Blog

We’re Rebranding!

December 12, 2019

SWOVA is rebranding! Since 1996, our organization’s full name has been “SWOVA Community Development and Research Society.” We continue firmly rooted in the original purposes reflected in our 1996 Constitution, but in mid-2020, we hope to announce a new name for our organization.

For more than a year we have worked behind the scenes to renew our mission and vision statements, clarify our core values and develop a strategic plan for our future. After almost a quarter of a century of service to the Gulf Islands and communities beyond, the people of SWOVA—employees, facilitators and board members—are engaged in renewing our programs and operations to serve a new generation of students and educators. Honouring our past, we look forward to future effectiveness and expansion.

We hope you, our Members and Friends, will support our efforts by:

  • attending a General Meeting next spring to consider a special resolution changing the name of our society
  • voting on the special resolution if you’re a voting Member of our society
  • getting updates by checking our new website and its blog
  • following us on Facebook and Instagram and in the news
  • sharing our programs and impacts with others

We know your interest in SWOVA reflects your own passion for creating healthy, gender-equitable, and violence-free communities. We are always glad to receive your emails. Interested in volunteering? Please do let us know; opportunities are available!

Thank you for your interest and support.

So what’s in it for me? – by Chris Gay

So what’s in it for me? – by Chris Gay

As a contractor for SWOVA, I have very specific tasks laid out that involve project coordination. As the project coordinator for the Respectful Relationships (R+R) program, the Pass It On Program, and for the Online R+R Facilitator’s Training, I need to ensure all the...

The Best Part of Pass It On – by Chris Gay

The Best Part of Pass It On – by Chris Gay

The Pass It On female teen mentorship program has now completed its second year. This year there were 16 mentors and 16 buddies. The mentors met weekly with their mentor supervisor, Kate Maurice, for support and guidance. In addition, they met monthly as a group with...

SparkFest: A night of celebration – by Chris Gay

SparkFest: A night of celebration – by Chris Gay

Kate Maurice, the Mentor Supervisor for the Pass It On female teen mentorship program, held us intimately and passionately in a circle of gratitude during an evening of entertainment on Sunday April 29th at the Harbour House Hotel. The event was a fundraiser for the...

SparkFest: A night of celebration – by Chris Gay

Sparkfest: Creating and Celebrating Community – by Kate Maurice

On April 24th, Pass It On is coming to the end of this year’s program which means, in the words of female student mentor, Paige Penny, ‘We now throw Sparkfest as a way to celebrate the past year and to build momentum for the next year.” April 29th marks the 2nd...

Building Inter-generational Capacity  – by Kate Maurice

Building Inter-generational Capacity – by Kate Maurice

The Pass It On Program is an initiative that aims to empower and support adolescent girls by providing education and skill building to help them stay safe. The project has two key components. The first is to engage high school adolescent girls in a dialogue around the...

Venturing into the world of on-line training – by Chris Gay

Venturing into the world of on-line training – by Chris Gay

Respectful Relationships (R+R) is a National and Provincial award winning schools-based primary violence prevention program for youth, developed by SWOVA. SWOVA has spent almost a decade of research and development, refining ideas about how to stop bullying,...

And My Best Friend is Gay  –     by Christina Antonick

And My Best Friend is Gay – by Christina Antonick

In the classroom, we use Energizers as activities for groups of youth to practice skill building related to the Respectful Relationships program as well as have the opportunity to move around and be in their bodies during our sessions. In a recent circle we played...

Stereotypes Create Lives Lived in Boxes — by Christina Antonick

Today in the Respectful Relationships Program, we worked with Grade 8 youth to explore stereotypes and how they relate to violence. My co-facilitator Kevin and I do a role play and act out our two scenarios of two youth in conversation. The first scene is a young man...

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