Reach Child and Youth Development Society was grateful to recently received a $25,000 grant from the First West Foundation - Envision Financial Community Endowment towards their Building for Children Together Capital Campaign.
Added to another donation of $25,000 in 2012, as well as $2,000 from First West employees in 2014, this makes a $52,000 total contribution to Reach.
“Envision and its employees have offered a myriad of support and volunteering over the years to take us closer to its ultimate goal of helping more kids,” states Renie D’Aquila, Executive Director, Reach Society.
The purpose of First West Foundation is to support initiatives that help create resourceful and resilient communities. The Envision Financial Community Endowment funding focus is on programs supporting vulnerable populations. Reach Society’s slogan is “Believing in Potential” and helps to transform possibilities in to reality for children with special needs and their families. The relationship between First West and Reach is very much built on a foundation of shared values and purpose.
The funds will be used to build a new Reach children’s centre in the heart of Ladner. The 20,000-sq.-ft. building will replace the current Ladner Kinsmen House at 47 Avenue and allow Reach Society to provide more programs for children with special needs and increase the number of children served. In addition, the new central location will make Reach services more visible and easily accessible to families.
“This is an enormous opportunity for us to partner with Reach Child and Youth Development Society,” said Seline Kutan, Executive Director of the First West Foundation. “We’re delighted to support such an important need in the community.”
The First West Foundation is a registered charity and the philanthropic arm of First West Credit Union. The Foundation stewards over $13 million in endowment funds and distributes its earnings in the form of grants to charities throughout the communities served by the credit union. Since its inception, the Foundation has distributed over $3.5 million to charities. The Foundation also encourages philanthropic individuals and families to establish new endowments to create a lasting legacy for their communities.