Where the coffee is always on

James Bay New Horizons

By Kim Dixon

Funny how time passes so quickly. I was talking to a member the other day and he mentioned that it seems the older he gets the faster the years seem to pass.

Would you believe that James Bay New Horizons will be celebrating their 40^th anniversary next year? What seems harder to believe is that I have been the executive director for almost 18 years!

I was telling the story the other day that, when I first started here, a very nice "little old lady with grey hair and glasses" said to me that as long as I did everything the members wanted I would get along well.

That is really not hard to do as we have some great volunteers and an active, involved board of directors. Programs and activities are planned by the members for the members. The staff meet with the members on a regular basis to find out what they are interested in, what the needs are and a lot of time they work with various committees to make the projects become a reality.

We are more than a seniors activity centre. For a lot of people we are family. We celebrate life, we celebrate the life people have led, and we support people when they suffer losses. We laugh, we cry, we discuss, we disagree but we always respect each other. We welcome new members, we encourage multiculturalism, and we accept people with lifestyles that are different from ours. You will always find a friendly face, and the coffee is always on. Staff is never too busy to listen, and you don't need an appointment!

We have always offered programs that will support, encourage and promote healthy lifestyles. Whether it be one of our exercise programs, an artistic class (painting, music and dance), discussion groups, support groups, information sharing or just getting together to enjoy lunch and socialization, we hope that everyone has a good time.

Some people ask why we have a membership fee. Well it is to help offset operational costs. The membership fee allows us to offer programs and activities at a reasonable cost. It also helps us pay the bills. Unfortunately, we have to be realistic, and there is a cost to operating a "business". We do receive a grant from the city, and our building is actually owned and maintained by the City of Victoria. Operational costs such as staff wages, janitorial, phone, office equipment, recycling, etc. are up to the society. As we are not a health organization there are limited grants that we are eligible to apply for. No matter what, the purpose of the society is to provide opportunities for individuals to lead more meaningful, active, healthy and complete lives, and to provide a facility that will assist in achieving and maintaining the desired objectives, as follows:

a) operating a centre in the James Bay area;

b) organizing activities in the fields of recreation, area beautification, area history, nutrition (food selection and preparation), travel, arts and crafts, social and community relations, culture and education, and advocacy for the needs of members;

c) raising the necessary funds to accomplish the purposes of the society.

We fundamentally believe that we have an obligation to our members to provide the opportunity to participate in all our programs and activities. Residents of Victoria may be eligible for a L.I.F.E. grant of $40. to offset the cost of a membership or offset costs of programs.

We have had lean times, when we wondered whether we would be able to operate another year, but through hard work and dedication of a lot of people we seem to have weathered that storm. This year we have received funding through the Federal New Horizons Program, BC Gaming and the Victoria Foundation. Watch for further details on new programs and services that will be happening in the near future.