Claire Mozes returns to WCSS as Outreach Program Manager after a long and eventful maternity leave! Contact her at 604-902-0670 or Claire@mywcss.org
Buy the new poster Whistler Passage at the RE-USE-IT Centre in Function for $10. All proceeds go to support the programs and services of WCSS.
Rod Rhoda presents WCSS with a $9,000 cheque to fund both the Food Bank ($5,000) and SNOW ($4,000).
The American Friends of Whistler (AFOW) has donated $9,000 to WCSS, $5,000 to the Food Bank and $4,000 to become the title sponsor for the Support Network of Whistler (S.N.O.W.)
The Whistler Blackcomb Foundation has donated $10,000 to the Food Bank in Whistler! This makes them a title sponsor for this program!
The Whistler Blackcomb Foundation has commited $10,000 to the Whistler Food Bank. The Foundation is a Title Sponsor for KidSport and has been a regular contributor to the Food Bank since 1996.
The Whistler Question and GVIC Cmmunications Corp have donated their yearly client gift budget of $500 to the Food Bank in Whistler. The WCSS food bank has seen increased demand this year over last. Tessa Sweeny and Catherine Power-Chartrand state in the Question advertisement announcing this "This season has been a tough one for many residents of Whistler and it is our hope that this donation will encourage others to give."
Thank You to the Virani Foundation & Kids at Risk for donating $12,000 to the Youth Outreach & School Based Drug & Alcohol Prevention Program in Whistler!!!
Dec 23, 2009 The WCSS Youth Outreach Program has received a $12,000 grant from the Vancouver's Virani Foundatin "Kids at Risk" program to help continue to fund Youth Outreach and school-based drug and alcohol education in Whistler. The Amir & Yasmin Virani Foundation stated about the WCSS Outreach Program "The Board was both impressed and inspired by breadth and quality of your programs".
"This funding helps ensure that we can continue to assist youth and yound adults in Whistler with issues that arise in their lives." stated Lorna Van Straaten, Administrator. The Youth Outreach program in Whistler makes a wide variety of referrals to diffeerent community resources throughout the sea to sky corridor. It is also responsible for the School Based Drug & Alcohol Education program, Peer Educators and the popular Welcome Week. Last year the program serviced 2,638 individuals in the community. volunteers donated 63,210 hours of their time to the program while 551 students received classes in Drugh & Alcohol education.
The Amir and Yasmin Virani Family foundation is a private charitable family foundation. The Foundation was developed to support community based organizations that target disadvantaged or marinalized children and youth in British Columbia who do not have the same opportunities as their peers to develop to their fullest potential. It is hoped that with early intervention, various forms of assistance and positive role models, these young people will complete their education and/or develop positive life skills that enable them to become contributing members of the community in which they live and work.
THANK YOU TO THE STU ARCHER MEMORIAL GOLF TOURNAMENT & DINNER FOR DONATING $10,000 TO KIDSPORT WHISTLER!!
CTV News tells the story of the Re-Use-It Centre in Whistler...
http://watch.ctv.ca/news/top-picks/big-savings/#clip238061
After The Fact
Ryerson University Students are interviewing locals about their feelings about the Olympics in our community. For more information contact info.afterthefact@gmail.com or call 416-873-6402 or see their poster here.
WCSS Takes on School Based Drug & Alcohol Prevention Program
September 16, 2009;
Whistler Community Services Society (WCSS) is pleased to announce that it will be adopting the School-Based Drug & Alcohol Prevention Program formerly offered by Sea to Sky Community Services. A reduction in funding for the school based Drug & Alcohol program run by Sea to Sky Community Services forced that agency to cancel the program effective this fall.
Although looking for funding to cover program costs, WCSS is capable of carrying the program financially for the time being. “This program is simply too important to the youth of Whistler to lose it,” stated WCSS Administrator Lorna Van Straaten, “The minute we heard that the program was going to be cancelled, we started exploring options that would allow us to pick up the program and run it. As well, we have been granted the rights to use the existing curriculum, and have been able to hire the present school program provider, Jackie Dickinson. Those two components will ensure success of the program.”
“The addition of the School Based D & A program is a natural fit with the Youth Outreach program,” commented Davin Moore, Youth Outreach Worker. In 2008-9 the School based Alcohol & Drug Prevention Program taught over 92 classes to over 533 students in the 3 schools. As well, the program partnered to teach 19 Peer Educators from the high school additional information in conjunction with the WCSS Youth Outreach Program. Trained Peer Educators in the high school volunteered over 1500 hours of their time to help provide resource information to their peers on drug & alcohol education, healthy sexuality, crisis intervention, community resources, relationship violence, professional boundaries, self care and tobacco reduction.
WCSS is currently looking for Peer Educators community wide, and will soon be launching the school Peer Educator Program. To find out more about the School Based Drug & Alcohol program or the Peer Educator program contact Davin@mywcss.org, Tara@mywcss.org or see www.mywcss.org
WCSS Recruiting for Peer Educators
September 14, 2009
Whistler Community Services Society (WCSS) is now accepting applications for a limited number of young adults (18-29) to be trained to act as Peer Mentors in the community to help support the services offered by the Youth Outreach program. 12 new Peer Educators will be trained to provide youth with the tools and skills necessary to support their peers when faced with challenges around drugs and alcohol, relationships, housing, employment, mental health, hunger and healthy sexuality.
“We could not reach close to the number of youth that need this type of information without our Peer Educators,” commented Davin Moore, Youth Outreach worker for WCSS, “Last year the Peer Educators volunteered a combined 61,000 hours over the season connecting with their peer group and helping put on such events as the Trivial Pursuit of Sex & Drugs, and Whistler Welcome Week”.
Intense training takes place from the end of October into early December and then the project runs to the end of April 2010. Peer Educators volunteer a minimum of five hours a week connecting with peers in areas frequented by young adults. The Peer Educators received ten training sessions from Whistler Counsellors/Therapists and Service Providers. Topics covered included: community resources and referral, basic counseling and listening skills, crisis intervention, mental health, relationship violence, professional boundaries and self care, drug and alcohol education, tobacco reduction and healthy sexuality.
For more information or to volunteer as a Peer Educator, please contact Davin Moore Community Youth Outreach Worker 604.938.3902 or davin@mywcss.org.
Community Partners
Spruce Grove Annex • 7328 Kirkpatrick Way • Whistler, BC V0N 1B7
Tel (604) 932-0113 • Fax (604) 932-0599
©2010 Whistler Community Services Society. All Rights Reserved. Website Development by Breakaway Internet Group.