Holiday Smiles 2025

by | Nov 1, 2025 | , ,

Help make this holiday season merry and bright for Cortes kids from low-income families!

Here are two ways to help make the holidays magical:

1. Make a tax deductible donation to the CCHA Holiday Smiles Fund. Donations can be made online, by cheque, or by e-transfer. 100% of your financial donation goes toward holidays gifts for children. Tax receipt for donations $20+. See details below.

2. Nominate a family (your family, your friend, your neighbour). Nominations are made anonymously through an online form. Confidentiality and anonymity are carefully guarded. Parents choose how to present the gifts to their children.
Just fill out the nomination form!

Here is how to make your tax deductible donation:

1. Donate securely online through Canada Helps 

2. Send an e-transfer to: admin@corteshealth.com
*Note Holiday Smiles Fund in your message.
If you send an e-transfer and would like a tax receipt please let us know at the same e-address so that we have a way to contact you.

3: Write a cheque to:
Cortes Community Health Association
Note: Holiday Smiles Fund
Send to: Box 59
Manson’s Landing, BC, V0P 1K0

Thank you Cortes! 

FirstAid2025

by | Mar 31, 2025 | , , ,

Emergency First Aid Training  

Friday, April 25
or
Saturday, April 26

9am – 6pm at Hollyhock Lodge

 

OFA 1 CPR-C +AED / Emergency First Aid Certificate Training

Emergency First Aid is a comprehensive training and is equivalent to WorkSafeBC Occupational Level 1 and can be used in the workplace. Using hands-on training and practice, this basic first aid course will give you confidence to respond effectively in an emergency. You will learn lifesaving skills such as CPR/AED and obstructed airway procedures to respond to adult, child and infant emergencies. You will also learn to recognize and respond to respiratory and circulatory emergencies including asthma, allergic reactions, heart attack, stroke, and bleeding.

Temporary certification cards provided at course completion. Permanent cards issued by Lifesaving BC via email (1-2 weeks delay).

Requirements: 100% attendance is required along with one piece of valid ID*.

$140 incl. GST

To confirm your registration please send e-transfer of $140 to admin@corteshealth.com with your name and “First Aid” in the message. Or drop off your payment at the Cortes Clinic in an envelope marked “First Aid” including a note with your name.

Free for Cortes youth thanks to the generous support of TeenSzene.
Free for girls and women+ thanks to the Fund for Gender Equality as part of a partnership with Community Foundations of Canada and the Government of Canada. Contact cortesfsc@gmail.com

REGISTER HERE

*Candidates are required to produce one piece of acceptable, valid, photographic identification at the time of the course. Valid ID includes: CDN or US driver’s license, valid passport, Valid BC Student ID issued for the current school year, Employee picture ID card, Native status ID card, BC photo ID issued after Nov. 1996, or Canadian government-issued photo ID.

Gate Building Workshop for Women+

by | Mar 27, 2025 | , ,

FREE Gate Building Workshop for Women+
Date – Saturday, April 5
Time –  12:30 – 3:30
Location – Whaletown
Our edges, our boundaries, our fences are important.
We get to decide where, when and how people enter our space.
And so we build gateways, portals, places where people can enter the places where we live.
This workshop is on building gates the way that we want them from local materials allowing for creativity in construction.
We will:
– learn about tools for building: circular saw, jig saw, impact drivers, measuring tape, set square.
– explore a variety of hand built wooden gates crafted by different people
– talk tips and tricks to make gates fit and swing in the ways that you want
– design and build your own gate with materials supplied and pieces of wood that you bring with you
– explore intentionality around creating openings for people and what you want that to look like.
Bring snacks and a water bottle and take home a gate.
Open to all women, two-spirit, non-binary & gender diverse people.
To prepare please collect driftwood or other attractive pieces of wood that you may want to use as structure, decoration or handles on your gate. Scraps of cedar plank or plywood for others in the group to also use would be welcome.
Facilitated by Connie Quayle – Connie has been homesteading, teaching, and making stuff for many years.
Women’s Hands Rural Skills Workshop Series for Women+ is a project of the Cortes Community Health Association Family Support Program and is funded by the Fund for Gender Equality as part of a partnership with Community Foundations of Canada and the Government of Canada and dispersed locally through the Cortes Community Foundation. The fund was created to support women, Two-Spirit and gender diverse individuals in support of a future grounded in equity, inclusion and justice.

