Vernon and District Immigrant and Community Services Society logo (Image Credit: Facebook)

By Liam Verster

Integrated Services and Community Impact Project

Local group getting financial boost to advance multiculturalism

Apr 23, 2026 | 2:10 PM

A provincial program is supporting multiculturalism work in the North Okanagan.

The Vernon and District Immigrant and Community Services Society was named as a beneficiary of the province’s annual B.C. Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Grants program.

The group will receive $5,000 in funding to be used to support the local group’s Integrated Services and Community Impact Project.

“This project gives agency to racialized groups by increasing community capacity and addressing all aspects of settlement and thriving,” the province said in explaining the scope of the local project.

“It employs an integrated approach to services and supports, focusing on community action and leadership, newcomer participation and self-agency, intercultural understanding, and reduction of systemic racism and hate incidents.”

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The Vernon and District Immigrant and Community Services Society was one of around 60 community groups across B.C. receiving a combined $300,000 in funding through the provincial program.

“The dedicated work by local non-profit organizations to take on anti-racism helps people in neighbourhoods throughout British Columbia feel welcome, safer and connected to their communities,” Niki Sharma, Attorney General, said in a release.

“By supporting these organizations, the grants further enable the creation of social, cultural and economic opportunities for vulnerable and racialized individuals.”

There were no other projects within the Okanagan benefiting from these grants.

Other notable projects being supported included Intergenerational Mentorship and Cultural Empowerment for Youth at Risk (Surrey); Building Bridges, Breaking Barriers: Anti-Racism and Economic Empowerment for African Women in B.C. (Surrey); Islamophobia Legal Assistance Hotline (Vancouver); Pathways to Leadership: Building Anti-Racist Community Leadership Among Racialized Immigrant and Refugee Women (Coquitlam); Justice Unlocked: A Televised Podcast Roundtable on Systemic Barriers in B.C. Human Rights (Victoria); Youth Anti-Racism Through Entrepreneurship: Communities Engaging across Cultures (Port Moody); and Building Cultural Safety in Crisis Intervention & Suicide Prevention (Vancouver).

by Liam Verster

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