Soon goods bought at the Nanaimo Bakery & Confectionary will support the Island Crisis Care Society. (ICCS/Facebook)

By Spencer Sterritt

project rise

Island Crisis Care Society to run Nanaimo Bakery to expand funding

Jun 22, 2021 | 5:26 AM

NANAIMO — A Nanaimo non-profit is expanding its services again.

Island Crisis Care Society on Monday, June 21 announced it will run the Nanaimo Bakery and Confectionary, located on the corner of Bowen and Meredith Rd, starting July 30. The step into social enterprise is through a separate corporation and project through ICCS called Project Rise.

Executive director Violet Hayes said all current staff at the bakery and cafe will remain to work alongside clients gaining work experience.

“We’re trying to provide ways for (clients) to learn skills, get back to work and be self-sufficient,” ICCS executive director Violet Hayes told NanaimoNewsNOW. “We’re going to start a work readiness program and work with other agencies in the community to help people take their next steps.”

75 per cent of profits from the Nanaimo Bakery will now go to ICCS to fund programs which might not be funded from existing grants requiring specific uses.

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“It gives us flexibility that when a need comes up, from a particular client or program, we’ll have money not tied to anything specific to be used for whatever that need is. Our goal is to give people hope so they can move forward with their lives, take those next steps and be able to support themselves.”

ICCS operations will be moved into the building housing the bakery.

This is the second large programming expansion at ICCS in the last few years. In late 2018 it stepped into providing supportive housing at 250 Terminal Ave. in Nanaimo and Orca Place in Parksville after running the Samaritan House women’s shelter. It will operate the latest supportive housing complex on Nicol St.

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spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @SpencerSterritt