What a winter so far huh?  First there is not enough snow, then there’s lots, then it’s too cold to do much with it….  Sounds a bit like goldilocks and the three bears!

Things have been a bit quiet at ROCKS since our fundraiser, although we’ve got a huge list of things to do and are always looking for the extra time to do it.  Here are a few updates 🙂

We Piqued Their Interest!

Following our fundraising event, The Whistler Pique reached out to do a follow up article on ROCKs and asked how it was going.  Check out the online article: https://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/local-news/whistlers-new-community-kitchen-concept-starting-to-take-shape-8026065 if you didn’t already read the hard copy.

We had 5 additional volunteers sign up following this article, so we are up to 41 Volunteers.  Now we only need some funding and a space to put them to work…..

Applying for Charitable Status

During our last board meeting, we decided to apply for Charitable status.  We received some great advice from locals who’ve done this recently, including how to maintain their status.  We have started this application and will keep you updated on it’s progress.

Grant Writer Needed

A Grant Writer helps to apply for all the relevant grants available to those with Charitable status.  It is time consuming and also key to maintaining an ongoing funding stream.  We are looking for an experienced Grant Writer in a paid capacity to help us once Charitable status is granted.  If you know of anyone, or have experience, please reach out.  Also, if you’d like to volunteer to coordinate this activity, please reach out.

Accommodation Needed

A reminder that we’re still looking for our ‘forever home’, but will also consider temporary locations.  We can always start commercial lease negotiations subject to funding and charitable status, but need some help getting this set up.  Please continue to reach out if you have any ideas.  We’ve followed up with all suggestions to date and have a few on our radar, but are still looking for just the right one.

Sharing is Caring

The whistler-rocks.ca website continues to get some great traffic – we’ve had approximately 350 people visit in the last 3 months and continue to get a steady flow of visits… I wouldn’t exactly call it viral (the Whistler Winter Page on Facebook gets more hits about people simply complaining!), but it is still important to get the word out.  Please continue to share the website for us, and check out our Instagram: whistler_rocks and tell your friends!

Donations Update

Our total funds continue to be $1,887 which is 1.8% of our total goal.  I appreciate that many people had plans for their hard earned cash over Xmas and New Year and many businesses had already reached their donation goals.  But let’s start asking early for 2024!  Hopefully, the charitable status will help with large donations so people can get a tax receipt, but every bit counts.

Got thoughts, worries, or genius ideas? Throw ’em our way!

The R.O.C.K.S Board, Natalie, Jack, Kera and Stefan