The Greater Victoria Placemaking Network is celebrating 10 years and the 100,000th little free library book with a picnic at Rutledge Park on July 20.
The network began supporting little free libraries in the region in 2014, setting up the Pocket Places project in 2017 to help promote, map, build and stock the libraries.
To date, the project has delivered almost 100,000 books to 848 little free libraries across the capital region. The libraries don’t just contain books — 29 offer seeds, and an equal number stock board games and jigsaw puzzles. There are also nine art boxes, some of which are just displays while others offer free art supplies, including yarn.
Teale Phelps Bondaroff, a volunteer with the Greater Victoria Placemaking Network, said he still remembers how excited he was when he dropped off the 5,000th book in 2018 — a vintage travel guide to Victoria.
“If you would have told me then that I’d be delivering our 100,000th book to a little free library six years later, I would not have believed you,” Phelps Bondaroff said
As the Pocket Places Project lead, Bondaroff, who is also a Saanich councillor, can usually be found on his bike around the region, topping up little libraries with a bike trailer full of books.
The picnic runs noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 20 at Rutledge Park. There will be drinks, snacks and child-friendly activities.
The event also features an activity dubbed Blind Date with a Book — participants are invited to bring a wrapped book to exchange with others.
• For more information, go to victoriaplacemaking.ca/little-free-libraries.
Scores of projects garner funds from wellness program
A program to build neighbourhood supports for Victoria seniors, a cooking-skills project for families in Port Alberni, a restorative-justice program for Cowichan Valley high schools and a community arts program on Pender Island are among 53 new projects receiving funding from Island Health’s Community Wellness Grant Program for 2024/2025.
The initiatives will collectively receive nearly $800,000 in funding.
“We’re so pleased to support innovative Community Wellness Grant projects for another year,” said Dr. Réka Gustafson, Island Health’s vice president of population health and Chief Medical Health Officer. “Each year, these projects support community organizations to address the unique wellness needs of each part of our region. My congratulations to this year’s recipients.”
The theme of this year’s program was community resilience, with applications focused on diverse, connected, safe, nourished and active communities.
• For more information and a list of 2024/2025 grant recipients, go to communitygrants.islandhealth.ca.
Soap for Hope teams up with HarbourCats for hygiene
Soap for Hope Canada is teaming up with the HarbourCats for the 2024 season, encouraging fans to drop off extra hygiene products to Royal Athletic Park during home games.
The goal is to collect essential hygiene and oral care products in designated donation bins at the park. Items accepted include gently used or new shampoo, conditioner, body wash, body lotion, spray deodorants, toothpaste and toothbrushes.
They hope to be able to provide 2,000 hygiene and oral care kits for children and teens for the upcoming school year. They will also be raising funds through a 50-50 raffle.
Soap for Hope Canada primarily works with the hotel industry, collecting gently used hygiene products to re-distribute to vulnerable people, low-income families, refugees, Indigenous communities and the homeless.
• For more information, go to harbourcats.com/ empowering-communities-one-bar-of-soap-at-a-time.
Alzheimer Society of B.C. seeking volunteers
The Alzheimer Society of B.C. is looking for volunteers in Victoria to help make a difference in the lives of people affected by dementia.
More than 85,000 people are living with dementia in B.C., with an estimated 7,900 in the South Island region. The provincial number is expected to rise to nearly 134,000 by 2030.
To meet the growing need, the society is urgently seeking support-group volunteers for various in-person positions to ensure support is available when needed.
The society offers training and ongoing support, with groups meeting monthly to equip volunteers with the necessary knowledge and resources.
Volunteers are asked for a commitment of three to six hours per month for at least one year.
• For more information on the volunteer opportunities available, go to alzbc.org/volunteer.
Royal Roads University closer to recreating tea house in Japanese gardens
Royal Roads University is $250,000 closer to its goal of recreating a tea house within its 100-year-old Japanese gardens. It’s the first of several phases of revitalizing the gardens, which see more than 50,000 visitors annually.
The donation was recently made by Royal Roads University alum Eve Martin and her spouse, Paul.
The tea house, which is under construction and set to open in the fall, will offer space for formal tea ceremonies and to celebrate Japanese culture and tradition.
“I have many fond memories of the Japanese garden during my studies,” said Martin, a graduate of the Master of Arts in Leadership and Training program.
“It was a calm, peaceful place that brought much-needed space for reflection in the maelstrom of assignments, presentations and exams.”
The new venue will offer students and community members an immersive educational experience in Japanese culture, history and tradition.
• For more information, go to rruinbloom.ca/projects/japanese-teahouse.
Art helps with healing at Saanich municipal hall
The upper gallery at Saanich’s municipal hall is showcasing a photo project that shows how art can be an empowering tool in the healing process.
With the theme “What does home mean to you?” Victoria Women’s Transition House clients over the age of 50 took photos over an eight-week period of what inspired them in their journey through recovery from an abusive relationship, writing narratives about the experience.
The collection can be viewed during regular opening hours at Saanich Municipal Hall, 770 Vernon Ave., until the end of July.
Victoria Women’s Transition House supports survivors of intimate-partner violence with an emergency shelter, crisis line, counselling, children’s programs and resources.
• For more information, go to transitionhouse.net.
Trio of young poets win cash prizes in Cowichan
Three young poets from the Cowichan Valley walked away with cash prizes after winning the top-three spots at the Michael Coleman Poetry and Spoken Word Competition, presented by the Cowichan Foundation.
The youth poet winners were Clay Wolfe (first place — $5,000), Jaydyn Ferrario (second place — $2,500) and Alex Winterhalt (third place — $1,000).
The competition is inspired by the late Michael Coleman, a longtime Duncan mayor, lawyer and founder of the Cowichan Foundation, who believed in the power of storytelling and published multiple books of poetry.
Students were asked to submit an original poem or spoken-word piece along with a video performing the work and a short biography. Contestants were judged on both the written work as well as the video.
• For more information, go to cowichanfoundation.com/mc-poetry-contest.
