Where We Fund

Every year we put our fundraising efforts into the community.
In the past three years alone, (to summer, 2019) The Rotary Club of Harbourside and its Harbourside Foundation have handed out well over $351,000 to organizations such as the below. 
 
 
  • 1000X5 Children’s Books
  • Braefoot Community Association:  transport for youth from low-income families for summer camp field trips
  • Bridges for Women Society 
  • Burnside Gorge Community Assoc. 
  • Camosun Culinary Arts Program:  Scholarship and other support to the program
  • Can Assist at U Vic 
  • CARTS Outreach
  • Central Middle School - Central Circle
  • Centre for Outreach Education:  Accessible, individualized reading, writing and math support for risk children and youth
  • Cornerstone Youth Society:  Programming for at-risk youth and expanded one-on-one mentoring
  • Disaster Aid Canada:  Soap for Hope Program, repackaging toiletries from local hotels and providing hygiene products to people in need
  • Ecole George Jay School – calming spaces, books forkindergarten kids and parent education sessions.
  • École Quadra School – Read and Write Program, transportation to events and library books.
  • Ecole Quadra School, Central Middle School, and Victoria High School:  support for their breakfast programs
  • Ecole Quadra School:  books for English language learners and technology to support at-risk learners
  • Family Services of Greater Victoria
  • George J Elementary:  Empowerment Program facilitating the inclusion of low income families into the community
  • Hero Work – kitchen and market construction for Food Rescue
  • Kidsport Victoria
  • Leadership Victoria Society 
  • LifeCycles:  Growing Schools Program, hands-on food gardening experience in local schools
  • Men’s Trauma Centre:  subsidizing crime victim support and counselling services for men at risk
  • Mustard Seed Street Church:  supporting access to healthy food to youth at risk
  • Our Place:  support for their food program
  • Power to be Adventure Therapy Society:  Wilderness School for youth displaying high-risk indicators
  • Quadra Village Community Centre:  George Jay Summer Support Program for children from low-income families
  • South Island Centre for Counselling & Training:  Bridging a Gap Program, providing mental health counselling services and support to children, youth and their families
  • South Island Centre for Counselling and Training
  • Stigma Free Society – peer support groups.
  • Threshold Housing Society:  Life Foundations Program for at-risk youth
  • Vancouver Island Kids Klub Centre Society:  Brown Bag Lunch Program , nutritious lunches for students in need
  • Vic West Community Centre:  support for their Christmas Breakfast with Santa
  • Victoria Brain Injury Society
  • Victoria Conservatory of Music:  Music Therapy Program for youth transitioning to adulthood
  • Victoria High School – replace kitchen appliances.
  • Victoria Women’s Transition House Society – PEACE camps for children who have witnessed domestic violence.
  • Volunteer Victoria – Youth Advisory Committee to instill value of volunteering
  • WITS Programs Foundation
  • World Fisheries Trust
  • World Fisheries Trust– Seaquaria Ocean Education
  • YMCA-YWCA Strong Kids Program:  Pandora Youth Apartments, for youth age 15 to 19 to support semi-independent living.
 
Spring, 2019 the Rotary Club of Victoria-Harbourside received two grants from the Rotary Foundation totalling almost $40,000 CDN.  The first was a $26,155 (USD) grant for Harbourside’s Women’s Business Training program in Guatemala.   While Rotary Club of Victoria-Harbourside is taking the lead on the project, we have other funding partners other than the Rotary Foundation, including 6 other Rotary clubs and the Government of Canada.   The Contribution from the Rotary Club of Victoria-Harbourside was $3200 USD.  Total accumulated funds that will be used for this initiative will be $70,003 USD.   Women trained in this program already have micro businesses and can normally expect to double their income by completing the program.      
 
The second project to receive Rotary Foundation funding is a District Community Grant for $10,000 USD for Primary School Gardens in the Comayagua area of Honduras.  Harbourside’s contribution is $1140 USD, the Rotary Foundation’s portion was $3500 USD with other Rotary clubs kicking in.     Comayagua is a large agriculture valley and most of the families in this region earn their living as casual farm labourers.  The goals of the grant are to establish and operate sustainable gardens in schools, produce nutritious food for students,  educate students in of agriculture and agri-business,  and or prepare students for careers in agriculture.  These funds of $29,655 USD (Approximately $39,650 CDN) from Rotary Foundation have enabled Rotary Club of Victoria-Harbourside and other community leaders to move many of their efforts forward.
 
Fall, 2018 we received a grant from the Rotary Foundation and coupled with club proceeds created a fund of over $138,000.   These dollars are targeted to a project dear to the heart of our membership,  training and personal empowerment to 200 women and graduating high school students in greater Tegucigalpa and Comayagua, Honduras.  
 
Rotary is an international organization.  We make an impact in our local and world-wide community.   Other international projects we have funded in the past several years include:
  • Guatemala:  capital funding for micro credit loans and basic business training for women.
  • Malawi:  scholarships to a girls’ school
  • Afghanistan:  programs supporting education for girls
  • Central America:  physician travel packs
  • Zambia:  program for sustainable reforestation
We have also provided Scholarships:
  • To students graduating from School Districts 61 and 63
  • To students facing barriers to post-secondary education
  • Youth to RYLA (leadership training)
  • Rotary Youth Exchange (youth experiencing another culture for a school year).