Families around the Upper Sunshine Coast will once again have access to Success By 6’s mobile early childhood education program due to the generosity of a Texada Island family.
ORCA (On the Road with Children’s Activities) Bus is a collaborative project of Powell River and District United Way, Success By 6 and School District 47. The project uses an old retrofitted school bus, which visits locations throughout the region to deliver early childhood education (ECE) and activities. The program began in 2008 and ran until this summer when the bus was taken off the road.
Alan and Wendy Davis donated a new school bus after they heard the news that the old bus was no longer able to be used.
“It was something that we could do,” said Alan, a semi-retired contractor. “We’re from Texada Island and it lacks services for all ages, but for young ones more so. The original ORCA Bus was coming over and being very well used by families here and then it suddenly stopped.”
The original ORCA Bus, a 1993 Thomas, was taken off the road this summer when it failed a safety inspection.
Alan, who follows the BC auctions, saw the bus, a 2001 Blue Bird, and contacted Rita John, early learning coordinator at the school district.
“I watch the auctions and saw this bus,” he said. “When I heard about the ORCA Bus having its issues I thought maybe I could put the two together to make it work. Rita agreed.”
Alan and Wendy travelled to Vanderhoof last month to pick the bus up and drive it back to Powell River.
“It was a bit of a whirlwind trip,” said Alan. “But by the time we got it home we knew that the bus was in decent shape.”
Alan said he was happy that the bus passed inspection and it will be used as the new ORCA Bus. Nadine Porchetta, coordinator of Success By 6 in Powell River, shares his relief, but would still like to remind people that the bus runs on goodwill.
“We are very fortunate to have received this generous donation and that we can skip one expensive step. However, we will always need to fundraise for the ORCA Bus project.”
The group has raised almost $50,000 toward the purchase of a new bus, funds that now will be used to retrofit it.
It costs about $31,000 per year to operate the bus, said Porchetta. The project is dependent on community members and local business to fund the program.
It will still take some time before the bus goes into full operation. The bus will need to be refitted, which will entail taking the seats out and renovating the interior area.
“Unfortunately the accessible lift that we had in the original bus was designed for that bus model and it’s non-transferable,” said Porchetta. “It would cost about $30,000 to put a new lift into the new bus.”
Porchetta said she hopes that the program can be up and running again for next summer.
Individuals and businesses who would like to make a donation to support the ORCA Bus project can do so at any First Credit Union branch or at the United Way office. For more information, readers can call 604.485.2132 or email Porchetta at [email protected].
