Surrey, B.C.: In 2016, the Vancouver Island Youth Get It Community Council, along with councils in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, allocated more than $1.53 million through 116 grants to support programs. Of that total, more than $417,000 went to 36 Vancouver Island organizations that offer programs that build a richer future for youth. The granting announcement was made today by Coast Capital Savings' Youth Get It Community Council for Vancouver Island, in honour of BC Youth Week.
The total monies granted in 2016 represent a 25% increase in the number of programs supported over the previous year. View a complete list of Vancouver Island grant recipients.
The Youth Get It Community Councils embody Coast Capital's Youth Get It approach by upholding the four pillars of its community promise: to financially empower youth, help them succeed at school, build family and social connections, and empower good health. The councils are made up of emerging leaders under the age of 30—four from the community and four who are employees from the credit union. Council members can serve up to three years.
Members of Coast Capital's three regional Youth Get It Community Councils are responsible for reviewing grant applications and deciding how to best allocate the credit union's community investment funding.
"Our Youth Get It Community Council is one of Coast Capital Savings' signature community leadership initiatives and a cornerstone of our Youth Get It program," said Wendy Lachance, Director, Community Leadership at Coast Capital Savings. "Youth Week is an ideal opportunity to celebrate the incredible work of the councils."
"'For youth, by youth' is what makes this granting program unique," said Linley Faulkner, returning Council member and 2017 Council Chair for Vancouver Island. "To have a panel of young people deliberating on grant proposals, to disburse such significant funds - well, you just don't find that kind of empowerment very often. Through Coast Capital, I, and my colleagues on the Council, can have a real, positive impact in our communities."
The community grants support programs on Vancouver Island like the Artemis Place Society, an alternative independent school for young women and young mothers who face multiple risk factors and challenges. Artemis provides education, counseling, life skills and parenting education to young women in a nurturing and safe community. It also provides a daycare for their infants and toddlers, so the young mothers can concentrate on building confidence, self-esteem and skills for future success.
"Supporting young mothers also supports their children," said Artemis Place executive director Rachel Calder. "At Artemis, we've been doing parent work in the community for decades, and we are grateful for Coast Capital's youth-centered focus to community funding grants. With the support of the Youth Get It Community Council, we are able to help young women who don't fit the mould for public education to find success in school, and in life."
About Coast Capital Savings
Coast Capital Savings is Canada's largest credit union by membership. An Imagine Canada Caring Company, the credit union invested $5.6 million into local communities in 2016, focusing on empowering and engaging youth. Named a BC Top Employer in 2017, Coast Capital is also a member of Canada's Best Managed Companies Platinum Club. It has 52 branches serving its 543,000 members in the Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island and Okanagan regions of British Columbia. Product innovations include Canada's first free chequing account from a full-service financial institution. To learn more, visit coastcapitalsavings.com.
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