Pedal cars drive unique fundraising idea
An Oak Bay man has restored four rusty old pedal cars and raised more than $3,000 for the Children’s Health Foundation of Vancouver Island.
Murray Pedal cars are extremely collectible, selling on eBay and other sites for anywhere up to a few thousand dollars.
Adrian D’Silva and his wife, Tracey, this year bought four cars that had been in storage since the 1950s and set off on restoring them, with proceeds to help sick children.
What he experienced along the way has been uplifting.
“Just about every single person I talk to or involve in these cars just loves it — and are so excited to donate some time or material to help me,” said D’Silva. “Free sandblasting, discounts on paint and materials and, in one case, a young painter from Graphic F/X even volunteered a free and totally amazing paint job on one of the cars.”
The Children’s Health Foundation of Vancouver Island has been funding services for children and youth across Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands since 1927. They support children’s health challenges, from physical disabilities to mental-health issues.
For more information, go to islandkidsfirst.com.
Island doctor wins national Indspire Award
Dr. Evelyn Voyageur, a champion in Indigenous health care, has been nationally recognized as the recipient of the Indspire Award for Health.
Dr. Voyageur was a strong and vocal guiding force on the North Island Hospital Project, which created new hospital campuses in the Comox Valley and Campbell River. She was instrumental in the development of a culturally safe and inclusive environment at the new hospital campuses, including the creation of the Gathering Place — a non-denominational room at each campus for ceremony and quiet reflection for people of all cultures — and development of policy around use of the rooms.
“She has dedicated her life to improving the health of Indigenous peoples through her more than five decades in the nursing profession,” stated the awards committee. “A trailblazer in Indigenous health, Dr. Evelyn Voyageur is bringing back the holistic way of looking at health in First Nations communities by integrating spiritual, emotional, physical and mental health in her work.”
Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2018, the Indspire Awards represent the highest honour the Indigenous community bestows upon its own people. Over 25 years, the Indspire Awards have honoured 350 First Nations, Inuit, and Métis individuals who demonstrate outstanding achievement.
For more information, go to indspire.ca.
Animal-rescue group hosts Day of the Dog
Broken Promises Rescue is hosting a Day of the Dog fundraiser, June 10 at Beaver Lake Park.
Humans and their four-legged best friends are invited to collect pledges for a fun day together.
Prizes will be given for top pledges.
Registration starts at 10:30 a.m. with the walk beginning at 11:30 a.m. June 10 from the picnic shelter of the park (enter off Elk Lake Drive). Short and long walks available. Dogs must be on leash, licensed and under owner’s control at all times.
For more information, go to broken promises rescue, wordpress.com or Facebook.
Spring Fair cookoff aids Mount St. Mary
This year’s Mount St. Mary Hospital’s Spring Fair fundraiser adds a Macaroni and Cheese Cook-Off featuring local restaurants and chefs next Saturday.
This is the third year of the family-friendly community event, which includes a bake sale, jewelry sale, live music, silent auction and sale of the residents’ creations, such as flower pots created with schoolchildren.
Children’s activities include face painting, inflatable amusements, a craft station and cake walk.
There is a barbecue and free cake at 2 p.m.
The Mac and Cheese Cook-Off features Country Grocer Chef Michael Williams and teams from Vista 18 and Original Joe’s (Tuscany Village and Langford).
All funds raised will go toward the Room to Care campaign — to repair and renew the rooms of frail, vulnerable and elderly members.
The event is free to attend. It runs 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 9 at the Mount St. Mary Hospital, 861 Fairfield Rd. (corner of Quadra Street and Fairfield Road).
For more information, go to mountstmary.ca.
Your vote is needed to help students at a one-of-a-kind model school for children receive a needed playground.
Discovery School caters to children for whom learning is a struggle. To give them the best of life, the school is staffed with expert teachers and unique learning techniques that help students reach their full potential.
They work hard, but when they play, they are faced with an aged, rusted unsafe playground that has to be inspected daily.
They have applied to the BCAA Play Here program, which offers three schools up to $100,000 to rejuvenate their play area.
Discovery School has made it into the finals, with nine other worthwhile projects.
The selection process is by public voting and the school’s student body of 76 is too small to rely only on the social media of its families and friends.
They are appealing to the Greater Victoria community — and beyond — for votes.
Anyone of voting age can vote — every day — until June 17 on different platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Email and Google.
For more information about the contest or to watch the vote count, go to bcaaplayhere.com.
For more information about Discovery School, go to discoveryschool.ca.
