40 years and growing for Nanaimo-based immigrant aid group
NANAIMO — Officials with a longstanding and well-respected agency are celebrating four-decades, hailing Nanaimo’s support of newcomers as the cornerstone of their success.
The highly regarded Central Vancouver Island Multicultural Society is celebrating its 40th anniversary helping people acclimatize to their often vastly different realities.
CVIMS executive director Jennifer Fowler said it was 1979 when a volunteer-led task force explored how to make life easier for local immigrants.
“They wanted to see how we could best help an influx of newcomers that were coming here 40-years-ago,” Fowler said. “It was a community initiative that grew us to where we are now.”