Wednesday's Ruck & Maul

April 22, 2020 Posted in CW Rugby / Fundraiser / Rugby Club / Victoria BC / News / Community / NSWT / Senior Women

A City of Incredible Generosity

When I moved to Victoria in 1971 there were many features of this beautiful place that impressed me. Over time there have been many more and one of those is the outstanding generosity of its people. This occurrence takes place especially for local charities in times of emergencies with giving, seemingly endless. Covid has not greatly affected our population to date, mostly due to the adherence of common sense requests for social distancing and washing hands regularly. This being said, it has affected many folk whose resources have been drastically diminished.

As a local solution, philanthropists aplenty have stepped to the plate. We have seen the development and dispersal of funds from the Rapid Relief Fund, in excess of some $5 million to date, dispersed amongst some 34 needy organisations up and down the Island; Rock for Relief, raising some $500,000; formation of the Peninsula Coop Hospital Appeal, a fund to complete and extend technical resources in our three major hospitals, such as the completion of a fund for purchase of another PET scanner; and today news comes to us from two young ladies who have worn the Tricolours – Caroline Crossley and Pam Buisa (both National VII's players), in regards to Vancouver Island Steps Up Community Fund.

VISU, is an organisation that Caroline and Pam have taken to cause. In the words of Caroline; “With the postponement of the Olympics, myself and my teammate Pamphinette Buisa (another CW alumni), along with several other passionate community members, have taken this time to reflect on the severity of this crisis. In this sense, we decided to launch a community-based initiative called the Vancouver Island Steps Up - Community Relief Fund (VISU) which is aimed at supporting low-income residents of Vancouver Island who have been affected disproportionately by the COVID19 crisis. Our goal is to support those who may have fallen through the cracks of our current standardized government aid programs.

I am emailing you to ask if you would be willing to share some information about this fund, along with our GoFundMe link on the CW website. It would be an extraordinary step forward to spread awareness of this initiative to the broad rugby community on Vancouver Island.

We hope to have CW's support in this endeavour to make meaningful change in our community.” The ladies to date have raised in excess of $3000 of a goal of $15,000. Typical rugby players, don’t sell yourself short!

For more information and details about the initiative;

Go-Fund Me page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/vanisle-steps-up-community-relief-fund
(Revenue Canada taxable donation receipts and information about the formation of the Fund.)

To visit our website for more information: https://vanislestepsup.ca/

Our email for any questions or concerns: [email protected]

Corresponding with Caroline about the Fund and its distribution elicited the following response; “In terms of distribution and structure of the fund, we have put out an application for those who wish to apply. This application will require proof of residence on Vancouver Island and will specify your needs based on your losses due to COVID19. We will use an intersectional needs-based assessment to prioritize applicants and distribute funds. The amount of applicants we are able to help depends on the success of the fundraising. Our aim is to bridge the gap for low income individuals and/or families who have may have fallen through the cracks of standardized government aid.”

This makes it another good cause in my books and hopefully by reaching out to our CW Family, it will help the ladies move towards their goal.