At the AGM on April 28th, the Community Foundation announced $185,000 in grants to support community initiatives, made possible by generous community donations and support. The funds were awarded from the Foundation’s Community Impact Grants and will support the following projects.
The Cove Commons – $145,000
With a mandate to reflect Bowen Island’s cultural spirit of accessibility, inclusiveness, and community, the Cove Commons initiative was commissioned to provide a multi-purpose and central public space for locals and visitors to gather, meet and share. The library annex and new gallery will become a learning centre and an arts centre, with rooms and resources available for exhibits, events, presentations, meetings, classes, workshops and studying. The design has been carefully considered to preserve the heritage aesthetics of the Old General Store while incorporating additional space and advanced technology for an ever-changing future. With the addition of an outdoor plaza, the Cove Commons will be a cherished community hub, providing an array of experiences that builds, expresses and enhances the character and culture of island life.
Bowen Island West Side Children’s Park – $25,000
Currently 20% of the population of Bowen Island is under 15 years of age. This park initiative will build the first dedicated children’s park on Bowen Island, and will add to the vitality of the community by providing a children’s play park on the west side of Bowen for children 2-8 years old. The park will provide a meeting place for families and the community at large and encourage co-play and social interaction for toddlers. As well, the design of the park will aid in the physical and emotional developmental milestones of preschoolers.
Bowen Bike Park – $4,000
The Bowen Bike Park Working Group applied for a grant to help achieve their vision to create a bike park for Bowen Island youth and families. The bike park will provide access to outdoor recreation for Bowen’s growing youth and family population, and offer a community project with opportunities for volunteer and resources. The Working Group pointed out that the need for a bike park was identified in the ‘2016 Island Plan‘ and the lack of youth recreation opportunities was identified as an issue as far back as the ‘1999 Recreation Facilities Needs Assessment‘. The site for the park will be next to the Bowen Island Community School in the area in the forest on the west side of the school property.
Screen and Projector for Bowen Island Community School Gym – $8,500
This grant to BICS will enable the purchase of a “community-sized” screen and projector (with protective caging) suitable for long distance projection that will be permanently installed in the BICS gym. A gym-sized projector and screen will boost the use of the gym as the hub of the community and attract more events such as conferences, talks and presentations. It will allow for informative as well as culturally entertaining presentations during and after school that will be of benefit to the community. The projector and screen will enable groups to hold movie fundraisers, host student film fests, and support presentations with digital media for events such as Rotary meetings and municipal election debates.
Bowen Island Community School Playground Equipment – $2,500
The Bowen Island Community School Association was awarded a grant to help pay for the replacement of the school playground equipment. BICS acts as a hub for the entire Island and a central area in this hub is the playground. The playground goes far beyond being just a playground to be used during school hours. It also serves as an Island hub for toddlers, parents, grandparents, and friends to gather after school, in the evenings, on the weekends or during soccer matches or other organized community events that occur at BICS.
New Scholarships
The Board is also delighted to announce that we have created two new scholarships, one academic and one for the trades in the amount of $2,500 each.