It's shoebox gift-packing time! Join us on Saturday, September 27th @ 1:30pm at North Douglas Church, 675 Jolly Place [off Glanford & McKenzie] to learn more about the WHY & HOW to pack a shoebox for a child living in systemic poverty, war or natural disaster. For many children, this is the first gift of any kind they have received! Special Feature Video: Behind-the-Scenes in Cape Verde where shoebox gifts arrived for the very first time in 2025, bringing a tangible expression of love and hope to a child, age 2-14. Shoebox gifts from Canada are shipped to Central America, West Africa, Ukraine and the Philippines. Your gift-filled shoeboxes can be dropped off, November 17-23, at North Douglas Church. Questions? reach out to us at dehaan.charlene@gmail.com https://www.samaritanspurse.ca/occ We thank Return-It for providing a platform where we can engage groups, family & friends across Greater Victoria all year, to turn trash into treasure as we raise funds to sponsor children in "The Greatest Journey" classes after they receive a shoebox gift. By the end of August, we reached 76% of our goal to sponsor 875 children. Will you help us sponsor 211 more children before December? Just drop off your beverage refundables at a Return-It Depot on Glanford, Quadra or Queens .. or in Sooke or Esquimalt, and tell them you want to donate your refund to Operation Christmas Child - Greater Victoria. THANK YOU for your amazing support!

Mid Island is proud to support Nanaimo Foodshare as they work to address food insecurity and create opportunities for skill-building within the Mid Island area. The charity organization offers an array of programs and workshops for youth and adults, from cooking classes to mentorship and socialization opportunities. Nanaimo Foodshare also provides volunteer opportunities for community members to get involved in numerous ways, including helping harvest local farms and gardens. Increasing confidence around food and nutrition and offering opportunities to engage with like-minded community members is a cause we’re happy to support.

Community Impact The tremendous support we received powers our lifesaving work helping vulnerable animals and people in Victoria and across Vancouver Island. It ensures the BC SPCA Victoria can support the community with essential programs: sheltering and adoptions, pet food bank and outreach services, animal emergency boarding for individuals and families facing sudden crisis, veterinary care, wildlife rehabilitation, humane education summer camps and school programs for kids, and more. The BC SPCA’s mission is protecting vulnerable animals and mobilizing communities so animals and people thrive together. We support approximately 4,000+ domestic animals annually through the BC SPCA Victoria Community Animal Center and the BC SPCA is the only animal welfare organization in BC with the authority to enforce animal cruelty laws under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. The BC SPCA Victoria was able to make an impact in 2024: Assisted 680 animals through direct care and community programs, 540 animals found a new loving forever home, Nourished vulnerable animals providing over 5000 meals through pet food bank programs with 8 community partners, Provided 560 nights of free emergency pet boarding for those in crisis situations facing sudden hospitalization, domestic, violence, or natural disasters, Helped over 295 animals access our spay/neuter program, Responded to 1,531 animal cruelty complaints. We are striving daily to make a meaningful difference in our community and beyond together with you. How You Can Help We invite our community to join us at this fall's Offleashed Gala - A Special Celebration for the BC SPCA Victoria on October 4, 2025. Offleashed celebrates the joy of animals in our lives, champion the programs that serve people and their animals, and support the BC SPCA’s critical work. Featuring the cutest Cuddle Lounge full of sweet animal ambassadors, the most thoughtfully curated silent and live auction items, along with chef-inspired food and drinks, it's a magical and inspiring evening where love makes transforms lives. Fetch your tickets at: http://offleashed.spca.bc.ca/victoria Make a difference all year long - Fostering and volunteering are some of the most impactful ways people can help, even short-term foster placements open up space in the shelter and help animals decompress. You can also follow and interact with our Facebook page “BC SPCA Victoria” - sharing a post can make the difference of an animal finding their forever home. The BC SPCA is reliant on community support and does not receive government funding to conduct our day-to-day work. We’re very grateful for this wonderful community, your care makes second chances possible.

