Built with Care

A Community Raising More Than a Roof

Over the past few weeks, the children of Quadra Children’s Centre were able to witness something powerful.

They saw their community show up to care for their Children’s Centre.

They saw parents, educators, board members, neighbours, local contractors, firefighters, friends, and family members give their time and energy to a place that belongs to them. They saw people arrive with tools, trucks, ladders, food, drinks, building materials, expertise, patience, humour, and an incredible willingness to do whatever needed doing.

They saw adults working hard, not for recognition, but because the Centre matters.

The roof project has been a huge undertaking. It has also been a beautiful reminder of what it looks like when a community comes together to care for a place that has cared for generations of children and families.

A Place Worth Caring For

For nearly 40 years, the Quadra Children’s Centre has helped care for island children and families. It is a place of play, learning, relationships, big feelings, muddy boots, laughter, and belonging. It is also essential community infrastructure. Families rely on it. Children grow inside it. Educators pour their skill and heart into it every day.

But even places built on care need practical care in return.

Roofs wear out. Buildings age. Walkways need repair. Skylights need replacing. The work is not glamorous, but it is foundational. A safe, dry, well-maintained building makes the care inside possible.

This project has been about more than putting on a new roof. It has been about protecting a place that has held generations of children, and making sure it is ready to hold Quadra’s future too.

More than a Roof

Before the new roof could go on, an enormous amount of preparation had to happen.

Over three weekends of work bees, volunteers removed and disposed of old roofing, repaired rotten sheathing, installed new skylights, removed the old wood stove chimney and cracked liner, completed structural improvements, cleaned up debris, and installed peel-and-stick underlayment on three buildings.

It was physical, practical, technical, tiring work.

It was also full of care.

During the closure, the Java Roofing crew worked long days to get the new roof onto the primary structure. At the same time, interior finishing around the new skylights continued, and a long-needed sidewalk repair was completed, making the Centre safer and more welcoming for children, families, and staff.

Our children saw all of this.

They may not understand the details of roofing, sheathing, underlayment, drainage, or concrete. But they understand care. They understand when adults show up. They understand when something important is happening.

They saw people give their time, skills, strength, food, tools, equipment, and energy without expecting anything in return.

They saw neighbours caring for neighbours.

They saw adults working hard for something that belongs to them and to the future.

They saw that their Centre matters.

That may be one of the most lasting gifts of this project.

Heart Behind the Work

We want to give a very special thank you to four superstar volunteers who have dedicated an enormous amount of unpaid time, energy, skill, and heart to this project from the very beginning:

Rowan Grocott-Weeks, James “Jimmy” Irwin, Carly Smythe, and Ben Millard-Martin.

These four have been involved in the planning, organizing, and execution of the work from the start. They helped problem-solve, coordinate people and materials, keep the project moving, and take on the many practical details that make a project of this size possible.

This kind of contribution is hard to fully measure. It is not just the hours on the roof or the time on site. It is the thinking ahead, the phone calls, the organizing, the professional judgement, the checking in, the physical labour, and the willingness to keep showing up until the job is done.

We are so grateful.

Carried by Many Hands

This project was carried by many hands. Some people worked on the roof. Some hauled waste. Some cleaned debris. Some shared tools. Some lent trucks and equipment. Some brought materials. Some watched children. Some prepared food. Some donated money. Some helped from home so someone else could be on site.

Every contribution mattered.

A sincere thank you goes to our Maintenance Coordinator, Mark Holden, for helping coordinate the project, connect with contractors, and support the many practical details involved in moving the work forward. We love our new porch coverings!

We are deeply grateful to everyone who helped move this work forward, including Rowan Grocott-Weeks, James Irwin, Carly Smythe, Ben Millard-Martin, Maartje Korver, Lawren McNab, Bryn Fedje, Peter Holmes, Miwa Holmes, Gaelan Phillips, Hadrien Cauhépé, Valentin Cauhépé, Mark Rose, Pearce Martin, Haven Ullstrom, Jared Shulk, Kent Gibson, Elizabeth Emberly, Jason Sharp, Zach Monteith, Angeleen Olson, Aaron Quesnel, Eric Rodgers, Alex Etchell, Jesse Millard, Joel Loeve, Aaron Tuba, Evan Ross, Dr. Shia Ratnasabapathy, Tim Bingham, Carla Bingham, Tim Robb, Romona Boyle, Patricia Casquet, Kristen Nammour, Cally Overton, Tyler Thacker, Karissa June-Bouley, Abigahil Ramos Hernández, Lise Burnett, Rebecca Pidhirniak, Daniela Karrass, Ken Hegan, Yasmin Sinclair, Mimi, Guillaume, and everyone else who contributed time, labour, care, and encouragement.

