Health and Wellness

Avalon Recovery Society provides completely free, life-changing services to women and families recovering from addiction and/or those with lived trauma experiences. The counselling program is in very high demand and runs with very long waitlists. Our goal is to have a barrier free, no waitlist access, to support women in recovery.

Donations will be matched, up to $10,000 from the Howard Martin Memorial Fund, at the West Vancouver Foundation.

Vancouver Food Runners works in partnership with 160+ food businesses, and 300+ active volunteers to deliver surplus food to 130+ nonprofit organizations across the Lower Mainland. VFR primarily operates in Vancouver, but our operations have been rapidly expanding in the North Shore, Burnaby, Richmond, and Delta.

We are the only food recovery program in Metro Vancouver that can efficiently and effectively offer same-day food donation collection through our app technology and volunteer food recovery model. Funding will be used for the North Shore program.

Since VFR launched in March 2020, volunteers have delivered over 2.7 million pounds of food (2.25 million equivalent meals), and this has mitigated 5.5 million pounds of CO2eq from the environment. Learn more about VFR’s program and impact through this short, 3-minute video HERE.

Donations will be matched, up to $6,000 from the Ian and Rosemary Mottershead Fund, at the West Vancouver Foundation.

The West Vancouver Seniors' Activity Centre's meal program began as the COVID-19 pandemic brought to light a genuine need among this community's most vulnerable seniors, who lacked the means to access regular meals. The Feed the Need program currently serves 3 free meals per week delivered by volunteers. This program not only improves lives and makes food sources easier to obtain for our community's most vulnerable, but it also develops a sense of volunteerism, as the program is heavily supported by community volunteers.

Donations will be matched, up to $20,000 from the Ian and Rosemary Mottershead Fund, at the West Vancouver Foundation.

Youth

Many children on the North Shore rely heavily on school meal programs but over the weekend may not eat at all: this is 'the weekend hunger gap.' Backpack Buddies addresses this crisis of childhood hunger by filling backpacks every Friday for students in need with meals and snacks to last the weekend. For a cost of only $20, Backpack Buddies sends a child home with a bag full of kid approved meals to last the weekend and beyond and $720 feeds a child for the full school year.

Donations will be matched, up to $10,000 from the Ian and Rosemary Mottershead Fund, at the West Vancouver Foundation.

At Hollyburn Community Services Society we have a robust mission to provide a continuum of supportive services to youth, individuals, and families with social vulnerabilities on the North Shore.

Many marginalized youth reach a point where they need to make decisions alone. Those few who opt to pursue advanced training or post-secondary education find themselves navigating a highly confusing and multi-barrier process alone and the majority abandon the idea and dismiss their dreams and aspirations. After identifying that no one was offering long-term comprehensive support to at-risk you to access and graduate from post-secondary programs, we created the Youth Education Navigator (YEN) to assist marginalized youth to qualify for, enroll in, and graduate from post-secondary programs.

Community donations will be matched, up to $15,000, by the Nancy Farran Compelling Opportunities Fund.

Red Fox delivers weekly Active Play programs for children at Chartwell (WV), Queen Mary (NV) and Norgate Xwemelch'stn (NV) elementary schools during the school year, at local parks during spring and summer breaks, and at community special events. We train and mentor local youth who face barriers to deliver the activities and to role model healthy active living to children. Children get ongoing opportunities to be active and make friends and youth get supportive life and employment skills training. Children and youth participate in Indigenous cultural, food security and environmental stewardship activities. Funding will be used to support the programs on the North Shore.

Donations will be matched, up to $10,000 from the Ian and Rosemary Mottershead Fund, at the West Vancouver Foundation.

Environment

The purpose of the Átl'ka7tsem/ Howe Sound Marine Debris Fund (MDF) is to: Financially support community-led removal(s) of medium-sized debris from Átl'ka7tsem/ Howe Sound, when alternative funding routes and cleanup/salvage options fall short. This includes the approximately 28km of shoreline from Lions Bay to Cypress Creek in West Vancouver.

Donations will be matched, up to $10,000 from the Ian and Rosemary Mottershead Fund, at the West Vancouver Foundation.

Arts & Culture

The NSMBA is currently constructing a new multi-use trail (hiking bi-directional, and uphill cycling only), on Cypress Mountain in conjunction with the District of West Vancouver and British Pacific Properties. Once completed we wish to add in meaningful Indigenous art, in collaboration with our local First Nations, along the trail to celebrate our local Indigenous culture, promote cultural understanding, and enhance the overall visitor experience while respecting and preserving the natural environment.

Donations will be matched, up to $10,000 from the Howard Martin Memorial Fund, at the West Vancouver Foundation.

Engaging with art and music is an incredibly rewarding, inspiring and connective experience – especially when you're attending a live music performance or participating directly! The WV Arts Council Summer 2024 Community Events include Singing by the Sea, free outdoor jazz concerts, and our community art project. We invite the public to participate in art making from impromptu choirs to temporary public art or enjoy live music in the park. Led by professional artists and coaches, everyone is welcome to join in the art making process in a safe and accessible outdoor environment. Funding will be used to support these programs.

Donations will be matched, up to $7,500 from the Howard Martin Memorial Fund, at the West Vancouver Foundation.