The next Vancouver Island Baby Fair will take place Sept 24 & 25 in Victoria BC and we will be celebrating our 5th anniversary and our seventh fair on the island! (Including our two shows that have taken place in Nanaimo)

At each fair we love to support a local charity that focuses on pregnancy through preschool, just like we do at the Vancouver Island Baby Fair. We fund raise through our very popular photo contest, facepainting and stroller parking. Plus, the charity we work with is provided with loads of exposure prior to, during the weekend of the fair, and after.

So far we have raised more than $11,000 and worked with these amazing charities.

Child Find BC

Success by 6

Nanaimo Child Development Centre

Foster Parent Support Society

Haven Society

Greater Victoria Down Syndrome Society

We are now planning for our Fall fair, Sept 24 & 25 in Victoria at Pearkes Arena and would love to hear your suggestions for a local non-profit charity that is geared to young families. Deadline for suggestions is Friday, February 11, 2011.

Feel free to send me an email, or leave a comment here.

We were disappointing this week to learn the B.C. government decided to cancel funding for Success By 6 - an early childhood development initiative that the Vancouver Island Baby Fair has partnered with in the past. Luckily, public pressure appears to have gotten them to change their minds, so it looks like the program will still be around after all! News story here.

In 2008, Success By 6 was our charity partner, receiving a free exhibitor booth, exposure at the Vancouver Island Baby Fair and all the donations raised at the photo contest. The program is a partnership between the United Way, Credit Unions of B.C., local businesses like ours, and the provincial government. Their funding is being cut in half this year, and was to be eliminated in 2011. As of earlier this week, the government has said they’ll talk to Success By 6 and the United Way to find out just how much they need to make sure they don’t have to close down.

Not only does Success By 6 support hundreds of programs in areas like pregnancy and parenting support and early learning literacy and music programs, but they also provide an important bridge that enables the business community to become more involved in the community. Many businesses recognize the need to give back through community partnerships, but don’t always know how best to do that. Success By 6 helps to fill that gap.

We want to encourage you to write or email your MLA (look them up here) and urge them to make sure Success By 6 gets the funding they need. We haven’t seen any dollar figures or commitments for funding yet – just comments in a couple of news stories – so keep up the public pressure!