members of the business community

In Powell River and the Sunshine Coast, our partners from the business sector have made some extraordinary contributions to early years initiatives. Their participation brings fresh thinking, builds new relationships and greatly assists in raising awareness about the importance of the early years.

As a corporate citizen, you can advance the interests of children and families through:

• Understanding and implementing child and family friendly business practises
• Human resources policies that support a balance between work and family life - there is a growing number of resources on this subject, and this site is a good place to start www.worklifebc.ca
• Corporate donations and workplace fundraising directed towards early childhood development initiatives
• “Loaned” staff participation with charitable organizations and civil society initiatives that build healthy, safe, literate, child friendly communities

For more background on why business needs to take a keen interest in our youngest children, read the persuasive evidence presented by these senior leaders in the financial sector:

David Dodge, Governor of the Bank of Canada
Human Capital, Early Childhood Development, and Economic Growth: An Economist's Perspective (2003)

Charles Coffey, Executive Vice President, Government Affairs & Business Development, RBC Financial Group
Count Business In... (2004)