We are so proud and excited to announce that CVYS has purchased a building and we will be moving to our new location at the end of May!
Our new office will be at 294 Coronation Avenue, a location with a rich history and deep connection to the community. We are absolutely thrilled to be the new owners and caretakers of this special building that has had such a meaningful connection to the Cowichan Valley.
This purchase and move has been our goal for many years. We have actively pursued purchasing our own building, with the focus on bringing a youth center with wrap around services for Cowichan Valley youth and families for over a decade. Many times we came so close to this goal, only to have plans fall though with disappointing results. With an unprecedented increased demand for service in 2020/2021 the need for the agency to grow to accommodate the high service needs became even more of a priority, but with the rising cost of real estate our goals were just out of reach. Throughout that time we were always hopeful and looking towards new opportunities and ways to make our goals a reality for the community. We are so grateful that we have finally found a building of our own!
We would like to acknowledge the hard work and determination of our former Executive Director Michelle Bell. Michelle worked tirelessly for over a decade, recognizing the needs of our youth and families in the community, and the urgent need for a youth hub. Michelle developed many meaningful relationships in the community to help CVYS secure the funds needed to work towards the agency purchasing our own building. Her passion for the families and youth in this community, for the work that we do as an agency and how we show up in the community has paved the way for us as an agency to achieve this milestone moment. And we will always and forever be grateful for her passion and devotion to CVYS and our youth and families. We are excited to know that Michelle brings that same passion and care to her new role at the Federation of Community Social Services (FCSSBC), and will continue to advocate for youth and families in a greater capacity. Thank you Michelle for all that you have done and continue to do!
One of the most instrumental relationships that Michelle facilitated was our partnership with the Purica Foundation. In November 2019 Purica Foundation held a gala with the intention of raising funds for CVYS to purchase a building, with the support of the community they successfully raised $100,000! This donation along with funds raised previously, allowed us to put in a successful offer on the Coronation Avenue building. All though there is still much work to be done in order to make this our forever home, we are confident this will grow into an everlasting legacy for the agency.
We truly could not have done this without the monetary support of individuals and local businesses, thank you all for your continued support of the work we do and for supporting our long term goals to continue to grow our services and bring wraparound services to the youth and families in the Cowichan Valley. Purchasing the Coronation Avenue building is our first step towards our larger vision, and this move will put our agency in a much better position to achieve those goals that our team has worked towards for so many years. We want to acknowledge our CVYS family and all the amazing humans we have worked with over the years who contributed to this moment.
Thank you to our amazing board of directors for their dedication and hard work to make this goal a reality for CVYS! From taking on the daunting task of navigating the buying process, to tackling the renovations and consistently checking in and supporting our staff, we are very lucky to have these incredible humans who tirelessly champion for the agency and are passionate about the work we do in counselling and the services we deliver to Cowichan Valley youth and families.
We will be posting a very special shout out to individually thank everyone involved in this purchase and our renovations in a separate post very soon!!
We are so excited for this new chapter and all that the future holds for the agency. We are looking forward to continuing the important work we do in the community, and welcoming the youth and families to our new location! With a growing team, a new ED and now a new location, we are looking forward to all the new memories and meaningful moments to be had in our new home on Coronation Avenue.