Free Community Pasta Night!

by | Mar 25, 2025 | , ,

Sunflower Foods, Better at Home and CCHA Family Support Program present:

All You Can Eat FRESH Pasta Night – Free!
Including pasta, breadsticks, salad and dessert

Thursday, April 10
5:00-6:30pm at Manson’s Hall

Sunflower Foods will prepare three different pastas (including a gluten free option) fresh made on island by Trever Bass.

Come and join us for some social time and a delicious meal at the community hall. Take out available for those that cannot stay.

Kids coloring zone and play area.

This is a Better at Home Fundraiser dinner to raise the funds needed to provide low-income, isolated and frail seniors with a ready-to-eat, nutritious meal delivered to their door each week.

You don’t need to attend the dinner to donate, and you don’t need to donate to attend the dinner. Everyone is welcome.

For more info or to make a donation: sunflowercortes@gmail.com
(250) 504-0848

*Funded by the CCHA Family Support Program, Cortes Island Community Foundation, Community Foundations of Canada Gender Equity Fund and Better At Home Food Security Initiative, with space provided by Southern Cortes Community Association

Free Ferry Tickets for Campbell River Area Children’s Health Fair

by | Mar 25, 2025 | , ,

The 2025 Campbell River Children’s Health Fair will take place on Wednesday, April 2!

Dental Screenings!
Developmental screenings!
Meet with service providers!
Learn about regional resources!
Free snacks and prizes!

Thanks to the generosity of BC Ferries, a limited number of free ferry tickets are available for families planning to attend the fair.

Wednesday, April 2
9am – 12pm at Campbell River Community Centre
401 11th Avenue, Campbell River

If you would like free ferry tickets to attend the fair, or would like to do an Ages & Stages Screening with your child here on Cortes, please contact cortesfsc@gmail.com

Holistic Dental Care Workshop

by | Feb 21, 2025 | ,

Oral health is the gateway to our vitality and wellbeing.
Join us for a workshop in Holistic Dental Care 
with Community Herbalist Saci Spindler
Learn how to
* remineralize your enamel
* combat gingivitis & inflammation
* prevent & reverse receding gums
* prepare for a dental procedure
* care for your mouth post surgery
Saturday, March 8 
10am – 2pm 
Linnaea Lakeview Room
By donation to the CCHA Family Support Program.
Space is limited. Pre-registration is required. 
Practicing empowered home healthcare is an act of health insurance and resilience.
Saci Spindler is a Community Herbalist & wellness consultant who has been teaching and working with botanical medicine for 30 years. She is the formulator of ClearHeart Botanicals. Saci is passionate about inspiring others to deepen their connection with plant medicine. Her desire is to instil confidence and guide you to empowered healthcare.
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This workshop is offered by donation thanks to the Cortes Community Health Association Family Support Program, Folk U, Cortes Literacy Now and the Cortes Island Community Foundation with the financial support of Decoda, and the Fund for Gender Equality as part of a partnership with Community Foundations of Canada, funded through the Government of Canada.

Introduction to Tools for Women

by | Feb 19, 2025 | ,

Join Izabelle Perry to learn how to safely use everyday tools for island living.
Sunday, March 2
1pm – 5pm at Gorge Hall

This fun, informative workshop is for all self-identified women along with two-spirit, non-binary and gender diverse individuals.
Light refreshments will be provided, so please register in advance.
Onsite child-minding is offered by RSVP only, please register in advance.
What are your tool questions? Send them in now so we can be sure to cover them during the workshop.
Register here.

