ORCA Children's Advocacy Centre Society would like to thank our donors and supporters who have contributed their resources and talents to help to make ORCA Centre a reality and ensure that children and youth in our community receive the best possible care when abuse is disclosed, reported or discovered.
Among the most significant and encouraging gestures of support for the goal of creating ORCA Centre was the generous donation by Anders and Janet Berglund, through the Echo Bay Foundation in August 2009. This contribution and the on-going involvement of the Berglund family has provided stability to ORCA Society and an opportunity to move forward at a pace which would not otherwise have been possible.
From the earliest stages of ORCA's development, the Steve Nash Foundation has taken an on-going interest in the establishment of ORCA Centre as BC's first Children's Advocacy Centre. We are profoundly grateful to have received a generous grant from the Steve Nash Foundation to create this website and to create materials and plans to increase public awareness of the reality of child abuse and the need for a Children's Advocacy Centre to support the Foundation's commitment to children's rights and the belief that "every child has the right to be healthy".
The federal government of Canada's Department of Justice has generously supported the Exploration Phase and the Implementation Phase of ORCA Children's Advocacy Centre. This funding has enabled us in 2010 to complete research and to confirm our community's support for establishing ORCA Centre and in 2011 to work with our partner agencies to examine interagency practices and protocols with the goal of achieving formal agreements for operating ORCA Centre.
The BC Ministry of Justice has also supported the Implementation Phase, which has allowed us to make progress on our objectives for 2012-2013.
ORCA Society is currently seeking ongoing support from the provincial government, as well as foundations, community organizations and individuals to provide funding to support the development and operation of ORCA Centre.
With the continuing support of our community, we are confident that ORCA Centre will become a reality in 2012. We urge everyone to consider making ORCA Children's Advocacy Centre your "charity of choice" and to encourage your community leaders to endorse the CAC model and the creation of ORCA Centre.
