City to Work with BGC Central Vancouver Island

October 20, 2020

On October 5, Parksville Council unanimously approved a resolution to work with the Boys and Girls Club of Central Vancouver Island (BGCCVI) for the provision of new licensed childcare and other associated child, youth and parent programming for Parksville. This resolution supports Council’s strategic plan priorities of enhancing recreation, community safety and supporting economic development.

There are several steps to accomplish the goal of providing expanded licensed childcare and youth programming for our community:

In collaboration with the Boys and Girls Club of Central Vancouver Island, the City will submit a grant application for the provincial Childcare BC New Spaces Fund to secure funding for a licensed childcare facility.
The current operating agreement with the Parksville Community Centre Society (PCCS) expires on December 31, 2020. The City provided notice to the PCCS that it will not be entering into a new agreement with the PCCS.
Subject to successful grant funding, the City will enter into an agreement with the BGCCVI to operate a full complement of child, youth and family community services at the Parksville Community Centre in 2021.

As part of this decision, Council is investigating opportunities to provide community meeting space options in other facilities. As part of any future lease of the Parksville Community Centre, the City will retain the right to access the facility for community events such as elections, all candidates’ forums and an emergency reception centre.

QUOTE FROM MAYOR ED MAYNE
“There is a critical shortage of childcare spaces in Parksville and very few services for youth available in our community. This project will help to meet the childcare needs of families by improving access to high quality care, including new licensed childcare spaces, renovations to an existing facility, enhanced accessible playground facilities, professional training and certification opportunities for staff and opportunities for community partnerships. On behalf of Council, we are pleased to support families with young children, youth and parents in our community.”

ABOUT THE BGC CENTRAL VANCOUVER ISLAND
BGCCVI has a long tradition of successfully running programs for children and youth ages zero to 18, as well as services and programs for parents and families. Programs include early years, out of school care, summer camps, youth programming, family resource and parenting programs. BGCCVI provides experiential learning environments that inspire children and youth of diverse abilities to acquire and develop the critical cognitive, emotional, and social skills needed to become resilient and contributing members of society. GCCVI is committed to providing certified programming and reducing any barriers limiting participation and creating positive outcomes for participants and their support networks. BGCCVI facilities are open, accessible and inclusive providing diverse knowledge-based, age appropriate educational programs to engage, motivate and inspire all those who participate.

For more information:

Mayor Ed Mayne
250 954-4661; mayor@parksville.ca

Deb Tardiff, Manager of Communications
250 954-3073; dtardiff@parksville.ca