Compassionate Communities In BC

Check out this YouTube video presented by Meghan Derkach, Executive Director at Cherryville Community Food and Resource Society.

(1318) A Rural Approach to the Compassionate Community Model – YouTube

Bio: My name is Meghan Derkach, and I was born and raised in a rural community called Cherryville. I have always been an advocate for social justice and equity since a young age. When I was 18, I was having lunch with a group of older adults who were sharing their frustrations about having to leave the Cherryville community because there weren’t enough resources for them to live independently and I remember feeling absolutely broken hearted about it. That was the moment I realized I wanted to support Cherryville aging and pursued a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work with a Concentration in Aging. I was drawn to the aging-in-place model, community development and looked to age-friendly community literature. However, being rural has its unique challenges and many of the “making an age friendly community” infrastructure wasn’t relatable. Working with older adults I soon came to realize you cannot support aging-in-place without addressing access to health care as they are overlapping systems. I then pursued a Health-Focused Master’s in Social Work through University of Waterloo to better understand the complexity behind health care and how to better support rural aging in place.  During this time, I was volunteering at Cherryville Food Bank and started expanding its reach to include resources and services to all residents. In 2021 I assumed the Executive Director position after strengthening our organizational and financial health and obtaining multiple grants. 2021 we officially changed our name to include resources as we expanded our vision and mission to meet the needs of all rural residents. Fast forward to 2024, we have implemented a range of services and resources to support rural living for youth, low-income families, persons living with disabilities, older adults, and a variety of community engagement events. In early January, we started to focus on Cherryville residents who had complex health conditions and or living with life limiting illness to advocate for better access to health care within community. These conversations led us to BC Centre for Palliative Care Seed Grant as the Compassionate Community model aligned perfectly with our growing vision and mission. I am excited to share a little more about this grant and how it has unfolded in the Cherryville community.

Cherryville Summer Day Camp is off to a fantastic start! We have an exciting 8 weeks planned running Monday to Thursday, 8:00-5:00 from July 4th – August 24th. We still have some spots available and accepting new kids, so please reach out to get registered! 250-547-0089

Week 1 (July 4-6) – Lego Week: Best build, Most Creative, Dost it Function!?

Week 2 (July 10-13) – Medieval Week: Building Armour & Weapons

Week 3 (July 17-20) – Science Week: Solar Ovens + Schmores, Flubber, Oobleck

Week 4 (July 24-27) – Melty Bead Week: Making Entries for Cherryville Days!

Week 5 (July 31-Aug 3) – Mapping Week: Building Treasure Maps, Hiding Treasure, Geo Caching

Week 6 (Aug 8-10)- Nature Week: Animal Visitors, Egg Carton Bird Feeders, Coffee Filter Butterflies, Wind Chimes and more!

Week 7 (Aug 14-17) – Ocean Week: Recycled Coral Reef Build, Shark Paintings, Zones of the Ocean, Quid Windsock and more!

Week 8 (Aug 21-24) – Talent Show Week: Group/Individual Talents, Water Play, Talent Show Presentation

Capturing those moments from the first 2 weeks of camp!

MEET OUR INSTRUCTORS – DAWN AND CANDICE!