Celebrate With Us Here!
October 25 is the official birthday of the Kelowna Community Resources Society – now better known as KCR Community Resources. In 2023, we are celebrating our 40th birthday and are inviting the community to celebrate with us. Our plan for our anniversary celebrations is to share milestones and stories from the past 40 years with the community and invite past participants, team members, volunteers and community partners to share their KCR stories also. It has been fun looking into our archives and learning about our past programs and to see how our current programs have evolved. They reflect how both the community and KCR have evolved and how we have always sought to meet current and emerging needs.
So who are we?
KCR Community Resources is a multi-service agency that fosters diversity, collaboration and resourcefulness by tailoring services to meet community, family and individual needs. We have been a key partner in building a strong community fabric since 1983 by supporting and encouraging our participants in four key service areas: Family & Adoption Services, Community Services, Immigrant Services and Employment Services.
The Family & Adoption Team strengthens families by providing family-centred, preventative supports and program referrals to parents with young children to increase knowledge, skills and community connections. Through the Adoption Centre of British Columbia and our Adoption Services team, we facilitate the legal and emotional process for adoptive parents building their family through intercountry and domestic adoption, for birthparents who want to make adoption plans, and children in need of permanent homes.
Employment Services focus on preparing people for the workforce by helping unemployed and under-employed individuals identify career and educational goals, navigate the job search and develop essential job skills. Team member collaborate with employers in the Central Okanagan to more easily recruit quality applicants.
Immigrant Services integrate newcomers by assisting Immigrants to Canada to feel welcome by providing information and connecting them to the community. They also promote the benefits of cultural diversity in our community by coordinating cultural awareness activities.
In Community Services we help community members at large, non-profits and volunteers achieve by promoting community information, supporting volunteer management and hosting learning opportunities.
Many of our programs address issues of marginalization and we support the notion of self-reliance, where participants are encouraged to rely on their own involvement, resilience and inner strength to overcome obstacles. We are able to deliver these programs through federal, provincial and community funders, as well as corporate sponsorships, social enterprises and individual donations.
Our team culture is built on the Core Values we are all committed to:
- Respect – We value everyone
- Integrity – We do the right thing
- Inclusiveness – We embrace and celebrate diversity
- Empowering – We strengthen lives
The KCR icon reflects our people-first approach, with a figure centred in the community circle and four colours representing each of the four departments that support the figure. Green for Community Services, purple for Adoption & Family Services, orange for Immigrant Services and light blue for Employment Services. All of the services are placed within the KCR main brand teal colour that binds us all together.
For these celebrations we have showcased this icon in the centre of radiating beams to celebrate the broad impact we have been able to make and to highlight that people remain at the centre of our service approach. Please join us in our celebrations. This could be sharing your KCR story or creating a new one this year. A great way to show support to the people and programs of KCR is by hosting a special fundraising event with your organization, team or family and friends. The funds raised make a huge impact and help to meet emergent needs for the people we serve. To learn more about hosting a third-party fundraiser or making a donation to a specific program, contact Wendy at wendycg@kcr.ca or call 250-763-8008 x256.
