The Tarry’s are back at it this year to once again raise money for the BCCDC Foundation’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund.

“We decided to do another camp out this year, because we can see that everyone is getting tired of COVID restrictions and yet the numbers are going up and we all should stay home. Anything we can do to have fun while staying at home is great, especially if it means contributing to the fight against COVID too! Last year many families really enjoyed the experience and we hope to get that same level of engagement again!”

-Kelly Tarry

So how does it work?

If you’re on Facebook, go to the campout’s donation page and donate the minimum “camping fee” of $5.

Then, join the campout’s Facebook group where you can see photos from last year’s campouts and read current messages and announcements from the organizers and us to all participants.

If you’re not on Facebook, you can still participate by donating your “camping fee” to our Emergency Response Fund through our the Tarry’s Canada Helps page here.

Then, bring your household together to create the best stay-at-home campout that you can!

Are you going to participate in the next BC Stay-at-Home Campout? Let us know!

We’d love to see your campout photos. Tag us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, @bccdcfoundation, and use the hashtag #bcstayathomecampout to join the conversation.

Happy camping BC!

The post 2021 BC Stay-at-Home Campout appeared first on Pacific Public Health Foundation.

Our Executive Director, Kristy Kerr, was a guest on Doug Nelson’s The Discovery Pod in March, just as we were finding ourselves entering new territory, within our organization and the world.

Doug asked Kristy “What’s motivating those donors to make gifts to this Emergency Response Fund?”

“… a gift to us in our Emergency Response Fund is a gift to support the people of British Columbia. It’s that genuine sense of, ‘I want to give back to help others’… It’s giving [people] that sense of control that they are doing something to make a difference to slow the spread of COVID-19 and ultimately stop this pandemic.”

Reflecting back on those words, and to their conversation, it couldn’t have been more prescient–over 1,000 individuals have donated so far, providing more than $400,000 to support one of the key BC-wide pandemic response projects that will help our public health experts understand, prevent, and prepare for future waves of COVID-19.

We understood early on that the world was changing; and we knew that people wanted to help, to have some control over a very uncontrollable situation. So to all our donors, we are grateful for your support, we appreciate all the kind messages, and you are a major part of the success we have seen in BC.

To those who have championed evidence-based information, we see you, we feel a connection to you, and we thank you. To the staff team and Board of Directors at the Foundation, to all the amazing people we have the privilege to work with at the BCCDC, and to Dr Bonnie Henry and BC’s political leadership, we express our gratitude.

To everyone in BC who is playing their part, we’re immensely grateful to all of you. The collectivity of our individual actions has made a visible, population-level difference. We’re watching British Columbians take actions to protect broader society; we’re watching Activate Health in action.

To all those who’ve played a role, we appreciate you. This is your success.

Thanks to our collective leadership, good decision-making at the right times, dedicated experts and the public, and a little dose of luck, we’re in a place we can be proud of and grateful for. But BC: we’re not done yet. While we’ve seen incredible success in BC, we need to remain cautious, vigilant, prepared, and aware. And it’s imperative we continue to invest in research that will keep us safe in the future. We at the Foundation are committed to that, and we’re all-in. We hope you remain all-in with us.

Check out our COVID-19 resource page for resources, infographics, and information on how you can help.

The post COVID-19: Our Shared Experience, Our Shared Success appeared first on Pacific Public Health Foundation.

Our experts from the BC Centre for Disease Control, VGH, UBC, and BC Cancer, supported by British Columbians, will prevent future outbreaks and save the lives of our most vulnerable. The breakthroughs that they achieve will benefit British Columbians first, with rapid sharing around the world. Our province will make this possible. You can make this possible.

Now is the time for collaboration. By coming together, we will beat this faster, and protect all of our loved ones.

The research that our partners at the BC Centre for Disease Control will be leading will prevent the spread of COVID-19 and keep our population safe. Click below to find out how your gift will help BCCDC experts prevent the spread of the virus. 

The post BC COVID-19 Combat Collective appeared first on Pacific Public Health Foundation.

Because the event was so well received, they decided to do it again and set a new date of May 16th, during BC’s usual camping kick-off weekend. In total, $4,755 was raised from 155 participants, smashing the Tarry’s initial goal of $1,000.

