November 25, 2004

Contact: Dave Stephen
Phone 604-864-4611
Fax: 604-859-6653
E-mail: dave.stephen@ucfv.ca

Breakfast club a nourishing hit on UCFV Mission campus

Students Cheryl Saa and Debbie Maisonneuve appreciate the Breakfast Club.

Tony Bosch of Mission City Union Gospel drop-in talks to the students about goal setting and motivation.

Ashley Burjurman, who helps run the Breakfast Club as a work-study student, and student Tyler Krivoshein.

It’s 8:30 on a Thursday morning, and upgrading students at UCFV’s Mission campus are feeding their bodies, minds, and souls.

Waffles, fruit, cereal, cheese, and yogurt stoke their bellies with energy for a day of learning and studying.

The guest speaker provides interesting and stimulating information, awakening their minds. Today, the speaker is Tony Bosch from the Mission City Union Gospel drop-in centre. He is speaking on goal setting and motivation. 

The company of one another is providing emotional support, an important component of wellbeing for the students, many of whom struggle with financial hardship and other barriers to easy access to post-secondary education.

Welcome to the Breakfast Club, an initiative of the UCFV College and Career Prep department designed to bring students together in a social environment, educate them about resources available to them, and ensure that they get a nutritious breakfast at least once a week. UCFV has breakfast clubs running weekly at its Chilliwack and Mission campuses. 

“Students in upgrading programs are often struggling financially and we know some of them don’t have enough money for adequate food,” says Bonnie Hamilton, an instructor in the College and Career Preparation department. “They feed their kids but not necessarily themselves every morning. A program like our breakfast club ensures that they get taken care of too.” 

The program also provides nutritional information and a chance for students from different UCFV programs to get to know one another. 

Save-On Foods of Mission supports the program, providing a credit of up to $2,000 per year for food and other supplies. 

“Save-On Foods manager Ken Sharpe and his staff have been very generous and supportive.

Mission Literacy Association provided start-up funds to purchase a fridge, toaster, kettle, knives etc.

 Students like Debbie Maisonneuve and Cheryl Saa are grateful for the program.

 “It’s good to have. I come all the time,” says Saa.

 It takes a lot of cooperation to run the Mission campus breakfast club program. Bonnie Hamilton and Darlene Cameron of the CCP department coordinate it, with the help of students Ashley Burjurman and Melissa Albert. Volunteer speakers from various UCFV departments which have included Mission campus manager Greg Anderson, first aid attendant Joan Johannessen, educational advisor Mandy Klepic, librarians Patty Wilson and Joan Brown, and kinesiology instructor Karen Strange. Community speakers to date have been Phil Glaister, Mission Community Services, Renee Inkster, Heather Stewart, Glen Kask, and Judith Ray, Mission Sunshine Rotary Club.