Check out some of the cool projects completed in our different Arts & Culture program for Cherryville youth. These were taken from our Recycled City and Foraging Art classes.
Thank you Steph Bellows for a wonderful Arts & Culture season with our Cherryville kiddos!
Cherryville Arts & Culture classes will resume in the Fall of 2024 – keep an eye out for registration dates and timelines.
We are pleased to announce the launch of our new meal program for seniors! Any senior residing in Cherryville area who is 65 or older can purchase a pre-made meal for $5.00. Fresh meals can be picked up the same day as they are made, otherwise all meals are frozen and can be picked up at a later date. All proceeds go back into the program to further support our local seniors.
October 17th, 2020 is the First Meal Day!
Turkey Dinner – comes with turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, steamed carrots, bun and a dessert. Call Lynne Frerichs at 250-547-6540 to place your order!
Are you interested in sponsoring a senior to receive meals? Use the donate option to purchase meals for a senior, just make a note in the comments section and we will use your donation to provide meals to seniors in need. A $50.00 donation is the equivalent of buying 10 meals!
We have so much to be thankful for this year and we cannot wait to give back to our community through this exciting new program for seniors.
Recycled City was a major success among our 8-12 year old kiddos!
It was a super fun 6 weeks watching the kiddos go through the process of designing, planning and creating their cities.
Everyone was so focused and determined to bring their creations to life. There was lots of problem solving, discussion, creative thinking and learning mixed in. It was a joy to see how the recycled materials were turned into buildings, houses and community structures; real and imaginative. The end result was a very diverse collection of “cities” and some super proud creators.
Check out this YouTube video presented by Meghan Derkach, Executive Director at Cherryville Community Food and Resource Society.
(1318) A Rural Approach to the Compassionate Community Model – YouTube
Bio: My name is Meghan Derkach, and I was born and raised in a rural community called Cherryville. I have always been an advocate for social justice and equity since a young age. When I was 18, I was having lunch with a group of older adults who were sharing their frustrations about having to leave the Cherryville community because there weren’t enough resources for them to live independently and I remember feeling absolutely broken hearted about it. That was the moment I realized I wanted to support Cherryville aging and pursued a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work with a Concentration in Aging. I was drawn to the aging-in-place model, community development and looked to age-friendly community literature. However, being rural has its unique challenges and many of the “making an age friendly community” infrastructure wasn’t relatable. Working with older adults I soon came to realize you cannot support aging-in-place without addressing access to health care as they are overlapping systems. I then pursued a Health-Focused Master’s in Social Work through University of Waterloo to better understand the complexity behind health care and how to better support rural aging in place. During this time, I was volunteering at Cherryville Food Bank and started expanding its reach to include resources and services to all residents. In 2021 I assumed the Executive Director position after strengthening our organizational and financial health and obtaining multiple grants. 2021 we officially changed our name to include resources as we expanded our vision and mission to meet the needs of all rural residents. Fast forward to 2024, we have implemented a range of services and resources to support rural living for youth, low-income families, persons living with disabilities, older adults, and a variety of community engagement events. In early January, we started to focus on Cherryville residents who had complex health conditions and or living with life limiting illness to advocate for better access to health care within community. These conversations led us to BC Centre for Palliative Care Seed Grant as the Compassionate Community model aligned perfectly with our growing vision and mission. I am excited to share a little more about this grant and how it has unfolded in the Cherryville community.