortable sharing their ID. They currently only distribute dry goods as they have no means of storing items requiring cold storage. The purchase of a fridge and freezer will allow them to expand their offerings to include more varied and nutritious goods such as fruits, vegetables and eggs, and to take advantage of sales on items that can be frozen, making their dollars stretch further. They also have need of tents to protect their clients and goods from the weather while they are having to operate outdoors due to the ongoing provincial health emergency.
Sunshine Coast Salmonid Enhancement Society – Save Our Salmon – $40,000
The Sunshine Coast Salmonid Enhancement Society has been operating a hatchery to build salmon stocks in our community for 18 years, additionally providing an important educational experience and a popular tourist attraction. Last year, they had to sell their stock to other hatcheries because they could not maintain conditions for their fish during the drought, with their only source of water being Chapman Creek. This grant will partly fund 2 test wells, with an additional $50,000 required. The District of Sechelt is considering funding the remainder from the Community Forest Legacy Fund to ensure our local hatchery operation can continue.
Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives – Protecting Coastal History – $12,000
The Sunshine Coast Museum & Archives has long needed an HVAC retrofit to improve air circulation and humidity control to preserve their collection, but has put in place various manual stopgap measures to make do with the system in place. The ongoing pandemic has additionally raised concerns about recirculated air systems contributing to spread of viruses. This grant will cover improvements to their HVAC system to protect visitors and their collections.