Change and Growth at CNHA
CNHA Members and Friends,
The first six months of our fiscal year has been an active and exciting time for the Association, and as we begin the second half of the year, I am pleased to share some of the highlights and news.
The Association began the year with a fear for its physical location, as our landlord had put its portfolio on the market. Fortunately, a local buyer was found for Cowichan Estates, and CNHA signed a five-year lease on the whole property including the space that had been previously leased to H &R Block for part of the year.
The additional space, which we call the ‘Spruce Room’, obviously comes with additional costs, and the CNHA Board is aware that a certain level of risk comes with this increased space. We are pleased that we have been able to use the space for an Extreme Weather Centre during the summer heat waves, and we are actively seeking opportunities to rent out space to community members to offset the higher lease cost. Please contact board member Lynette Bumstead for more details at lynette@cnha.ca.
If you have ventured by the facility during the last weeks of August, you will have seen that Cowichan Estates has taken on some long-deferred structural work. A new roof is being installed, leaky skylights removed, and moldy insulation has been removed from the crawl space. A ductless heat pump has also been installed in what we now call the ‘Cedar Room’, which will make it much more useful during the summer season. The Association appreciates the commitment of Cowichan Estate owner Rod Lowe to keeping the space in proper shape. In previous years, the Association had spent funds on areas that as a rule would be the responsibility of the landlord, so this correction of approach is helpful to our bottom line.
Our primary service program, currently known as Healthy Foods, has largely returned to pre-Covid service levels, thanks to Arlene Robinson, the volunteer team including board members Melvene Hill and Jennifer Kollinger, and donors including 49th Parallel Foods. The Summer Youth program run by our Canada Summer Jobs hire Tara Cooper was a great success. The ongoing Youth program continues with volunteers including board member Sarah Garlough. CNHA is now using tools donated by Google, through charity IT marketplace TechSoup, to manage its email and document management, thanks to work by board members Emily Holmes, Wendy Devlin and Kevin Bavaro. Board and staff members now have cnha.ca email addresses, including board@cnha.ca which will reach all board members.
With the improvement, the cnhaoffice@gmail.com email is being phased out – for general enquiries, please send emails to info@cnha.ca. Volunteers are the lifeblood of our organization – without their time and financial commitments, CNHA would be unable to provide its services. In recognition of the importance of volunteer recruitment, support and retention, I am pleased to announce that Christopher Robinson has accepted the revised Volunteer and Program Coordinator position with CNHA.
His responsibilities will be focused on ensuring the Association has engaged volunteers, including the development of Volunteer Program Leads to keep the programs fully staffed, and to provide continuity as the Board and volunteers change. If you wish to join our volunteer team, please contact us info@cnha.ca.
A special thank you to our ongoing monthly donors, and to a new donor, the Harmac Pacific Employee Charitable Donation Program, which provided a healthy donation to our work with Youth.
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The Board is reflecting on the purpose of the Association in 2022 and beyond. It sees Food Security as a defining characteristic of the CNHA, and it is committed to continuing to provide services in that area to the community. Beyond that, Board members are concerned that we need to re-evaluate Community Needs in this third decade of the twenty-first century.
The CNHA needs to hear what gaps exist in services in Chemainus and the surrounding area, and with this letter, is beginning a public engagement period, with a goal to have a firm new service plan to present to members at the next Annual General Meeting in May 2023.
Please send your thoughts to Plan2023@cnha.ca, where a group of board members and stakeholders will collect, consider and incorporate into the new service plan.
In the meantime, your ongoing financial support is needed. We can accept direct donations via e-transfer at accounts@cnha.ca, or via the donation link at Canada Helps. Cash and cheques are always acceptable too – see the letterhead addresses above!
And check out our updated website at cnha.ca!
Thank you for your support!