The Wickaninnish Community School Society is celebrating massive growth in its after school and adult programming and participants.
“A ‘return to normal’ from COVID and no significant gym closures allowed for increased operational hours,” said Community School Coordinator Caleb Harding during a presentation to the town’s municipal council on Dec. 12. “The demand for our programs increased substantially.”
He added that the society followed a suggestion from council last year to increase awareness about its programming through both online channels as well as physical copies of schedules.
Harding is the Wickaninnish Community School Society’s only full-time staffer and is assisted by part time staff, contractors and volunteers to facilitate programs.
“The mission of our society is to facilitate educational, recreational, social and cultural activities that enhance the quality of life for all community members in the region,” he said. “One of our strengths as a society is just our flexibility for program delivery. We’re a very small organization, but deliver quite a few programs throughout the year as well as the capacity for fundraising.”
The society was incorporated in 1995 and operates 10 months of the year funded through grants, subsidies, donations and program fees.
Harding said 2022/2023 was a successful year for both youth and adult programming.
He said students receive free snacks and supervision between school dismissal and programs as well as free bus and boat transportation after programs. He said a total of 520 students registered in 65 after school programs in the 2022/2023 school year, a 58 per cent increase in student participation and a 32 per cent increase in programs from the year prior.
He added 128 Indigenous students used the free transportation offered by the society, marking a 120 per cent increase from the year prior.
Those numbers don’t include school sports teams or District of Tofino programming.
He said a weekly drop-in youth hangout saw an average participation of 15 students and added that an increase in grants helped the society offer programs like Central Dialect Language and Culture to students for free.
He added donations allowed for subsidised access for after-school programs to youth.
“We’re of course trying to balance here providing our instructors and staff with a living wage, as well as making these programs affordable to students. It can be a difficult balance from time to time, but we’ve been able to find some donations to get that cost for families down quite low or to zero,” he said.
The District of Tofino provided $14,600 of funding for youth and adult programming as well as an additional $1,000 for equipment, according to Harding, who added that the society welcomed 640 visits to youth programs in 2022/2023, which ran from 4:30- 6 p.m. every weekday.
He said five new youth programs were introduced, running from 6-7 p.m. and youth had opportunities to participate in adult programming, which ran to 9 p.m. in the evening.
Adult programs ran Monday-Friday from 7-9 p.m. and included racket sports, indoor soccer and basketball.
“We had around 926 visitors to the adult programs this year, an increase of 51 per cent from the previous year,” he said.
He said the society and School District 70 signed a new Memorandum of Understanding in 2023 that allows the society to operate rentals of the gym, school facilities and fields for community groups.
“Any business, community group or organization can rent the gym or the fields any day of the week for the entire year, barring any school closures,” he said.
Harding runs the society’s day-to-day operations, administration, rentals, community outreach and finances and can be reached at commschool@sd70.bc.ca.
“We’d just like to thank the DoT for their continued support in fostering opportunities for youth and community recreation,” he said. “As everyone knows, it’s very much needed.”
Coun. Tom Stere is the district’s representative on the society’s board and congratulated the society for their success over 2022/2023.
“It provides an invaluable service to our community,” he said.
Mayor Dan Law agreed.
“Thanks for all the work you do with the youth Caleb. It’s really appreciated,” he said.
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