Many of the people who helped brought not only their own hands, but also the tools, equipment, materials, skill, and generosity of the businesses and organizations they are part of. We are grateful for the support connected to Lucky Jim Contracting, Maple Meadows Painting Contracting, Green Torpedo Farm, Bird Cove Contracting, Holmes Construction, Heriot Ridge Contracting, Zephyr Property Care, Old Stone Construction , Quadrate Ventures, The Dream Team, Upland Ready Mix, Quadra Island Builders , Theatre Quadra, Tru Value Foods, and the Quadra Island Fire Department.

Thank you to Java Roofing Ltd. for the skilled work of getting the new roof on the primary structure, and to Tony and the crew, including Linden, Steve, Joe, and Cody for their long days, care, and attention to quality. Java Roofing has also supported this project through tools, expertise, metal recycling support, and their generous donation-matching commitment.

Thank you to Mark Rose of Old Stone Construction for generously using the closure week to tear up and replace a portion of sidewalk that was in desperate need of repair. Thank you also to Joe and Tracey at Upland Ready Mix for discounting concrete for the sidewalk work.

Thank you to Quadra Island Builders for generously supplying materials, to Theatre Quadra for contributing toward waste removal, and to Tru Value Foods for supporting the Centre through the Spirit Board Points program.

Thank you to everyone who kept the volunteers nourished and cared for: Lise Burnett, Rebecca Pidhirniak, Mimi, Yasmin Sinclair, Miwa Holmes, Romona Boyle, Carla Bingham, Tim Robb, Kristen Nammour, Carly Smythe, Cally Overton, Tyler Thacker, Daniela Karrass, and Ken Hegan. The food, cold drinks, treats, and shared meals kept people fed, hydrated, and energized, and made long work days feel more connected.

Thank you to Patricia Casquet, Karissa June-Bouley, and Abigahil Ramos Hernández for helping with childminding, and to every parent, staff member, caregiver, partner, and family member who made it possible for children to be present while the work moved forward safely.

We also want to recognize everyone at home who lent a family member to this project and took on extra caregiving, household responsibilities, and behind-the-scenes support so others could be on site.

That work matters too.

The Stewardship Behind the Roof

A project of this scale is not only made possible by the people who show up with tools, food, and time. It is also made possible by years of careful financial stewardship.

We want to thank our current board for holding the financial responsibility of making this decision with care. Taking on a major capital project requires courage, thoughtfulness, and a deep commitment to the long-term wellbeing of the Centre.

We also want to acknowledge the leadership, administration, and boards of years past. Their careful saving and thoughtful spending helped put the Centre in a financial position where this roof project could move forward when the need became clear.

That behind-the-scenes stewardship matters. It is part of why we are able to act now and ensure the Children’s Centre remains safe, dry, and strong for years to come.

To Everyone Who Gave

Alongside the work bees, we are deeply grateful to everyone who has contributed financially to the roof project.

Your donations are helping cover the real costs of this essential work: roofing, materials, waste removal, repairs, safety improvements, and the many practical pieces that go into maintaining a child care centre that has served this community for nearly 40 years.

We are especially grateful to Java Roofing for matching donations dollar-for-dollar up to $10,000. This generosity has helped turn every community gift into an even greater contribution toward the project.

To every person who has made a donation, large or small: thank you. Your support is helping raise the roof over a place that has cared for generations of Quadra children.

A Community That Shows Up

The Quadra Children’s Centre has always been more than a building. It is a place of care, learning, play, relationships, and belonging. But buildings do matter. Safe roofs matter. They protect all of the work that happens underneath.

They make the care inside possible.

Over these past few weeks, we have watched the community rally around the Centre with generosity, skill, humour, patience, and determination. We have seen people give up weekends, share tools, prepare food, watch children, haul waste, climb roofs, repair structures, make hard financial decisions, and step in wherever they were needed.

It has been moving, humbling, and deeply encouraging.

From all of us at the Quadra Children’s Centre, thank you.

Thank you for helping care for this place. Thank you for helping protect an essential service for island families. Thank you for helping raise the roof with such quality, timeliness, and care.

And thank you for showing our children, in the most practical and beautiful way, that they are held by a community that cares.

They did not just see a new roof go on.

They saw what it looks like when people give their time, skill, energy, and heart to something bigger than themselves.

And it is with hope that they carry this lesson forward into their lives.

If you would still like to support the roof project, donations continue to be gratefully accepted. Every contribution helps us carry this work forward and ensure the Centre remains a safe and welcoming place for Quadra’s children for years to come.