Vancouver Island, take a bow. 

A couple of days before Christmas Eve, Capital Daily asked askour readers to give what they could for local families in need, as part of our collaboration with the United Way to benefit Neighbourhood Houses in Greater Victoria.

The community answered and stepped up more than we could have imagined, contributing approximately $75,000 in donations that were matched by Victoria-based organizations The Tiny Foundation, Heart Pharmacy, Jawl Properties, and a couple of anonymous donors. The result? 

“Just an amazing amount of donations from our caring South Island community—at a time when many of them are facing financial uncertainty themselves—that will do so much to help the CRD’s neighbourhood houses and their vital programs,” says United Way Greater Victoria CEO Mark Breslauer. 

Neighbourhood houses are committed to healthy children, youth, families, and individuals and offer a range of programs and services including counselling and outreach, pre-natal and post-natal support, preschool and childcare programs, parenting courses, food security programs, fitness classes, clothing and toy exchanges, and much more.

The recipients of the donation drive are local neighbourhood houses in the Greater Victoria area including: Beacon Community Association, Burnside Gorge Community Centre, Esquimalt Neighbourhood House Society, Fairfield Gonzales Community Association, Fernwood Neighbourhood Resource Group, James Bay Community Project, Oakland Community Association, Quadra Village Community Centre, Saanich Neighbourhood Place, and Sooke Family Resource Society.

“It’s been such a difficult year for Victoria. We’ve seen our family, friends and neighbours struggle like never before,” says Andrew Wilkinson, co-founder of Tiny, a tech-focused holding group based in Victoria and a benefactor to The Tiny Foundation. “With so many people in need of a break, just a little bit of help, there was an opportunity to unite a few South Island businesses to help out,” he says. 

“Working with the United Way, we saw how tirelessly and how widely neighbourhood houses work with families in need across Greater Victoria. We are honoured to help them continue their vital work through this holiday funding drive and so grateful to our fellow citizens and businesses for their support in this initiative.”

Capital Daily readers and locals actually exceeded the campaign’s original goal of $110,000, two days ahead of schedule. A last-minute anonymous benefactor put up an additional $20,000 in matching funds and the Vancouver Island community did the rest, hitting the revised, audacious goal of $150,000 before New Year’s Eve when the funding drive closed.