VIU Partnership with Island Savings to Benefit Harewood Families

Island Savings’Chris Waddell joins VIU Child and Youth Care students (l-r) Lee Tague, Stephanie Barkley and Chelsie Stauffer at a Neighbour to Neighbour event at Georgia Avenue Elementary School in the Harewood community in April.

June 16, 2015 - 10:15am

Programs that will benefit children and youth in the Harewood community and enhance learning by students in Vancouver Island University’s (VIU) Child and Youth Care (CYC) program are the result of a new partnership between Island Savings and VIU.

Island Savings, which already supports eight $1,000 bursaries for students studying full-time in five different Health and Human Services programs, has increased its support to students and programming at VIU through an additional $2,500 gift to the new VIU Centre for Community Outreach and Care (CCOC).

“As part of our commitment to improving the quality of life for Island families, we’re proud to grow our partnership with VIU to support the work being done through the Centre for Community Outreach and Care to help local children, youth and families,” said Randy Bertsch, President of Island Savings.

The CCOC was established in 2014 to provide practical experience for students in VIU’s Bachelor of Arts in Child and Youth Care program, and to offer programming that serves the needs of families, children and youth in Harewood.

The CCOC has been taken a step further with Islands Savings’ support, and with the establishment of a Harewood advisory committee set up recently to assess three student-run projects in early stages of development, identify further opportunities, and act as advisors on CCOC activities.

Ashleigh Martinflatt, a professor in the CYC program and CCOC coordinator, said support from Island Savings is “invaluable,” offering not only financial support, but also staff participation from the financial institution on the 12-member Harewood advisory committee.

“We had a budget of zero, so this support helps us continue to provide amazing learning opportunities for students in the Child and Youth Care program, and also offer quality services to children, youth and families in the Harewood community,” said Martinflatt.

Three projects initiated by six fourth year CYC students and supported by CYC professor Teri Derksen were launched in the 2014-15 school year, and are likely to continue in 2015-16 and involve twice as many senior students.

Students Lee Tague and Brittany Gottfried initiated a Youth Mental Health Project to increase the capacity of high school age students to prevent and manage depression and anxiety. The two students worked with the Canadian Mental Health Association to develop materials for classroom presentations, and connected to mental health agencies in the community.

Another project, the Queer, Transgender and Transitioning Youth Group, developed by students Stephanie Barkley and Kristie Irvine, involved working with leaders of an existing queer youth group of approximately 20 youth and young adults who meet weekly to connect, build friendships and support one another.

Here to There Social Justice Initiative, a third student project initiated by Kirstin Blake and Chelsey Stauffer, aims to increase awareness of social justice issues in the Harewood community and globally. Working with VIU’s CYC Social Justice Club, the students supported the global projects of KIDS International, a Nanaimo-based non-governmental agency, and worked on plans to develop a local food security project for Harewood.

With Island Savings’ support, and the guidance of the new Harewood advisory committee, Martinflatt said plans for the coming year will focus on addressing poverty related issues in the community, organizing activities to engage children and youth, and continuing to build relationships in the community.

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About Island Savings

Island Savings, a division of First West Credit Union, offers more than 60,000 members on Vancouver Island and the Southern Gulf Islands a suite of innovative products and an extensive branch network. As a leading employer in the region, the credit union provides generous community investment through the Growing Island Families Together (GIFT) program in support of Island children and their families. Visit islandsavings.ca for more information and follow Island Savings on Twitter at @Island_Savings.

About Vancouver Island University

Vancouver Island University is Canada’s west coast university. Known as a centre of excellence for teaching, learning and applied research, VIU offers a diverse range of certificate, diploma and undergraduate and master degree programs to more than 18,000 students on campuses in Nanaimo, Powell River and Cowichan, and at the Parksville-Qualicum Centre. For more information visit www.viu.ca