The event garnered attention from sources like Destination British Columbia, Vancouver Mom, Peace Arch News, The Columbia Valley Pioneer, and Daily Hive, and spread it across their channels, attracting even more participants for the May 16th campout. BC Centre for Disease Control staff also got involved in the fun, with one staff member participating “catio” style (with her cat, on her patio)!

We extend a huge thank you to the Tarry family for organizing this creative and fun event, and to all who participated in it.

Your generosity is making a big difference to our Emergency Response Fund and the COVID-19 research the BC Centre for Disease Control is doing. If you want to support the Emergency Response Fund and haven’t yet, you can do so here.

The post That’s a wrap! The BC-Stay-at-Home Campout appeared first on Pacific Public Health Foundation.

See below for some examples of these donors in action:

View this post on Instagram

New Tides Link to the full catalog is now live in my bio. For the week I will be featuring a piece from the show, along with the charity we will be supporting with the work: ‘Line Break’ 36”x48” 2020 A portion of proceeds from this work will be donated to BCCDC Foundation for Public Health ( @bccdcfoundation ) The BC Centre for Disease Control, a program of the Provincial Health Services Authority, provides provincial and national leadership in disease surveillance, detection, treatment, prevention and consultation. To inquire please contact @vanartrental or email info@artrentalandsales.com

A post shared by s c o t t s u e m e (@scottsueme) on Apr 6, 2020 at 9:17am PDT

View this post on Instagram

we are so excited to announce that in addition to the $1 donation to help save the bees, we will also be donating $1 from the sale of each scrunchie to @bccdcfoundation to assist with flattening the curve and supporting front line healthcare workers! that means that a purchase of one scrunchie helps make a difference with TWO amazing causes!

A post shared by bee knotty scrunchies (@beeknottyhair) on Mar 28, 2020 at 1:45pm PDT

View this post on Instagram

We are launching a pay by donation Tea Ceremony and Tasting – recreating a warm and casual tea gathering event performed in Chinese family – to build connections between people, and to raise awareness about coronavirus and “virus-led” fear and racism. *100% of the raised fund will be donated to BCCDC Foundation for Public Health. Join us this Sunday, Feb 23 from 1-5pm to show your support! #covid19 #coronavirus #ncov2019 #tea4acause #fightcov #teaceremony #teaparty #charity #publichealth #antiracism #equality #diversity #inclusiveness

A post shared by Sunzen Art Gallery | 三生缘 (@sunzenart) on Feb 19, 2020 at 6:59pm PST

This Insight Exchange is by voluntary donation – all proceeds will be donated to @BCCDCFoundation. Participants will have the option to donate during the registration process and Realize Strategies will match their donations dollar for dollar

— Realize Strategies (@realizecoop) April 29, 2020

The BCCDC Foundation has launched the Emergency Response Fund to support the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic & the experts working to protect our population. You can help them save lives. #SupportSunday https://t.co/4TqaOpXyK0

— Canucks For Kids Fund (@Canucksforkids) April 19, 2020

View this post on Instagram

Today, Please, Join us to SUPPORT this great movement and all the great human beings, friends, and companies it represents. Altro Labels is joining the team and will be donating proceeds from both merch sales and labels/tapes to the BC Centre for Disease Control, while providing discounts to those in need. Thanks so much to @bccdcfoundation, @coastalreign, and @thevancouversun for their incredible work on this. Please show your love to all these great people anyway you can – even if it’s just a like! Merch on the way! For more info copy this link! https://bit.ly/3bN9iJs . . . #vancouverstrong #vancouver #vancitybuzz #healthcareheroes #healthcare #britishcolumbia #buylocal #timetobuybc #bcbeer #craftbeer #stayhome #covid19 #workfromhome #flattenthecurve #altrolabels #staysafe #customlabels #quarantine #smallbusiness #shoplocal #love #loveislove #dailyhivevan

A post shared by Altro Labels (@altrolabels) on Apr 28, 2020 at 11:08am PDT

View this post on Instagram

This week’s #52WeeksofGiving is dedicated to the BCCDC Foundation for Public Health. Their mission is to establish protection and promote health in the community. At this time, it is important to support their rapid response activities that will protect our population’s health from the currect coronavirus outbreak and for future emergencies. To learn more, visit www.bccdcfoundation.org. . . . #kellerwilliamsrealtyvancentral #kw #garykeller #realestate #kwcares #52WeeksofGiving #realtor #agent #givingback #community #leadership #vancouver

A post shared by KW Realty VanCentral (@kwrealtyvancentral) on Apr 2, 2020 at 1:34pm PDT

The post BC businesses helping to beat COVID-19 appeared first on Pacific Public Health Foundation.

