COURTENAY – New Democrat MLA Ronna-Rae Leonard is welcoming $500,000 in capital funding to two organizations in the Comox Valley. The Wachiay Friendship Centre Society and the Comox Valley Child Development Association are receiving $250,000 each through the Community Gaming Grants Program.
“These two organizations do critical work to support people of all walks of life in our community,” said MLA Leonard. “This investment by our government is very much needed in the Comox Valley and will help make life easier for a lot of people living here.”
The two grants are among the largest awarded across the province. In late December the province announced a total of $5 million in capital project grants awarded to 60 organizations in B.C. The two organizations in the Comox Valley are receiving 10 percent of the provincial total.
The Wachiay Friendship Centre Society in Courtenay is receiving $250,000 towards the purchase of the Wachiay Building.
“The board and staff of Wachiay Friendship Centre Society have expressed their elation we will be able to purchase our building and sincere gratitude to B.C. Gaming and the Province of British Columbia for providing funding that will ensure our future and continued delivery of our programs and services,” said executive director Michael Colclough. “We are an inclusive organization and as such, our programs and services are available to people of all ethnicities.”
The Comox Valley Child Development Society is receiving $250,000 for the expansion of the Comox Valley Autism Centre in Courtenay, which will focus on supporting children with autism and will include specialist equipment.
“We are so thrilled and grateful to the gaming branch that they have chosen us to receive these funds,” said Pam Crowe, chair of the Comox Valley Child Development Society. “The injection of this $250,000 will certainly enable us to go full steam ahead in the renovation of our building to provide the much needed space for our autism program and thus to meet the needs of all the children in the Comox Valley that require our services.”
More than 5,000 not-for-profit organizations, representing communities throughout British Columbia, benefit from $140 million in community gaming grants every year to directly deliver approved programs in their communities. The dates for the next intake for capital projects sector grants will be announced in early 2018.
Find more information on capital project grants, including a link to the full list of capital projects sector recipients here: https://goo.gl/Mr3HhB