YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED…………..

Everyone has been very quiet this year due to the pandemic, and this includes our charity.  Like you, we haven’t been able to meet in person, our fundraising has been more limited and we have not held our Annual General Meeting. It is strange but there seems to be an end in sight.

Our charity, Recovery Through Art Society, has been evaluating our place in the non-profit world during this year. Up until 2020 we have been very involved in The Art Studios program that was previously part of Vancouver Coastal Health Authority. Now that the program is being run by Lookout Housing + Health Society, we have been exploring our options for how to make a difference and continue helping people with mental health and addiction issues.
 
For many reasons, one of our options for the future may be to dissolve our charity and donate our assets to another charity. We would give these assets to an organization that has similar interests and purposes as yours and ours. Lookout is carrying on running The Art Studios as well as they can during COVID-19. The program is different from what it was under Vancouver Coastal Health Authority. Only the future will tell how it will be when we are back to ‘normal times’.

When Vancouver Coastal Health Authority looked for an organization to take over The Art Studios program they searched for a charity with the depth and resources to make sure it will survive for years to come. That is one reason they accepted Lookout’s proposal to take on the program.  Now that The Art Studios is in Lookout’s hands this board is exploring our options for using our funds. Our board had been setting aside money to support The Art Studios. We now have funds to make a real difference in another organization’s good works in the field of mental health and addiction and our membership will decide where it should go. The board has been exploring helping The Kettle, Coast Mental Health, as well as Lookout.

We have held off on having an Annual General Meeting this year not only because of COVID-19 but also so that we can tell you our recommendation for moving forward. This is something you must vote on, likely by the end of March, 2021 and as early as mid-January, 2021. 

We will let you know how things are going in our exploration and send more information before our Annual General Membership Meeting.

 Please stay safe!

If you have any questions please email contact@recoverythroughart.ca