Support Hospice with the Teeny Tiny Garden Tour
Enjoy an eclectic tour of 11 delightful and inspiring gardens at the Victoria Hospice Teeny Tiny Garden Tour, on June 10 at various locations in Victoria.
This is the 13th year of the charity event, with proceeds to support Victoria Hospice.
This year, one of the society’s directors, Brenda Canitz, along with her husband, David Hay, are inviting ticket-holders into their modern garden.
“We are thrilled to be part of this tour,” Brenda said.
Their garden features a drought-tolerant area with decorative grasses, a terraced backyard with a willow tree and modern water feature, a cut flower patch and an edible garden with delectable Damson plums, Seville oranges, gooseberries and figs.
Other highlights include a French-inspired garden complete with a salt-water pool; an awardwinning urban farm; an English Country garden; and a rocky outcrop with loads of whimsical flourishes.
Visitors can also stop at Victoria Hospice’s Rooftop Garden, which is cared for by a dedicated team of volunteers. For more than 20 years, it has been an oasis for patients, families and their friends. Ticket-holders will be served free ice cream in the garden between noon and 3 p.m.
Proceeds from the event go toward the ongoing operation of programs for patients and families.
Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at Capital Iron, Heart Pharmacy IDA, Dig This, Garden Works and other locations throughout the city. The selfguided tour runs from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 10. Ticket holders receive a map, brochure and enter to win draw prizes.
For more information, go to victoriahospice.org/events/13thannual-teeny-tiny-garden-tour. To learn more about how you can support end-of-life care, go to victoriahospice.org.
$10,000 donation for salmon enhancement
Tourism Victoria has made a $10,000 donation for salmon enhancement to mark Tourism Week.
The South Vancouver Island Anglers Coalition will earmark the funds for the Sooke Chinook Enhancement Initiative. The program aims to increase the number of adult chinook salmon, a key food source for the southern resident orca population.
The initiative began in 2017, when the first batch of 10,000 juvenile chinook salmon were released into the Sooke Basin.
The coalition has released a total of 500,000 salmon smolts so far this year.
“We are grateful for this generous donation from Tourism Victoria,” said Christopher Bos, president of South Vancouver Island Anglers Coalition. “We share a passion for environmental stewardship and helping southern resident killer whales. These funds will help build on the 2017 success of the Sooke Chinook Enhancement Initiative. Our plan is to out-plant two million chinook smolts by 2021.”
For more information, go to anglerscoalition.com or tourismvictoria.com.
Donate your empties, help Our Place
Your empties can fill bellies this month as Bottle Depot selects Our Place as Charity of the Month.
As charity of the month for June, any empty, recyclable beverage containers donated to the charity bins at Bottle Depot’s three main locations — 655 Queens Ave., 4261 Glanford Ave. and 3961 Quadra St. — will go directly to Our Place.
If you have two or more bags stuffed with empties that you want to donate, call Bottle Depot at 250-727-7480 and they will pick up.
“With summer upon us, Our Place is experiencing high numbers of people looking for a freshly cooked meal and a safe place of sanctuary,” said Don Evans, executive director of Our Place. “The support of Bottle Depot to make extra donations this simple is fantastic.”
Established in 1967 as a soup kitchen, Our Place is an unique inner-city community centre serving Greater Victoria’s most vulnerable.
For more information, go to ourplacesociety.com.
Power to Play tops fundraising goal
Power To Play 2018, held at Elk/Beaver Lake Park last week, exceeded its $230,000 fundraising goal.
The event attracted 35 company teams. The adventurecourse race had winners that completed the challenges in under two hours.
“Power To Be is grateful for all the support received from Victoria’s business community, and will continue to impact the lives of participants because of the dedicated efforts of everyone involved and the funds raised,” said Jessica Williamson, videographer and media co-ordinator for the organization.
For more information, go to powertobe.ca.
Campus View Elementary wins song contest
Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin has presented Campus View Elementary with an award for winning the under-11 category for this year’s Sing Me A Song program.
Former lieutenant governor Judith Guichon launched Sing Me A Song to promote music and community spirit throughout the province in honour of Canada’s 150th birthday celebrations in 2017.
For 2018, musical groups of all ages and genres were invited to write and sing an original song in the lead up to 2021, the 150th anniversary of British Columbia’s entry into the Confederation. Groups were encouraged to write a song about what British Columbia means to them or their community.
The children sang their winning song, Where I Wanna Be, after accepting the award.
For more information on the program, go to ltgov.bc.ca.