How do you bring about transformative change in teens? How do you build empathy and a better awareness of the lives and challenges of those around you? And how do you do all this in just one day? The answer is a workshop called Challenge Day. Over 270 students and 80 adult volunteers in Mission recently attended one of three Challenge Day workshops, thanks in part to a $9,700 grant from the Envision Financial Community Endowment housed with the First West Foundation.

Reach Child and Youth Development Society is an organization that has been supporting children with special needs and their families for over fifty years. Over that time, they’ve seen the number of children who need their services grow significantly and they now need a new home to provide those services effectively. Thanks to a $25,000 grant from the Envision Financial Community Endowment housed with the First West Foundation, Reach is getting closer to their goal of raising $4 million.

Mental illness is a hidden issue in our communities that usually only surfaces when tragedy strikes. Most would be surprised to learn that nearly 650 children and youth in the Fraser Valley suffer from mental illness each year. Now, thanks in part to funding from the Envision Financial Community Endowment toward the Adolescent Day Treatment Program (ADT) at Surrey Memorial Hospital, some of our most vulnerable youth have the support they need toward the road to mental health and wellness.
 

Abbotsford Community Services has been awarded a $7,500 grant towards their “Art of Supervision – Training and Curriculum Development” program, providing supervisory training for all supervisory-level staff at the organization plus the development of curriculum for ongoing training of new supervisors. Abbotsford Community Services has 30 supervisors and 300 staff; this new program will allow the organization to fulfill their mandate of promoting from within.

A $7,000 grant has been awarded from the Valley First Community Endowment towards the Community Kitchens outreach program of the Junction Literacy Centre in Vernon. This program teaches individuals to shop and cook nutritiously on a budget. Participants get genuine life skills that benefit themselves and their families. The program is tailored for families, seniors and youth. Participants meet to learn how to cook new recipes, learn new skills and then take their meals home.

The Envision Financial Community Endowment has provided a $10,000 grant to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Langley in support of its In School Mentoring Program. The program focuses on the mentor/mentee relationship and aims to help children and youth increase their self esteem, develop character and respect, and make better lifestyle choices.
 

A grant from the Valley First Community Endowment fund is helping to provide healthy food, while spreading the word about proper nutrition to Oliver students.
 
School District 53 and Oliver Elementary School recently received a $5,000 grant from the fund, which is housed with the First West Foundation, to support its Farm2School salad bar program.
 

A $2,000 grant from the Valley First Community Endowment has allowed the Penticton & District Community Resource Society to upgrade its well-used kitchen equipment and continue delivering nutritional snacks during its before- and after-school care and nutrition program, as well as visitors.
 

Since 1959, the Okanagan Boys and Girls Clubs (OBG Clubs) has been providing a safe, supportive place where children and youth can experience new opportunities, overcome barriers, build positive relationships and develop confidence and skills for life. The OBG Clubs are an award winning and accredited provider of programs to children, youth and families, welcoming young people of all cultural, social and economic backgrounds. The OBC Clubs have a particular sensitivity to children and youth who are disabled, at risk or economically and/or socially disadvantaged. 
 

A grant from the Valley First Community Endowment is allowing the Central Okanagan Region Nutrition Society—better known as Meals on Wheels—to extend the reach of its meal program and help more people in need in the Kelowna area.
 
The $5,000 received from the Valley First endowment, which is housed with the First West Foundation, is being used by Meals on Wheels to subsidize food costs for the increasing number of people who are finding healthy, affordable meals beyond their reach.