It’s time for another conversation!
In 2017, your Bowen Island Community Foundation (BICF) hosted the second “Vital Conversations.” Sixty enthusiastic Islanders gathered to provide ideas and insights to create a clearer picture of our local needs, identify priorities for individual and organizational action, and guide the Foundation’s work for community granting.
That Vital Conversations identified eight priority areas articulated by Bowen Islanders: develop housing for all, bring healthcare close to home, support our youth, celebrate diversity and inclusion, expand our transportation options, create gathering places for all, and take responsibility for the stewardship of our environment.
The report from the event (available on the Foundation’s website) was widely shared and wholeheartedly received among Island residents, community groups, and the Municipality.
Bowen Islanders quickly stepped up and took action in all of the priority areas, to varying degrees. While there is still much to be done, we can be proud of what we have collectively accomplished, including these exciting projects: the Cove Commons Community Plaza; assessment of seniors’ needs; girl power and boy power programming for youth; Bowen bike park; affordable housing feasibility study; disc golf course; truth and reconciliation workshop; community health centre operations and governance study; Mt. Gardner trail navigation project; a children’s garden; horse riding ring upgrade; and a Westside natural Playscape destination.
These are a just a few of the initiatives the BICF has supported through grants totalling $689,050 which addressed the Vital Conversations priorities over the last five years.
Things have changed since 2017, and it’s now time to come together for another Vital Conversations; time to revisit our Island needs and again identify and discuss what matters most to us. Insights provided by participants will again help shape our civic engagement and BICF’s future granting decisions, ensuring that these are based on the priorities identified by the community.
“Our community is powered by the people who live here. This is a chance to hear from a diverse range of Island residents about what matters to them. With this input, we can help facilitate actions that contribute to the quality of life of our Island home,” says Vital Conversations Committee Chair and BICF Director Richard Smith.
Over the next few months, BICF will be conducting an on-line survey as well as a day long workshop to discuss the types of projects and charitable initiatives that will help keep the community strong and make our Island community an even better place to live. Details will be provided here in the Undercurrent, on our website (https://bowenfoundation.com), through social media, and through Island-wide mailings.
Keep your eyes and ears open for more news soon!
“What makes our community a great place to live? How can we make Bowen even better? These are some of the questions we hope to explore through the Vital Conversations process, and from there, to identify priorities for action and ways to work together to achieve common goals. This is a chance to share ideas on how to enrich our community. We want to hear about the issues that matter to Bowen Islanders”, added Holly Graff, BICF Chair.
Please participate in the upcoming Vital Conversations!
