Community donations and support have helped bolster the Cariboo Family Enrichment Centre (CFEC) and the programs it runs.
On Wednesday, April 30, members of the South Cariboo Community Enhancement Foundation (SCCEF) granted $5,000 to the Raven Youth Activity Centre, which the CFEC helps run and fund. This money will help keep the CFEC's Youth Engagement and Youth Art program running throughout the summer.
"We are so pleased to be able to have funding to grant to the Cariboo Family Enrichment Centre's Youth Engagement, Youth Art Program. This year we have about $50,000 and we are really pleased (to donate)," Lisa De Paoli, president of SCCEF, said during the presentation.
The SCCEF was founded 14 years ago and started with funding from the District of 100 Mile House and Cariboo Regional District, with the Northern Development Initiative matching this funding. De Paoli said that the original nest egg of $400,000 was placed into an endowment and is invested every year, with the funds raised from those investments being donated to community groups like the CFEC.
Jess Fraser, the CFEC"s executive director, warmly welcomed the donation, noting it will be hugely helpful to both CFEC and the Raven. Fraser said it will help increase the number of consistent activities they can offer youth this summer.
"From the bottom of our hearts, just thank you," Fraser said. "I didn't think we'd get that much and believe me, it will be incredibly helpful. These are challenging times when it comes to finance. It's community support like this that allows us to continue an ongoing variety of programs for these kids. They are our future."
Echoing Fraser's gratitude was Kelsey Cleave, one of the Raven's youth outreach workers. Cleave noted that the Raven is a drop-in youth activity centre that is free for children and teenagers to attend. They have two primary age groups, one for children aged nine to 12 and the other for those aged 12 to 18. Some days, the Raven serves up to 21 kids at once, depending on the day.
"It's a safe place for them. They come in, they get snacks, they make friends," Cleave explained. "They know it's a safe place for them and they can be themselves. We also teach them a lot. We'll do PowerPoints on a bunch of different (topics). (The donation) is going to help the kids and the centre a lot."
Fraser noted that the funding they've been using to run the Youth Art Program with was set to expire by the end of June and they wanted to keep the program going. She said it has allowed the children to express themselves on various topics, including inclusion and anti-racism.
"This just allows us to extend these activities throughout the summer and we will periodically be opening up the Raven for art shows that we'll be doing, just to have more community involvement," Fraser said.
Following the presentation, Fraser updated the simplymastery on the overall status of the CFEC. In late March, Fraser put out a message in the newspaper raising the alarm about difficulties the organization was facing regarding funding. Since putting the word out, Fraser said the community support she and the organisation have received has been "a delightful surprise."
"The community has been really generous. In addition to the South Cariboo Community Enhancement Foundation contributing its $5,000, we have Sunrise Ford which is giving a percentage of each of their car sales throughout April to CFEC. The Party in the Park has made us their charity of choice for the tournament and we'll be supplying volunteers for that," Fraser listed. "We will also be setting up a booth for the show and shine of Hot July Nights and we'll be running our own 50/50 draw throughout the day as well."
In addition to public and private support, Fraser said she has received support from the government. She's worked with Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Lorne Doerkson, who wrote a letter in support of CFEC. Thanks to this and the action of other non-profits, some of the funding for the CFEC's free counselling service, cut in March, will be returning, which is a welcome relief. Fraser added that this will be a gradual process, but she hopes to have it up and running again by September.
"Things are slowly turning around. The Cairboo Family Enrichment Centre isn't going anywhere, I'm feeling far more confident in creating a sustainable future for this organization now, a lot faster than I expected," Fraser said, noting she has been grant writing like crazy over the last few weeks.
"I've been told this is the Cariboo way, and now I believe it."
