{"id":43550,"date":"2021-03-02T14:17:45","date_gmt":"2021-03-02T19:17:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/?p=43550"},"modified":"2021-03-04T14:55:02","modified_gmt":"2021-03-04T19:55:02","slug":"campbell-river-thanks-local-fish-farms-for-their-donations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/campbell-river-thanks-local-fish-farms-for-their-donations\/","title":{"rendered":"Campbell River thanks local fish farms for their donations"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Roy L Hales<\/p>\n

The\u00a0City of Campbell River<\/a> thanks local fish farms for their donations to specialized recreation.<\/p>\n

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Thanks local fish farms<\/h2>\n

Grieg Seafood<\/a>\u00a0has sponsored programs for adults and youth with disabilities for the past seven or eight years.<\/p>\n

When Grieg said they were not sure they could donate as much in 2020, the city asked\u00a0Cermaq Canada West\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0MOWI\u00a0<\/a>to also contribute.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey agreed, but Cermaq decided they want to do more. So, they give a little bit more,\u201d said Deb Simpson, a Specialized Recreation\u00a0Programmer who normally operates out of\u00a0 the Campbell River Community Centre.<\/p>\n

These corporate donations were all \u201cunder $2,000.\u201d<\/p>\n

The only other donation Simpson mentioned was \u201ca healthy snack and drinks for our After School program for youth with disabilities or special needs\u201d provided by\u00a0Thrifty Foods<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Cermaq, MOWI and Grieg Seafood<\/h2>\n

This is not the first time that donations from these fish farm companies have made the news<\/a>. Shorty after the pandemic began, Cermaq Canada and Grieg Seafood BC donated 60,000 pounds of salmon to Food Banks Canada. Mowi Canada West responded by delivering 1,000 pounds of Atlantic salmon to food banks in\u00a0Campbell River<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Port Hardy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The three companies have\u00a0fish farms in the Discovery Islands<\/a>\u00a0and offices in\u00a0Campbell River<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Campbell River Business Recovery Task Force\u00a0identified fish farms as\u00a0one of the three key first dollar industries on which Campbell River\u2019s economy depends<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Cermaq, MOWI and Grieg Seafood bring roughly $150 million a year into Campbell River and the surrounding area through wages and purchases from supporting businesses.<\/p>\n

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Photo courtesy city of Campbell River<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Specialized Recreation programs<\/h2>\n

Simpson said their donations definitely help.<\/p>\n

Some of the ways they raised funding in previous years, like selling concessions at large events in the Community Centre, were not available in a pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo this year, we\u2019ve decided to charge a little bit. In the past, programs have either been low cost or free,\u201d explained Simpson.<\/p>\n

She added that there is still a program to help low income adults with disabilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can apply though the LIFE (Leisure Involvement For Everyone<\/a>) program for assistance, which gets them 52 \u2018drop in\u2019 programs a year. As well, if it is a registered program which costs a big chunk of money, they can get three of those programs at 50% off.\u201d<\/p>\n

After it became impossible to meet in person, Campbell River\u2019s specialized recreation programs turned to ZOOM. They started with a chatroom, then moved on to dance and another movement program.<\/p>\n

Simpson says their most popular program is \u2018singing for fun\u2019:<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the height of COVID, when people were locked down, John Hollywood and I would help him ZOOM to our participants at home. Since things started back up in September, that program was one that stayed both live, in person, and on ZOOM.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added, \u201cOur Monday evening social program is also really popular.\u00a0 We started that on Zoom. It is a bit different because this often used to involve meals, which is not possible during COVID times.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hundreds of thousands of dollars a year<\/h2>\n

Linda Sams<\/a>, Sustainable Development Director for Cermaq Canada, said, \u201cWe actively support the communities in which we live and work through hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in community sponsorships and in-kind funding for projects, programs or initiatives, and we know communities and society are made stronger by diversity and inclusion. The programs offered by the specialized recreation program are a wonderful example of providing opportunity for social and community connection, which as we know, is more important than ever during this pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"MOWI
Photo courtesy city of Campbell River<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Individual stories<\/h2>\n

Simpson mentioned a number of individual stories.<\/p>\n

She normally discontinues programs over the summer, but one of the participants in \u2018Coffee and Connections\u2019 decided it was too valuable to set aside. Alexis Samaroden took over the ZOOM event and still plays a leadership role now that the program has returned to \u2018in person\u2019 meetings.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll take the attendance. He\u2019ll make sure the conversation keeps going and more quiet folks have an opportunity to talk,\u201d said Simpson.<\/p>\n

She mentioned a \u2018non-verbal autistic\u2019 person, who holds his ear right up to the computer screen during ZOOM meetings because \u2018he wants to hear and be involved.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cHe doesn\u2019t talk, but knows almost all the words to all the songs that we sing. He is especially marvellous when he sings \u201cIf I had a million dollars by the Bare Naked Ladies. He has our Canadian content down pat,\u201d said Simpson.<\/p>\n

A weekly \u2018walking and talking program\u2019 is led by a young woman in a wheelchair.<\/p>\n

Links of Interest<\/h2>\n