I hope you are all out there enjoying the good weather and great festivals here in Victoria! At VIRCS, we are now fully into our summer program schedules. That means a number of changes for our ESL classes, Enable program for Youth, a new round of Be-Friends and Family Friendship, and some great events coming up.
Scroll down to read about it all, or click on the links below to view them individually.
- VIRCS Annual General Meeting: speakers and votes this July 22nd.
- Volunteer Needed: we're looking for a lifeguard to help with this year's Summer Camp
- ESL classes to shrink for the summer
- School-based programs closed for the summer
- Call for volunteers: VIRCS Fashion Show on August 29th!
As a Charitable Society, every year VIRCS brings its society members together to share the past year's successes, and decide on a new direction for the future. The event is open to everyone, and we would all be delighted to see you there.
This year, our Annual General Meeting will be held at the Central Baptist Church, at 833 Pandora Street, from 7pm to 8:30pm. This is a family-friendly event.
Click here for the official invitation.
To become a member (with the right to vote), click here.
Volunteer Needed: we're looking for a lifeguard to help with this year's Summer Camp
If you're are a qualified lifeguard looking to have fun this summer, consider helping out at our Youth Strides summer camp! We are looking for an NLS certified lifeguard to come to camp for 2-3 hours a day from July 19th to 23rd, preferably in the afternoons.
This year Strides is a t Camp Barnard in Sooke. During the week you'll get a chance to meet and have fun with immigrant and refugee youth aged 13-18, help them stay safe as they explore the great Canadian outdoors, and enjoy lunch with us before you go.
If you would like to help out, or know someone who can, please contact Danny Tes at danny@vircs.bc.ca, or 250-361-9433 x245.
ESL classes to shrink for the summer
As many of you know from last month's bulletin, our ESL classes are changing. As our class enrollment remains low for the summer, we are reducing the number of classes held each week for the rest of the summer.
Beginning Monday, July 5th, we will have four ESL classes per week.
- Beginner classes will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, from 9:30am to 11:45am.
- Intermediate classes will be held on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, from 1pm to 3:30pm.
- Existing punch cards and prices are still valid.
- All classes will be taught by Christianne.
It has been a great pleasure working with Sheila over the past year, and we hope to lure her back to VIRCS again in the future :)
As well as naturally losing one teacher, we are losing many of you to much needed vacations! We do expect to increase classes again in the fall, so those of you already on vacation can please contact me again at the end of summer for an update.
The reduced classes and increased holidays will likely even out so that everyone who would like to continue can do so. However, those of you who are scheduled for Monday classes, Tuesday afternoons, or Thursday mornings will need to adjust your volunteering schedule.
Please contact Christianne or myself to let us know your plans for the summer. We will do our best to accommodate everyone.
School-based programs closed for the summer
It is that time of year when all of the grade schools are shut, and children are free to delight in summer. For VIRCS, that means many of the Enable and I Plan It program services will be closed until the end of August.
Services that are closed for the summer are:
- Homework Club
- Conversation Club
- Youth Activity Night
- Life Skills Workshops
- Social Night
- Sparks
- 1-on-1 Tutoring (existing matches only)
- Strides Summer Camp
- I Plan It Youth Employment Coaching
Call for volunteers: VIRCS Fashion Show on August 29th!
VIRCS is happy to announce our big event for the summer: Global Fashions fashion show and dinner, happening August 29th at the Delta Ocean Pointe.
Global Fashions is a showcase of the diversity of beauty, and will include performing artists, traditional clothes, modern multicultural fashion designers, and models of all ages and traditions from around the world.
This project is entirely volunteer-lead, and all credit goes to Robin Adams, who has done such a great job of organizing the event.
Currently, we are recruiting lighting technicians, models, and fashion designers for the show. We would like to showcase both traditional and modern designs from around the world, and will prefer models that have their own clothing to wear.
For more information, or to sign up, check out the website, contact Robin Adams at robin@globalfashions.org, or contact me.
Whether you would like to be involved, or just come and see the show, it will be a great evening of diversity and art.
Well, that's it for this month's Volunteer Bulletin!
Thank you so much for your support, and i hope to see you soon!
Best,
Chris
