Why We Chose to Start Quiet Cove Foundation

A few years ago, my friend Emily-anne King and I began discussing the possibility of starting an organization through which we were determined to help as many people as possible, both locally and around the world. Our approach was to develop truly innovative solutions to address large-scale social issues. In 2017, Quiet Cove Foundation was born.

Since that time, we’ve grown the foundation, and it’s been active in supporting a number of humanitarian projects. In my previous post I told the story of rebuilding schools in central Mexico following horrific earthquakes that caused widespread destruction. This is the kind of work we set out to do.

People sometimes ask me how we came to create Quiet Cove. For my part, I’ve always been interested in philanthropy and service. In the past, I went on a number of philanthropic trips that took me around the world. I worked with Syrian refugees in Greece, helped build schools inPeru and provided support to charitable initiatives in Vancouver.

I loved rolling up my sleeves, actually interacting with the people I was serving, and helping others.

What if there was more I could do?

Later in my career, I found myself in a position where I had the means to practice philanthropy on a larger scale. So I called Emily-anne, who was, and is, as philanthropic-minded as I am and has dedicated her career to helping as many people as she can. We discussed how we might be able to combine our resources for the greater good.

We agreed that our approach at Quiet Cove Foundation should be to challenge the status quo. More specifically, if we can get charities to think bigger and take more risks, we’ll gladly support their efforts. We want to join with them to create massive social impact. And I think we’re doing just that.

For children who rely on school meal programs during the week, The Backpack Buddies Program, which we also support, is dedicated to ending the weekend hunger gap. Each Friday, backpacks filled with food — six meals, along with fresh fruit and snacks — are delivered to nearly 2048 schools in the Metro Vancouver area. The backpacks are distributed to students so they have food over the weekend.

Here’s where the innovation comes in: Schools from affluent communities are partnered with inner city schools. Each “buddy” school holds fundraising events and food drives, then packs the backpacks for delivery each week. This enables the program to help increase youth empathy while providing a desperately needed service to children who might otherwise go hungry during weekends.

Another one of the organizations that In partnership with the UBC and several local organizations, we’re supporting is the New Leaf Project, a non-profit that has introduced a socially innovative approach to addressing the problem of homelessness. We’re trying to transform lives by preventing those who are newly homeless from becoming entrenched. This also enables us to help save community resources, which can then be directed elsewhere. The approach, we believe, provides dignity of choice not afforded by traditional responses.

Quiet Cove Foundation also supports the Boys Club Network, a privately-funded registered Canadian charity which tackles one of contemporary Canada’s most misunderstood and under supported social issues — that of young men aged 12–18 seeking connection. The Boys Club Network identifies and lifts these lost boys up, and with a proven curricula of hope, opportunity, positive mentorship and education, restores their personal accountability; and their confidence in themselves, in adults, and in society’s collective future. The Boys Club Network operates, funds and facilitates after-school clubs (chapters), BAA curriculum, summer camps, post-secondary scholarships and networked access to support services.

Another innovative research project we’re we’ve been part of funding is one that’s trying to develop a new treatment pathway to benefit children with terminal illnesses. Right now, these children are being treated in hospitals across Canada. The research is now taking place at Canuck Place, one of the few places in North America where this type of research can be performed, then immediately applied in practice. Because most of the illnesses among children at Canuck Place are complex, rare and, in some cases, even undiagnosed and often involve the central nervous system, many of the children are non-verbal and unable to describe the pain they have. This hinders the medical staff from being able to provide effective treatment. There is no current best practice regarding how to deal with this situation — we’re trying to change that.

All of us at Quiet Cove Foundation feel a true sense of responsibility to help as many people as possible with these and many other needs. It’s our intention to continue combining innovation and financial support to make our communities, and our world, better places.