The First West Foundation, through its Envision Financial Community Endowment, has announced 26 local grants totalling $414,000 to charities in B.C., including five in Abbotsford.
A sum of $115,000 will be going to Abbotsford groups.
The Impact Grants are unrestricted grants, investing in an organization’s operations, programs, projects, or services.
The Abbotsford organizations receiving grants include:
Food for the Soul Project Society – $20,000
Housing Outreach Services – Supports individuals grappling with addiction and homelessness. Funding will support more food deliveries and support clients in getting to and from important appointments outside the community.
Barrowtown Elementary School – $5,000
Agricultural Program – Funding will be utilized to support the planting of a school orchard as well as introducing students to beekeeping and the impact bees have on the environment.
Care for Women Foundation – $20,000
Program Support - The goal is to help mothers feel more calm, connected, and confident by providing comprehensive care. Grant will be used to support three key areas, programming, supporting mentors and increasing awareness.
BeMorr Society Mental Health and Suicide Awareness – $20,000
The Mental Wellness Program supports enhancing access to counselling services, first aid training sessions and peer support groups. The grant will be instrumental in ensuring the success and sustainability of the mental wellness program.
M2W2 – $25,000
Journey Together Role Modelling - Current successful clients, having completed the Prison Mentorship and NOLA program of M2W2, serve as relatable role models for new parolees. Their success stories and lived experiences hope to inspire and motivate new participants.
BC Agriculture in the Classroom – $25,000
Classroom Growing Programs provide teachers K to Grade 12 the chance to make it easy to learn about agriculture. From “Spuds in Tubs” to “Common Ground: Strawberry Project with Indigenous Roots” as well as Harvest Bins, the program hopes to create a positive learning environment to get growing.
The First West Foundation, established in 1996, is made up of its regional divisions Envision Financial, Valley First, Island Savings and Enderby & District Financial. The Foundation, with assets over $20 million, uses income generated from its endowments to help communities. Since 1998, the Envision Financial Community Endowment has provided 591 grants totalling over $7.5 million in funding
