Community Futures of the Okanagan Similkameen is building on its 25-year partnership with Okanagan College through a major donation to the Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Technologies and Renewable Energy Conservation.
Board chair Linda Larson announced the not-for-profit organization will contribute $25,000 to the college’s campaign in support of the building’s commitment to alternative energy and innovation in green building.
Partnering with Okanagan College made a lot of sense to Community Futures, explained manager Mary Ellen Heidt. The not-for-profit organization’s mission is to maintain and enhance the economic, social and environmental well-being of the community through support for small business development and community training.
“We know that local training and skill development programs benefit our community and do much to address the needs of small business in the region,” said Heidt. “The other aspect of the work the college is doing in the arena of green building and alternative energy was especially appealing to our organization.”
“Attracting support for the Centre of Excellence from an organization so deeply rooted in our community is a great thing for the foundation and for this campaign,” explained Jim Henderson, president of the Okanagan College Foundation. “We are extremely grateful to Community Futures of the Okanagan Similkameen for their contribution, for their vision and their willingness to support a building that will do so much for the people who have the opportunity to learn from it.”
With the Centre of Excellence in pursuit of the Living Building Challenge, the technologies and materials used during construction and those that will be taught through programming such as Green Building Design and Geothermal Technician, have done much to identify the centre as one of Canada’s most sustainable buildings.
To find out more about the Centre of Excellence, visit: www.alivingclassroom.ca.