BGC Central Vancouver Island is formally celebrating 50 years in its 51st year, due to prior pandemic health restrictions. (Ian Holmes/NanamioNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

valued organization

50 years later, BGC Central Vancouver Island continually evolves

Mar 31, 2022 | 4:36 PM

NANAMO — A heavily leaned on non-profit celebrating 50 years of service has come a long way from a meet up club at a Nanaimo home.

BGC Central Vancouver Island (BGCCVI) formally known as the Boys and Girls Club, launched in 1971 in Nanaimo after executive director Karen Love said a community need was identified.

“That’s really where it started in downtown Nanaimo. There were kids starting to hanging around the streets and they thought ‘we need to give them something to do,’ so they started a boys club.”

The Boys and Girls Club of Nanaimo and District was formed, which saw a small group of boys meet at an old gymnasium in downtown Nanaimo.

Today, BGCCVI provides childcare, before and after school care, youth services and parenting programs to hundreds of clients between the Cowichan Valley and Comox Valley.

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The organization has swelled to 110 staff in more than a dozen locations, providing a multitude of services.

Love emphasized they provide far more than childcare services, pointing to camps during summer and spring break, along with other ever-expanding offerings for older youth.

“You get to give them outdoor experiences, recreational and mental health programs and that just transitions them to being a successful adult,” Love said.

She pointed to the value of various youth programs, including the only LGBTQ+ program geared toward youth in Nanaimo.

Three intensive behaviour programs providing one-to-one support for high risk youth are also offered by BGCCVI.

It’s not just youth being served by the non-profit.

Love said in recent years, drop in services and other programs tailored for new parents were created.

“A lot of our parents are really connected to the staff that we have, then they would start to share stories about challenges they were having. So to the more you hear, you start to look at ‘okay, so is that a need?’”

Love said BGCCVI will be expanding to Parksville later this year, starting with childcare services, with the hope of launching their debut in the community in September.

As for the future of BGCCVI, Love said while a strategic plan under review references further expansion, it is heavily focused on maximizing the value of existing programs.

“There is such a desperate need for families to have somewhere loving, caring, opening and welcoming. That’s really what we’re trying to focus on as we move forward,” Love said.

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