Entering its 20th year in October, Community Futures Boundary has been an integral part of Grand Forks and surrounding communities’ economic development.
Wendy McCulloch, general manager of Community Futures Boundary, explained that the not-for-profit corporation helps people find jobs, create jobs and provides start-ups or access to capital for businesses.
“We run conferences and professional developments and we have a wide range of things that we’re involved in for the betterment of the community,” she said.
Community Future Boundary also offers skill development, provides training and aims to help make education available.
This year, the corporation has been involved, developing the Boundary Country Regional Chamber of Commerce with the support of Grand Forks Credit Union and other key stakeholders, financial and administrative support for the mobile abattoir project for the Grand Forks and Regional Agricultural Society, and organizing this year’s British Columbia Rural Summit in Grand Forks from June 7 to 9.
Future goals include another Boundary Youth Success Program, which is aimed at youth who are at risk.
“We’ve run five programs in the past and they make a huge difference in the youth’s lives,” McCulloch said. “They might be kids who had difficulty in school not because they’re not smart, but because school isn’t their thing. They might be creative and there are all kinds of reasons. We try to get them into training, back to school or to come to grips with who they are and where they want to go.”
Another initiative is a program aimed to help seniors and older adults find a job.
“There’s a lot of people who are older who used to want to retire who either can’t or don’t want to retire,” she said. “So the object is to find a suitable employment for them.”
McCulloch pointed out that the board is hoping to create and help develop a community centre in Grand Forks.
“One of the things we want for this community is a community centre,” she said. “It would be nice to have a facility like Christina Lake, Midway or even Greenwood where we can have a functional community hall for events.”
Community Futures Boundary will be celebrating its 20th anniversary alongside its annual Business Awards ceremony in October.