It’s great to get to know a person. Talking to someone we’ve never met for even a couple of minutes can create a new, meaningful connection. And when people with similar values and interests come together, it can be remarkable.
“We’re all connected simply because we’re human,” says Hollee Card, L’Arche Comox Valley’s Community Leader & Executive Director. “No one’s an island. I believe it’s important to keep that top of mind, because together we can do amazing things.”
“While many people are familiar with L’Arche, there are still lots who don’t know us,” says Hollee. L’Arche is a global network of communities that enables people with and without disabilities to come together and share their gifts. L’Arche demonstrates that with friendship, belonging, and the chance to contribute, people with diverse abilities flourish and their lives make a difference. The result? Experiences that allow all of us to grow our hearts and minds.
Building More with Business
Back in 2012 L’Arche kicked off a campaign to build the I Belong Centre (IBC). Thanks to the generosity of businesses in the region, many organizations and many, many individual donors, the IBC opened its doors in 2017. Today it not only provides living and social spaces for people with diverse abilities, but it also offers a community hub – a place where people with and without disabilities have the chance daily to discover their talents through creative and social activities.
“There are L’Arche communities in other parts of Canada that would love to have the support that we have here in the Comox Valley,” says Hollee. “We’re fortunate to have such like-minded and open-hearted people with the ability to support us.”
Hollee says that businesses and entrepreneurs in the region have proven to be great partners. Their financial support and gifts-in-kind have had an immense impact on L’Arche. “We’re so appreciative and we’re interested in building our relationships further – continuing to buy local goods and services, giving businesses a shout-out for their support, having them join in on our events and activities.”
Soil for planter boxes provided by Black Gold Landscape Supply.
Non-profits work together
There are so many worthy social organizations in the valley and L’Arche Comox Valley networks with many of them.
Four times a year DAWG (the Disability Advocacy Working Group) meets to catch up. Along with L’Arche it includes groups like the Beaufort Society for Inclusion in Action, North Island College’s Department of Accessible Learning, and the Special Olympics. They discuss what they’ve been working on, issues, and opportunities to collaborate. And while it’s early days, the group is finding that together they can get things done that they may not have done on their own.
L’Arche also networks outside the disability advocacy realm, staying connected with groups like the Comox Valley Coalition to End Homelessness, the Immigrant Welcome Centre, the Comox Valley Social Planning Society and others to find out how they can work together.
Good Old-Fashioned One-on-Ones
While networking creates opportunities, it’s primarily about awareness and relationships. The fact is it’s a personal thing, often happening one-on-one.
“Some core people who live at L’Arche hold jobs and volunteer in the community,” says Hollee. “They engage with people everyday one-on-one. They help to raise the awareness of L’Arche as a place where everyone is welcome as they are.”
“Networking seems like a complicated word for getting to know somebody,” says Hollee as she grows a big smile. “We just had our monthly potluck and 47 people attended. It was great to see so many folks and just get to chat. I met 10 people who were new to the I Belong Centre. I’m so happy they came; it was nice to meet them.”
For more information about L’Arche, visit our website. Or better yet, visit us!
Building National and International Relationships
L’Arche Canada
While communities like L’Arche Comox Valley work on a grassroots level, L’Arche Canada is building strategic relationships on a national level to ensure people with disabilities have a voice.
Amongst other initiatives, L’Arche Canada is currently focused on Canada’s Disability Inclusion Action Plan and Bill C-22 – an Act to reduce poverty and support the financial security of persons with disabilities – which was introduced in the Senate in February 2023.
L’Arche International
Today, there are almost 160 communities and nearly 30 projects in 38 countries across the world. L’Arche International communities are extremely diversified culturally and socio-economically. Each community is rooted in its local environment and still maintains the spirit that is L’Arche.
Every year L’Arche Canada and its communities across the country fundraise for three international locations. For 2023 it’s the Ukraine, Haiti and Ivory Coast. Fundraising for the Ukraine has been so successful that their financial goal was met early in the year. L’Arche continues to raise funds for the remaining communities.
