Meeting Minutes - November 27th,2024
Meeting Minutes - November 27th,2024
Comox Valley Early Years Collaborative (CVEYC)
Meeting Date: September 23, 2024
12 pm-2 pm
In-Person - Glacier View School
Meeting Chairs: Joanne Schroeder, Charlene Grey
Special Presentation by: Kate Buium
Land Acknowledgment:
The importance of listening and learning about the effects of colonization on Indigenous peoples.
Commitment to Indigenous Rights:
Recognition of Indigenous communities' rights to govern and deliver services for children and families.
Emphasis on understanding Indigenous ways of being and learning.
Participants' Introductions:
Attendees introduced themselves, representing various agencies and organizations involved in child care and early childhood education.
Warm-up and Brief overview of $10 a-day childcare
What is $10 a day childcare / What is the Aim :
improve affordability for families.
provide accessible child care with a maximum fee of $10 per day.
positive impact on families' financial Well-being.
Advocate for the Importance of Early Childhood Educators (ECEs):
Discussion on the need for better wages and support for ECEs to ensure quality child care.
Current efforts include wage grids and training bursaries.
Current Challenges:
Ongoing issues with the implementation and expansion of the $10-a-day plan.
Need for sustained advocacy and community engagement to maintain progress.
On going advocacy is needed to keep pressure on the government to continue expanding and improving child care services in the Comox Valley and in B.C.
HELP Presentation : Joanne and Kate
Please see the Attached PDF of full presentation
Other Items:
Announced our new fiscal host Comox Valley Family Services
A brief summary of the begging planning stages for the spring Early Years Fair
Winter Speaker Series was introduced and they are still looking for presenters
Next Meeting : January 27th, 2025 - 12:00 -2:30pm - in-person - Glacier Veiw Highschool
Meeting Minutes
Meeting Minutes September 23rd,2024
Comox Valley Early Years Collaborative (CVEYC)
Meeting Date: September 23, 2024
12 pm-2 pm
In-Person - Glacier View Schoo
Meeting Chairs: Lisa Pedersen-Skene, Betty Tate
Natalie took us through a beautiful land acknowledgement
Betty welcomed and facilitated an activity where everyone went and met another person ( preferably someone new) and spent a few moments getting to know one another and then sharing about their partner with the group.
Communicating with Collaborative: Daina has updated the website https://www.cveyc.ca/ and added a calendar for events. If anyone has any events or programs that they would like shared, please email them to earlyyearscollaborative@gmail.com
HELP Research Project Overview: Betty shared about the HELP research project the Collaborative has been asked to participate in. Please see more information attached to this email. After the discussion, we agreed that this was something that we should be involved in. Action: Daina will communicate with HELP regarding our decision
We put a call out for new SC members and a New Fiscal host for the Collaborative. If you are interested or would like any more information, please contact Daina at earlyyearscollaborative@gmail.com
We agreed by consensus to try alternating meetings between Mondays and Wednesdays. Please see the dates for upcoming meetings. https://www.cveyc.ca/calendar
Updates:
Childcare:
All Candidates' Forum Questions were shared with organizers, and we will be curious to see what changes in childcare will result from the government that is elected.
Building Connections:
North Comox Valley:
The first week of programming went very well,
Dove Creek - 9 families
Black Creek - 60 people
Several families expressed an eagerness to get back to the routine and engage in the community. For some families, the summer without structure can amplify social challenges and isolation, which was a theme in conversation with more than a few parents.
Lazo Littles:
It is set to start on Oct. 1 every Tuesday in collaboration with MFRC Inclusion Navigator.
Coincidentally, after not having programs in this area that extend to military and civilian families, there is a new strong start running at the Airport. We aren’t sure what this will do for the upcoming programs #s, but we will run this program and assess it.
Do we have funds to provide snacks?--> Joanne: yes
MFRC is hoping to run some events in the coming year that focus on community inclusion for military families. These events would be likely on the weekends or evenings and would provide events where military families could meet others. However, they need a partner organization to support this and hoped Building Connections could be this. Commitment is minimal-- would require our logo on their posters, my presence (perhaps)/support advertising, and being listed as a partner to the funder.
—> Darcie to go ahead and support this on behalf of Connections, but it might be beneficial for MFRC to partner with other organizations in future to build community relationships
South Comox Valley: There is no funding and no plan currently.
Simone’s schedule has changed, but there is still a need in the UB/FB area
Cumberland:
Maker spaces that were partnered through the CV Arts were a huge success: “Creative bombs that went off” - Cute Quote
They were very fun and very successful
Looking at doing a maker space pop-up with Tiny Pencil Studio’s in the future
Vanessa also ran some Parent-only Collage nights and will host them every Tuesday until December.
It was a slow start, but is expecting it to grow
Looking for a small snack budget, Joanne has agreed and will update you soon
Looking to start a Cumberland Early Years Program monthly with a rotating host
Asking community partners to provide a space and snack
CCFF/ Library - already has for September and October and will wait to hear back from more
Strong Start:
Miracle Beach is looking for a new facilitator, and the program will remain closed until a programmer can join
Airport S.S - Will Open October 1st
There is a new admin advisor for Denman Island - They will be looking to start an outreach S.S. once available
Intergenerational :
Excited to start a Seniors Action Network
Requests for support and connection
Will be Wednesdays 1-3 starting in January
It will be a place for people to go, for people who want direct contact with children and youth
Comox Rec will be the leading partner
Growing Together Conference:
Everything is lining up and starting to look good
There will be two presenters, and participants will rotate through
The 3rd annual Growing Together Conference will be held on February 18th, 2025, at the Florence Fillberge
This is going to be a fantastic event, as the goal is to elevate childcare providers in our community
Registration will close in November, and Daina will share a link when it is available.
There will be great food and lots of swag
The conference will be capped at 200 people.
Early Years Fair :
Carlene, Jacquie, and Daina met and discussed a great start to assembling the EYF. We would love a team to join to help make this fair possible. If you are interested, please email Daina at earlyyearscollaborative@gmail.com
We think that the best locations would be the sports center or the Lewis Center (is there anyone here from those facilities that would be willing to help us make this possible)
The best dates would be in late April
2-6 pm was a good time to meet the needs of working families as well.
Public Health:
PH cannot advertise any initiatives at the moment, but they are hosting a few events, and I will update our website next week.
PH will be hosting a latch-on event to promote breastfeeding
COVID and Flu shots will be held at the Driftwood Mall this fall
Vision Zero grant is open: https://www.visionzerobc.ca/
Next meeting: Wednesday, November 27th, 2024 Glacier View High School
It all begins with an idea.
The Meeting Minutes and Action Items from the Collaborative Meeting will be posted here !!! Don’t forget that the first meeting in the fall is September 23.2024. Find the meeting schedule for the year here.