VIU students and employees launch ‘good neighbour’ project

Students, faculty and staff at Vancouver Island University have big hearts. They are going all out this Christmas season to help families in need.

It’s part of a new “Good Neighbours” initiative to forge positive relationships between VIU and the Harewood community.

This Christmas season, VIU employees and students have “adopted” 19 families in need from John Barsby, Nanaimo District Secondary, Georgia Avenue and Fairview community schools, including teen moms with children at Little Ferns daycare program at John Barsby. 

“We put the call out a few weeks ago, and several departments, entire faculties and individual employees are putting together Christmas hampers for these families in need,” said Jo Acampora, mentorship/outreach coordinator for VIU.

“There are a million heart-warming stories,” said Acampora, who spearheaded the Christmas hamper project with VIU employee Jennifer Bradley. “While many families have requested the basics like soap, laundry detergent, sugar and flour and other household necessities, they’ll be getting extras that will make Christmas special.”

The hampers will be delivered Dec. 23 by a volunteer Santa, a husband of VIU employee Anne Patterson-Welch.  “He works at the Nanaimo Military Base and when he heard my department, Child and Youth Care, was preparing a hamper for a family in need, he offered to help out,” said Welch.

Shannon Wilson, community school coordinator at John Barsby, said “The generosity shown by VIU employees and their families is overwhelming.

“The Good Neighbours project is the beginning of a great partnership,” she said. “There is a lot of energy around this, and I see it growing.”

The catalyst for the Good Neighbours project came from VIU Education graduate Karen Bernard, a student teacher at Fairview community school last December. Bernard  recognized that a number of families were falling through the cracks of Christmas charity, and met with VIU President Ralph Nilson to suggest the university community take action.

In a letter to Nilson, Bernard said that while many families receive help from the Salvation Army, Rotary Clubs and other organizations, some families do not manage to get on the list of those who need to be helped.

Nilson took Bernard’s suggestion to heart. He gave a copy of her letter to Dennis Silvestrone, Dean of Continuing Education, and that led to discussions between VIU employees, Harewood community schools and other concerned citizens, and formation of the Good Neighbours initiative.

“This is an excellent example of how one great idea can snowball into something quite significant,” said Nilson. “It’s a demonstration that VIU is made up of people who truly care. Partnerships between VIU and its surrounding communities are key to our future, and it’s wonderful to see students, staff and faculty working together with the communities we serve. I definitely see the Good Neighbours initiative growing and evolving into a year-round effort.”

Silvestrone said those involved with the Good Neighbours project will host a public meeting in January to talk about ways to expand the program.

“This is a nice illustration of community engagement and the connection between the neighborhood and VIU,” said Silvestrone.  “The concept of community engagement is a theme we’ve weaved through the history and fabric of our institution. It’s reflected in the character of VIU (formerly Malaspina) - right back to 1936. The concept has been re-awakened in recent years in light of all the positive changes at VIU. Working with communities in a collaborative way for mutual benefit is simply fulfilling our mandate as educators.”

Anyone who would like to help with the Christmas hamper initiative can bring donations to VIU’s Welcome Centre up to Dec. 18.