The money will go toward suicide awareness and stress management workshops for high school students in the Sea-to-Sky corridor.
The centre’s interactive workshops are aimed at students in Grades 8-12. The workshops aim to provide youth with valuable life skills in order to help themselves and each other when in crisis. They also help connect at-risk youth to resources in their own communities.
Today the centre’s workshops are in high demand. "We used to have to go out and advertise our programs," noted Theresa Keddy, Communications and Development Co-ordinator for the centre. "Now schools come to us asking for the workshops. We don’t have enough volunteers to meet the demand right now. We’re booked solid."
Trained volunteers provide the workshops to schools free of charge.
The donation will be "quite helpful," Keddy commented. "The Whistler Blackcomb Foundation is committed to improving the quality of life for people in these communities, and its donation to the Crisis Centre will ensure the work of the Community Education Program continues in these areas."
This is not the first time that the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation has made a donation to the centre. It was previously involved in a three-year commitment to the program.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for Canadian youth between the ages of 15 and 24.
For more information about the Crisis Centre call 604-872-1811 or go to www.crisiscentre.bc.ca.