Make your “camping fee” donation on their fundraising page here. You can also check out and join their Facebook group to see photos from the last campout, and read messages from the organizers and us to all participants.

Are you going to participate in the next BC Stay-at-Home Campout? Let us know! Tag us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, @bccdcfoundation, and use the hashtag #bcstayathomecampout to join the conversation. Happy camping!

Families can still have fun while staying at home – and help raise money while doing it.

Learn more about the BC Stay-at-Home Campout on April 25.https://t.co/WMsEepKDA5 pic.twitter.com/FUV5hKspuP

— John Horgan (@jjhorgan) April 19, 2020

The post BC Stay-at-Home Campout appeared first on Pacific Public Health Foundation.

What your donations are funding

As our provincial leader for outbreak response, population health, prevention, and so much more, the BCCDC exists to keep our population safe and healthy year-round. When a public health emergency like COVID-19 arises, BCCDC’s public health experts—epidemiologists, medical doctors, virologists and microbiologists, lab and data technicians, and many others—take action immediately to protect the population.

Your donations are helping to fund critically important, rapid-response research that will help keep us safe. This funding will allow experts to assess BC’s COVID-19 pandemic response at a population level, by specifically investigating the efficacy and acceptability of current public health measures and directives, assessing the true extent of infections, immunity, and the susceptibility of BC’s population to COVID-19, and importantly planning for future waves and outbreaks to ensure the best systems are in place in advance.

In essence, the questions that this work will start to ask are:

• What are the risk perceptions, acceptability of measures, and broader impacts for the public?
• What does the susceptibility and immunity to COVID-19 look like in BC?
• Which evidence-based strategies are needed for enhanced surveillance?
• What evidence and strategy do we need now to prepare for future waves, so we can act swiftly in the future?
• How do we best inform ongoing public health and prevention measures?

This comprehensive approach will not only help us understand COVID-19 in BC right now, it will help to create evidence-driven plans to prepare and strengthen our public health response that will serve us now and in the future. It will help protect more British Columbians faster, and for longer.

The donations you’ve provided will get this work started. But we know that we still need to build on and generate new evidence around COVID-19 and how to protect more British Columbians. We’ve increased our target to $500,000 to support the BCCDC’s ongoing work. If you haven’t yet already, we ask you to join the hundreds of others and donate to make this work possible today:

As the work develops, we’ll continue to share updates on the progress and needs of our public health experts. This is just the beginning, and we’re just getting started. We hope you’ll continue to follow this journey and support this work.

“We’re so grateful for the outstanding support of British Columbians, coming together to protect our community and support our public health experts at the BCCDC.”

– Cathy Daminato, Chair of BCCDC Foundation

Thank you on behalf of the Foundation and the BCCDC for your collective generosity and support. The amazing messages of thanks, well wishes, and kindness have been so moving to our team. Those messages, in a time when everything is uncertain and anxieties are high, are what keep us going. Thank you for that and for protecting our population.

Diverse partners

We’ve seen incredible support from businesses, unions, other foundations, and individuals. From independent makers of scrunchies and apparel, to tech companies supporting remote work like Teradici, to media giants like Postmedia, and so many more, the support from our private sector partners has been absolutely overwhelming. If you would like to discuss how your company can get involved and help lead the response to COVID-19 in BC, please contact us at donate@bccdcfoundation.org or (604) 707-2635.

Other ways to donate

Online through our website
Over the phone, contact us at (604) 707-2635

The post Rapid Response to COVID-19: Your donations at work appeared first on Pacific Public Health Foundation.