At the Opening Retreat program participants become part of teams that will partner with existing community organizations to develop and deliver projects with a lasting benefit for the community.   Each team is assigned an experienced Coach to help ensure that projects are manageable, to assist in connections with community resources and to intervene in team dynamics if required.

Community Action Projects give participants an opportunity to work collaboratively, practice group development and engage in participatory decision-making.  In essence, the projects make communities laboratories by providing unique opportunities to exercise skills and knowledge gained from Community Learning Days and to apply leadership skills in a tangible context that results in concrete outcomes.

Community agencies and their constituents benefit as participants develop their leadership capacity. In the course of their projects, participants gain practical insight into the workings of Greater Victoria communities.

Teams present the results of their projects at the June graduation.

For a list of past Community Action Projects click here.

Our most recent projects from the 2010/2011 Cohort are listed below.

 

 

2010 - 2011 COMMUNITY ACTION PROJECTS

Team Four Peace

 

Community Partner: South Island Dispute Resolution Centre Society (SIDRCS)

 

Object: To recommend strategies for delivering a conflict management/resolution program serving elementary school-aged students who are newcomers and who may be experiencing significant language or cultural barriers.

Recommendations were developed by facilitating 2 events with various relevant community stakeholders. Event #1 was to discover what was happening and needed. Event #2 emphasized interaction and resulted in an action plan where participants can now share resources, skills, and arrange cross-organizational training opportunities to strengthen services delivered to newcomer children.

 

Project Donors and Sponsors: Victoria Foundation, United Way through SIDRCS, Equitas, Aspen Family Foundation, On Purpose Facilitation, Burris & Associates Consulting, School District No. 61 (Victoria), Victoria Immigrant and Refugee Centre Society, Intercultural Association of Greater Victoria

 

 

Team Salmon - Bulldog Green Initiative

 

Community Partner: Belmont Secondary School & Climate Action West Shore

 

Object: To collaborate with students at Belmont school in order to develop a recycling initiative that would become a sustainable program for years to come.

A communication strategy was created for students and faculty to better understand the importance of recycling. Research was done on other recycling projects through an Environmental Scan of best practices. Students were surveyed and “Sustainability” awareness days were held to give students a better understanding on how they could impact the environment in a positive way.

Project Partner: Belmont Secondary School & Climate Action Westshore

 

Project Donors and Sponsors: Victoria Foundation

 

Team Eggplant - Youth Action for Homelessness (YAH)

 

Community Partner: Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness

 

Object: Engage youth and raise awareness on the issues surrounding homelessness in the Capital Regional District. Team Eggplant created a youth video contest where videos were reviewed by a high profile panel of judges. The contestants were eligible to win great prizes ranging from laptops, educational bursaries, as well as scholarships for a local film school.

 

 

Project Donors and Sponsors: Best Buy, Island Savings Credit Union, vancity, The Gulf Islands Film and Television School, Country Grocer, Victoria Foundation, University of Victoria Cineplex Odeon, Yates Street Ht0, Thrifty Foods, Tuscany Village Serious Coffee, Cadboro Bay Road Panago

 

 

Team Fruit Salad - Growing the Good Food Box

 

Community Partner: The Capital Region Good Food Box (GFB)

 

Object: To assist the Good Food Box in their goal of becoming a self-sustaining organization by securing one large or several smaller community agencies as long term partners. The project focused on establishing the University of Victoria as a venue for the public to order, pay for and pick up Good Food Boxes. Key tasks of this project were to identify main stakeholders, establish a working relationship between the GFB and one or more sponsor organizations on the UVic campus, and initiate a sustainable method of promoting the service at UVic.

 

Project Donors and Sponsors: Sushil Saini, UVic Sustainability Project, Victoria Foundation

 

 

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For a list of past Community Action Projects click here.