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Looking for help or resources? Visit BC211 at the following link http://www.bc211.ca

bc211
is a Vancouver-based nonprofit organization that specializes in providing information and referral regarding community, government and social services in BC. Our help line services include 211, the Alcohol and Drug Information and Referral Service (ADIRS), the Problem Gambling Help Line, VictimLink BC, and the Youth Against Violence Line.

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What is The Social Planning Council?

Activities:

o Monthly Meetings: Attend meetings with guest speakers from within the community &/or presentations at each meeting. We currently meet the fourth Monday of every month (excluding summer) at City Hall with light lunch by donation.

o Facebook & Email Group: Utilize the network on Facebook. Start discussions, learn about & share upcoming community events, projects and meetings. If you don’t use Facebook, then join the email network instead.

o Inform City Council: The SPC provides reports to City Council regularly and the City keeps the SPC informed. Use the network and have your voices heard.



Strategic Direction of the Social Planning Council of Williams Lake & Area:

o Poverty Reduction and the local Living Wage Campaign.

o Community Collaboration and Networking.

o Retention and Succession of residents within the Area.



Community Social Planning:

o Supports communities in building an integrated approach to complex problems that take into account social, economic, and environmental concerns.

o Maximizes the effectiveness of often scarce resources by working to reduce duplication, overlap and competition.

o Provides an ongoing forum for communication, coordination and conflict resolution.



Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Non-profit directory entries

Not-For-Profit? Connect by March 31st!

The Access Williams Lake & Area project has literally hundreds of items to research and load by June 15th! We need your help!Within the next two weeks, please email to AccessWilliamsLake@gmail.com the following:

1)Organization name;
2)A note confirming that it is either a not-for-profit or government-funded initiative;
3) A note stating whether or not the program is dependent on government funding to run; (The above three items simply help us organize our calling database for our annual updating work.) plus, for publication in the directory itself:

4) Name of each distinct program administered by your organization;
5) Ten to fifty words describing each program's activities;
6) Program web page or email address (Note: In order to minimize spam to agencies, email addresses are not usually listed, but if an organization has no website, an email address may also be included in the submission.)
7) Program address;
8) Program phone number

Please send all of the above in one email to AccessWilliamsLake@gmail.com by March 31, 2010

For examples of what a listing would look like, one can view www.accesskamloops.org. The Access Williams Lake & Area project, though, can also include each program's address (if program administrators wish). Every entry can be edited upon request at any time.

With questions about which programs are eligible, or about any other matter, please review the press release below or contact Jessica Knodel at spc-coordinator@xplornet.com or 250-243-2126.

Monday, March 8, 2010

January 14, 2010 Meeting Highlights

Three updates from our January 14, 2010 meeting

1) Communities that Care Project Update:

Previously the Manager of the 100 Mile House Youth Centre Carrie Sundahl brings over ten years experience to the SPC and is excited to be the new CTC Project Manager.

CTC Project Updates:

Training in both Anahim Lake, and Williams Lake were a success last month.

The Community Assessment Profile for Williams Lake is now completed and will be released to the public February 11, 2010.

They are now in the process of compiling community resources and researching programs towards the implementation of local programs to address the identified needs within Williams Lake (anticipated by end of April).

Anahim Lake’s Community Action Plan is also completed and they are currently choosing programs for their local community. They have been coordinating a calendar for the local area to increase accessibility to programs and information exchange between their community organizations.

2) Toni Pate from the Boys & Girls Club introduces the HIV/AIDS Prevention Program:

Toni has been working on the HIV/AIDS prevention program in Williams Lake since April 2009. Her background education includes both psychology and sociology and she previously worked for the AIDS Society of Kamloops, and was involved in the Sex Worker Program getting sex trade workers off the streets.

Funded by BBI (Interior Health funded) this program applies the new “population health approach” which comprehensively looks at health as a capacity to reaching goals, looking at the population as a whole with different groups within it.

Toni is available for presentations to groups from 2 – 200 people, make referrals and provide Counselling support through the Boys and Girls Club. A recent event included a successful Coffee House event on Nov 28, presentations to schools, a mall awareness “cookie” event, and has received great support from the community (e.g. Dominoes Pizza, and Tim Horton’s).Toni can be reached through the Boys and Girls Club at 250-392-5730

3) Revisiting a “Living Wage” Project for the Williams Lake Area:

Rosanna has found a qualified candidate for this project. Georgina Mortensen, a TRU student who is completing her practicum working with Rosanna at the Friendship Society is interested in taking this project on and has come to today’s meeting to learn more.

Calculating the Living Wage is an initiative of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. For more info visit http://www.policyalternatives.ca


For a copy of the full meeting minutes please email spc-coordinator@xplornet.com

Contact Us

The Social Planning Council is made up of volunteers from the community. Many of us work in social services agencies or also volunteer for other organizations.

Our Mailing Address is Box 20045, Williams Lake BC V2G 4R1

To reach the Society Coordinator Jessica Dunn please email spc-coordinator@xplornet.com or call 250-243-2126

To reach the Communities that Care Project Facilitator Barb Jones please email communitiesthatcare.wl@gmail.com or call 250-305-4838

To reach the THRIVE Williams Lake Project Manager Anne Burrill please email annelburrill@gmail.com or call 250-267-7211

To reach the current SPC Chair Larry Stranberg please email happytrails@cfdccariboo.com or call 250-392-3626