The Children’s Health Foundation of Vancouver Island announced Wednesday it has $4.7 million in donations to pour into health-care funding for kids.
The money, which the organization’s CEO Veronica Carroll called “our biggest funding announcement to date,” will flow to 50 groups with more than 80 projects on Vancouver Island.
The foundation receives and manages private donations to fund children’s health programs with Island Health serving as a key partner in the provision of these programs.
About three-quarters of the funding, announced at a news conference in Nanaimo, comes from a pool of continuous donors built up over the foundation’s 91-year history, Carroll said. The rest has been provided through active campaigns.
These funds allow children to access health care closer to home — part of the foundation’s commitment to make the Island a better place for them and their families. “We are really walking the talk about being an Island-wide organization,” Carroll said. The 50 organizations “are really representative of every community across and around the Island.”
Those organizations include: Queen Alexandra Centre for Children’s Health Programs in Victoria; Sooke Family Resource Centre’s prenatal program; a children’s health hub in Gold River providing medical services; a family support program in Campbell River; the Malahat First Nation, circle of courage boys program in the Cowichan Valley; Alberni Valley Community School Society’s rural and remote access to services institute; and outreach therapy for a Nu-chah-nulth program.
The foundation also launched its Island Kids First Fund campaign, with Coastal Community Credit Union making the first donation. The foundation’s goal is $2 million. It supports early childhood development, child and youth mental health and rural and remote access to health care.
Health-care hubs are viewed as essential to improving health outcomes for children in remote and other rural communities such as Port Hardy, Ucluelet and Tofino. They provide a base for a variety of health-care professionals including developmental specialists, dentists and speech therapists.
“Kids are 22 per cent of the Island population but they are 100 per cent of our future,” Carroll said.
“We like to remind people to think about that because this is the kind of Island and community we are creating.”
The foundation pointed to Brian Miller’s family from Campbell River as an example of the benefits that can be achieved through the foundation’s programs. Miller’s daughter, Emma, 5, was born six weeks premature.
“There is no amount of thanks I can ever give to all the organizations that have helped us through our journey since Emma’s birth,” Miller said.
“From our stay at Jeneece Place when she was born to all the support we have had from active and engaged health-care partners, we are forever grateful.”
• To donate to the fund, go to islandkidsfirst.com/donate-now
