Grant and Funding Programs Offered by Pender Harbour & District Health Centre Auxiliary Society

The Pender Harbour & District Health Centre Auxiliary Society is a community-based non-profit organization located in Madeira Park, on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast. It operates the Bargain Barn Thrift Store as its primary revenue-generating activity in order to provide ongoing financial support to the Pender Harbour & District Health Centre and to offer bursaries and awards to local students. The Auxiliary focuses on filling funding gaps that are not covered by the provincial government or other institutional sources.

Through the Bargain Barn, the Auxiliary channels all profits back into the community. Funds help pay for health centre salaries, infrastructure and equipment needs, and special initiatives such as Harbourside Friendships, a seniors’ program. In parallel, the Society invests in education by granting the Muriel Cameron Bursary—two annual bursaries for graduates entering health-related careers—and the Linda Curtiss Student Citizenship Award, a scholarship that recognizes local youth for volunteerism and leadership.

The Auxiliary primarily supports three groups: patients and users of the Pender Harbour & District Health Centre, local seniors who benefit from targeted initiatives, and high school students from the area who are pursuing post-secondary study or demonstrating strong community engagement. By recycling, reusing and reselling donated goods, the organization turns in-kind contributions from residents into targeted financial aid and project funding that reinforce the region’s health and social fabric.

The Society is incorporated as a continuation of an auxiliary first formed in 1976, with the current Auxiliary Society created on 2016-07-07. It is governed by an elected Board of Directors and supported by a network of committees responsible for the thrift store, bursaries, events and communications. Volunteers staff the Bargain Barn in both the sales area and sorting room, ensuring that donated goods are processed efficiently and made available at low prices.

While the website does not present a conventional grant application portal, it documents recurring bursary and scholarship programs, as well as the Auxiliary’s ongoing financial contributions to the health centre and seniors’ services. Together, these activities position the Auxiliary Society as an important local funding body, translating community donations into structured financial support for health care and education in Pender Harbour.