Hoping to address funding shortfalls, Easter Seals BC/Yukon is contemplating giving itself a makeover.
The charitable organization discussed the possibility of going beyond just offering camp services to kids with disabilities after indefinitely suspending its camp program in Squamish, starting this year.
“We discussed the opportunity of widening our mandate so that we can provide more services and programs to the full spectrum of ages,” said Charlene Krepiakevich, who heads the Easter Seals for BC and the Yukon.
“Supporting the child at camp, helping that child move into adulthood and then also… [as] an adult later on.
Her remarks were made during a community meeting at the Squamish camp on Monday to brainstorm ideas on how the society would adapt to shortfalls in cash and changing times.
“We’ve heard from families with kids that there’s a growing need for transition programs as they age out of care, ” she explained to the roughly two dozen gathered from the non-profit sector, the District of Squamish and the community.
The gathering was held in response to news that the Squamish and Shawnigan Lake Easter Seals camps will be closing down for the foreseeable future as a result of dwindling funding.
Easter Seals’ Okanagan camp in Winfield will be the only one still running.
Because the summer camp programs have become too costly, Easter Seals will have to change its approach to helping people, Krepiakevich said.
Operating expenses for each camp run between $700,000 and $900,000 per year.
The organization is recording a roughly $1.2-million loss for the last fiscal year alone.
Without bequests, government grants and asset sales, the society would’ve been operating at a deficit virtually every year since 2008.
“It’s not a sustainable model,” Krepiakevich said. “You can’t rely on government grants....You can’t count on a major gift [in] a will, and nobody wants to sell any more real estate. We want to keep what we have.”
However, the organization is not in immediate danger of closing, as the society is drawing funds from an emergency reserve.
It’s hoped that broadening its mandate will help more people and secure more funding in the process.
One reason why Easter Seals has had trouble raising funds may be because it has a very specific mandate for a very specific demographic, said Krepiakevich. In this case, bringing young kids with disabilities to camp.
New programs such as skills training and transitional assistance could be less expensive, offer ways to tap into more funds and be of more benefit to more people, she said.
There might be space for social enterprising programs — similar to a Salvation Army model — to generate revenue.
Easter Seals has talked to the District of Squamish about creating an social enterprise agricultural program.
The charity also toyed with the idea of selling some land to developers, though this may pose a challenge because the Squamish camp is in the Agricultural Land Reserve.
Some at the meeting suggested partnering with other non-profits such as the Sea to Sky Community Services, the District’s Youth Centre, or the school district’s Alternative Program.
