Life is A-buzz at the Project

James Bay Community Project

By Penny Coates, Manager Family and Community Programs

Life at the "Project" continues to hum.  Effective February 1, 2010 the Family Centre morning drop-in hours are extended by another hour each session. A new Mother Goose program focused on parents and babies is underway on Tuesday afternoons and the first Triple P parent education program has now begun.  We have also added a Wednesday afternoon drop-in Creative Play session for families with children birth to 5 years. 

The Baby Group is in full swing with a wonderful group of new arrivals.  Just a reminder that Public Health nurses are now back on Friday afternoons supporting the Post Partum Depression group.  Contact Amanda or Kate at 250-388-2200.  For those families who enjoy our ever popular Literacy Bags, we are delighted to announce that funding has been received to create two more bags of books and activities for parents to borrow and share at home with their children.

As part of our Community Services, our new nursing students are assisting with our once-a-month Blood Pressure Clinics held on the 1^st Wednesday of each month from 1-3 p.m. The Living Well with COPD program offered by the Vancouver Island Health Authority is set to start here in late February.

Did you know that community members for a drop-in fee of only $5.00 (volunteers are free) can join us on Monday mornings for Art Class or Tuesday afternoons for Hatha Yoga or Crafts on Wednesday mornings or Aung Medical QiGong on late Thursday afternoons?  Call the Project at 250-388-7844 ext 0 for more information.  These drop-in sessions are in addition to our usual programs like Seniors Connections, S'Aging, the Low Vision Group, Changes and Choices at Midlife, and the Book Club.  We also encourage you to check out the volunteer run JBCP Library.  Twice a year the Greater Victoria Public Library provides us with a new rotation of books to ensure a good selection of materials.  And for those wanting an introduction to basic computer skills, we can match you with one of our volunteer tutors on our newly updated community access computers. For those budget-minded closet shoppers, check out the latest deals at our Community Closet Thrift Store in James Bay Square.  If you are interested in donating clothes to the Thrift Store please call 250-388-7810.

The Youth Drop-in Clinic continues to be very busy at both the JBCP and the Downtown sites.  Meantime our efforts to transform the Primary Health Care Centre to a physician-led practice while maintaining continuity of care for long term JBCP patients are well underway.  We thank you for your ongoing support during this transition.  We are confident that the new model will provide James Bay residents with improved access to excellent quality physician care.

Our Spring Silent Auction fundraiser will be held in our lobby at 547 Michigan Street from March 1-12, 2010 Monday through Friday from 8-4 p.m. There is something for everyone, so please come and place your bids! Proceeds raised will support family, youth and seniors programs and services. We also have a number of Youth Clinic fundraisers coming up. These include an Art Show to be held at the Victoria Truth Centre on Saturday, March 20, 2010, from

1-4 p.m. and a concert to be held at the Victoria Truth Centre on Saturday, April 10, 2010, at 7 p.