Salmon Steward

10 2017 psf.ca T he Pacific Salmon Foundation was initiated in 1987 with a $300,000 grant from the government – a generous o•ering, but not a lot of money when you are trying to address province- wide salmon conservation. The Foundation needed a concerted fundraising program to draw support from individuals and the business community. A big step in that fundraising plan took place in 1992 when Jane Hungerford, wife of George Hungerford, founding chair of the Foundation, volunteered to organize a gala fundraising dinner and auction at The Vancouver Club. The event was a success and the board of directors decided to make dinners like this one a mainstay of the Foundation's fundraising e•orts in communities throughout British Columbia. When I started at the Foundation 17 years ago, there were four dinners in di•erent communities including Calgary, Campbell River, Vancouver and Victoria. With the help of volunteers, we've worked to add six more to the roster. For an organization like ours, volunteers make the world go 'round in many di•erent ways – but in particular, they're the key ingredient in our fundraising Dinners, galas & auctions are an indispensable cornerstone in raising funds to safeguard salmon partying for A CAuse By Brenda McIntyre, Events, Pacific Salmon Foundation Judy Ackinclose (R) has forged deep ties with the community as president of the Fanny Bay Salmonid Enhancement Society, finding matching support for salmon projects funded by the Foundation. These ties have come in handy during her tireless efforts fundraising as chair of the Foundation's Comox Valley Dinner & Auction's volunteer committee. Dianne Sampson (L) with the Nile Creek Streamkeepers Society helps out with the Foundation's annual fundraising dinner in Qualicum. Left: The South Vancouver Island Dinner is a popular destination for Victoria's angling community, some of whom have branched out to support the Foundation's Recreational Fishing Conservation Contribution program and other dinners. The Oak Bay Marine Group has been a long-term donor and attendee of the event. Right: Student volunteers from Vancouver Island University like Kayla Topping and Gillian MacDonald have long kept the Nanaimo dinner running smoothly, and have participated as researchers in the Foundation's Salish Sea Marine Survival Project.

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