At BGC South Coast BC, we know that Opportunity Changes Everything
Since 1938, BGC has been providing safe, supportive spaces where kids and youth can experience new opportunities, overcome barriers, build positive relationships, and develop confidence and skills for life.
We meet kids, youth, and families where they are, and provide support in ways that work for them through our prevention streams (Clubs and Camp Potlatch), and intervention streams (Counselling and Employment Services).
Clubs
At BGC’s 10 neighbourhood-based Clubs, our professional (and cool!) staff offer programs for kids and youth — after school drop-in, day camps during school breaks, and pre-teen and teen nights just for older youth.
CamP Potlatch
Located on 133 acres of pristine wilderness along the picturesque shores of the beautiful Howe Sound, thousands of campers have passed through the gates of Camp Potlatch over the past 80 years. Sandy beaches and unspoiled hiking territory create an idyllic environment exploration, relaxation, and the adventure of a lifetime.
counselling and employment
BGC supports kids, youth, and families with employment services, early years programs, and youth and family counselling. Our goal is to come alongside families in ways that work for them.
BGC South Coast BC by the Numbers
10
Clubs serving youth and families across the Lower Mainland
138,211
Hours of Club programming last year
5,900+
Kids and youth — and our goal is to reach even MORE
The World needs MORE BGC: Organizational growth grounded in our mission, vision, and values.
Our Mission
To provide safe, supportive places where children and youth can experience new opportunities, overcome barriers, build positive relationships, and develop confidence and skills for life.
Our Vision
All children and youth discover and achieve their dreams and grow up to be healthy, successful, and active participants in society.
Our Guiding Principles
Everyday Excellence
- Excellence, and having the greatest possible impact in our work depends on how we (each of us) show up each day, each hour, and in each moment
- Intention and rigour move the cause of our impact from “good luck and good intentions” to “great practice” by being embedded through policies and practices in everything we do; this ensures safety and quality, and ultimately makes BGC’s program offerings replicable, sustainable, and high impact
- Ongoing quality improvement is rooted in curiosity, openness, and lifelong learning
- BGC’s strengths-based approach recognizes that everyone comes to work each day with the goal of doing their best, and everyone has something to contribute; starting from a place of strength, that shared commitment to quality and BGC’s impact is the strongest foundation for ongoing improvement, learning, and quality assurance
- BGC’s dignity-based approach is about meeting children, youth, families, participants where they are at, and accepting/not judging people for needing/asking for help; this requires intention and rigour throughout BGC in everything we do (and both as an employer, and a service provider)
BGC’s Leadership Philosophy
- Leaders lead themselves first, and commit to showing up at their best to bring out the best in others
- Accepting ourselves as good enough, and “perfectly imperfect” is fundamental to truly accepting others
- Shared Leadership is a concept we embrace, recognizing that everyone has strengths to lead from, and things to contribute, and every voice matters
- Developing our people is a key goal of leadership; we do this by seeing and fostering their potential
We are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
We now understand that BGC’s way forward has two imperatives:
- Self reflection and awareness: each of us must commit to understanding ourselves, in order to shift our own unconscious ideas, beliefs, biases, and blocks
- Organizational reflection and awareness: we must use curiosity, and openness to understand how systems, policies, practices, and beliefs systemically favour some, and discriminate against or hold others back