Women’s Hands Rural Skills Workshop Series for Women+ is a project of the Cortes Community Health Association Family Support Program and is funded by the Fund for Gender Equality as part of a partnership with Community Foundations of Canada and the Government of Canada and dispersed locally through the Cortes Community Foundation. The fund was created to support women, Two-Spirit and gender diverse individuals in support of a future grounded in equity, inclusion and justice.

6 Must Have Convos Evening Presentation January 7, 2025

by | Jan 1, 2025 | , ,

 

6 Must Have Conversations with Your (Pre) Teens
Tuesday, January 7
6 – 8pm at Cortes School

More so than ever before, parents/teachers need to keep up-to-date with current issues in sexual health education. This 2-hour workshop will provide parents, caregivers, counsellors, child and youth care workers and other interested community members a peek into the challenges many youth face today.

Specific topics will include:

  • consent
  • healthy relationships
  • steps to safer sex
  • the legal and social implications of sexting
  • gender violence
  • the impacts of pornography viewing
  • gender & sexual orientation

This presentation is for adults – child/youth supervision will take place in a different room.
RSVP would be greatly appreciated.

Creating a Culture of Child Safety Evening Presentation January 8, 2025

by | Jan 1, 2025 | , ,

Creating a Culture of Child Safety
Wednesday, January 8
6 – 8pm at Cortes School
Calling all early childhood educators, parents of primary aged children, social workers, teachers, foster parents, grand-parents raising grand-children and ANYONE who works with or cares for children.
In this workshop you will learn about…
1. Why we need to teach sexual health education early
2. What schools should be offering our primary aged children in terms of sexual abuse prevention
3. Common myths of sexual abuse
4. Types of sexual abuse
5. Statistics of sexual abuse
6. Who commits sexual abuse?
7. Incidences of reporting
8. The difference between a pedophile and molester
9. The profile of a predator
10. Stages of grooming a child
11. What transfer of responsibility looks like
12. Patterns of disclosure
13. Why kids don’t disclose
14. Normal sexual behaviour for preschool and primary aged kids.
15. Signs and symptoms of child sexual abuse
At Power Up, we believe Sexual Health Education is NOT optional AND is best delivered starting from 2 years old. Why teach early? We believe educating early is the key to eliminating sexual abuse. Educating early does not strip your child of their innocence – but sexual abuse will.
This presentation is for adults – child/youth supervision will take place in a different room. 
 
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BIO – Kerri Isham is a knowledgeable, experienced and passionate educator, coach and facilitator dedicated to excellence and committed to the empowerment of people of all ages. Her primary goal is to make exploring sexual health fun and meaningful, and to alleviate the shame and embarrassment sometimes associated with this topic.Currently, she runs her own company called Power Up Education specializing in sexual health education for preschool to Grade 12. Her three main areas of focus are sexual abuse prevention, supporting children, youth and adults with support needs and the impact of pornography viewing on children and youth. Kerri completed the Sexual Health Educator’s Certification program in June 2011 with Options for Sexual Health in Vancouver.

About the Power Up Education approach to sexual health:

At Power Up Education, we believe “sexual health” includes the social, emotional, spiritual and physical aspects of sexuality and relationships.

Curiosity is king, and we know that young people have a strong interest and natural inclination to develop their understanding and seek information about sex and sexual health. We believe that we should choose to feed and foster this curiosity in an intentional way to balance and address what children may experience through their online access and social interactions. Our vision at Power Up Education is to create a world where sexual health education is as natural and habitual as brushing your teeth and combing your hair. We are here to positively impact families and educators, leaving each and every one of you feeling knowledgeable, empowered, and inspired.

Full Calendar

We are grateful to be living and offering these programs in the ancestral and unceded territories of the Klahoose, Tla'amin, and Homalco nations.