 We Were Pickled with Joy!  Today, Coastal Community Credit Union proudly presented a $250 cheque to the BC Dementia Care Society in support of the 2nd Annual Forget-Me-Not Pickleball Tournament. Why pickleball? Because it’s fun, fast, and brings people together—just like our commitment to building healthier communities. This donation reflects our vision to improve financial health and enrich lives, and we were honoured to stand beside an organization making a meaningful impact for dementia-friendly programs across Vancouver Island. The cheque presentation took place at our Goldstream branch, where smiles were shared and paddles were metaphorically raised! Learn more about the BC Dementia Care Society and their amazing work at https://bcdementiacare.org, and follow them on social media for updates. #CoastalCommunityCares #PickleballForACause #ForgetMeNotTournament #CommunityInvestment #BCDementiaCare #VictoriaBC #GameSetImpact We Were Pickled with Joy!  Today, Coastal Community Credit Union proudly presented a $250 cheque to the BC Dementia Care Society in support of the 2nd Annual Forget-Me-Not Pickleball Tournament. Why pickleball? Because it’s fun, fast, and brings people together—just like our commitment to building healthier communities. This donation reflects our vision to improve financial health and enrich lives, and we were honoured to stand beside an organization making a meaningful impact for dementia-friendly programs across Vancouver Island. The cheque presentation took place at our Goldstream branch, where smiles were shared and paddles were metaphorically raised! Learn more about the BC Dementia Care Society and their amazing work at https://bcdementiacare.org, and follow them on social media for updates. #CoastalCommunityCares #PickleballForACause #ForgetMeNotTournament #CommunityInvestment #BCDementiaCare #VictoriaBC #GameSetImpact

My Time at Coastal Community My name is Diane McEwen. I am currently working as an AML Data Completeness Project Administrator with the AML and Fraud Team. I have worked for Coastal Community for almost 8 years in the Oceanside Region with the Parksville/Nanoose Branch as both MSR and AR3 but most of my time has been with my hometown branch, Qualicum Beach, as an MSR 2. Please tell us about the organization you volunteer with and what you do and why this organization is important to you. I have been volunteering for Oceanside Softball Association since my 12-yr old daughter began playing Softball 5 years ago. During the 2024/2025 Softball season, I have been the treasurer for her team, CVI Rage U15B. This year we took on the challenge of hosting the U15B Softball Provincials, which was a big undertaking. Thanks to all our volunteers, the event was a huge success over the July 11-13th weekend. We had the pleasure of using one of the Coastal Community tents to help keep our busy athletes cool while also providing the attendees an easy to spot location for the First Aid and MVP Tables. This organization is important to me because we aim to assist young women to develop strength, confidence, and resilience through the challenging game of Fastpitch. We aid our players in the transition from recreational leagues to competitive travel fastball while encouraging them to take part in other sports and activities. We celebrate successes and value growth and learning that comes from responding to challenges. Why is volunteering important to you? Volunteering is important to me because I want to show a good example for my kids and community. It also helps me stay involved in the programs and sports my kids are a part of. I enjoy providing my feedback and working together with others to make difference. Which organization are you directing your winning funds to and why? I would like to donate the winning funds to Operation Freedom Paws Canada. Last year I met one of their volunteers/founders, Barb Ashmead, during a presentation at our Qualicum Beach Coastal Community Branch. The work that they do at Operation Freedom Paws is truly incredible and heartwarming. They empower veterans and individuals with disabilities to restore their freedom to live life by teaching them to train their own dogs and certify them as service dog teams. Not only are they helping individuals with a range of challenges, but they use rescue dogs to also improve the lives of many animals.

We are currently recruiting volunteer Peer Support Group Facilitators virtually and regionally across British Columbia. Some of our support groups have recently closed due to a facilitator shortage and we need your help! We know that peer support groups offer a crucial lifeline to people living with borderline personality disorder and the hope is to not only keep our doors open, but keep expanding. If you are or know a person living with BPD or a loved one of someone living with BPD and are interested in facilitating at one of our support groups, we would love to hear from you! The areas of greatest need right now are in Nanaimo, Vancouver, Kelowna, and Victoria. Training is held every 2nd Saturday of each month 1-5 pm (PST) over Zoom. Our next training session will be adjusted for summer hours to August 28. For more information and to apply, please review our volunteer job description here: https://www.bpdbc.ca/volunteer. For any questions you may have contact the Volunteer Manager, Jay, at volunteer@bpdbc.ca. We look forward to creating more support throughout BC for folks with BPD and their loved ones and we hope you will be part of our efforts.