Volunteers help build the Brock Activity Centre in the Brock Shopping Mall.
Image Credit: Contributed
November 19, 2014 - 2:31 PM
CAR SHARE, SKATEPARK PROGRAMS STILL IN RUNNING
KAMLOOPS - A project out of a Brock activity centre has earned a spot in the semi finals of a competition that could result in enough funds to help cover the cost of developing a commercial kitchen.
The Centre for Seniors Information in the Brock Shopping Mall is hoping to build a commercial kitchen to help meet the need for food services, food preparation and education in the community.
With that in mind the centre was entered in the Aviva Community Fund competition, a national competition where hundreds of projects compete for more than $1 million in funding. Three preliminary rounds of voting are used to determine the 120 semi-finalists and the community kitchen project has already made the cut.
The centre often hosts noon lunches, potluck dinners and pancake breakfasts and a new kitchen would allow people to share skills, learn about food security and socialize.
The 6,000 square-foot activity centre was built with, and now largely managed by, a lot of volunteer and community support and is a place where people can go for education, information, referrals, grief support and advocacy, as well as recreation activities from dances and bingo to cards and crafting.
Volunteers put in more than 1,800 hours every month and membership is now over 600, though the centre serves a population of about 20,000 ‘older’ adults.
Voters will again take to their computers to determine the 40 finalists from Dec. 1-10, which will be judged by a separate panel before the winners are announced at the end of January.
The Interior CarShare Co-operative is still in the running as time winds down on the final qualifying round. The group is looking to purchase a truck for the fleet and get the program off the ground.
Sun Peaks Skatepark Foundation is also looking to secure a spot in the semi-finals. The foundation hopes to build a skatepark that would be free for the community to use. The municipality has already donated the land for the project.
Voting for the qualifying round ends Nov. 24.
Where to vote for the projects:
Centre for Seniors Information community kitchen
Interior CarShare Co-operative
Sun Peaks Skatepark Foundation
To contact a reporter for this story, email Jennifer Stahn at jstahn@infonews.ca or call 250-819-3723. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014