Started as “Chilliwack Community Chest” with the mandate “to discover and look into needful and pitiful cases,” CCS relied on donations for hampers of clothing and food, even through outreach and providing railway tickets for families to reach needy relatives.
The arrival of the military base added to the client list, especially when paychecks were delayed. By 1960, the Mayor was approached for assistance because the Chest outgrew its initial status. Without help, the agency would close by January 15, 1961.
The Local Council of Women presented to the Centennial Committee a proposed Constitution for the continuing work of the Chest. By the following month, it became a registered society and hired its first employees. The mandate changed “to identify and attempt to meet the Chilliwack area’s unmet social needs.”
The word “Chest” was dropped to emphasize the “Services” of the agency in 1974, and our first Executive Director, Marilyn Fane, was hired on September 1, 1977. We grew to include Senior Citizen Counsellors, Easter Seal Buses, Drug/Alcohol Counselling the Thrift Store, Tax Clinics, Big Sisters, Family Place, Daycare, and the Youth Activity Centre.
We moved to our current Wellington Office location, and Family Place moved in. In 2005, Sardis Family Resource Centre opened its doors to the neighbourhoods on the southside of the community. Sardis Family Place now has a permanent home, with attendance reaching capacity on most days.
Our Mary Street location was purchased and renovated to accommodate Immigrant Services and Seniors Services. In 2011, our Youth Services relocated to The Village – a community partnership with BC Housing to provide supportive housing. In 2012, CCS partnered with GT Hiring to provide employment services through the Work BC Initiative.
In 2023 we expanded our food security initiatives by partnering with Chilliwack Bowls of Hope and welcomed them as a subsidiary of CCS. After nearly a decade of dedicated work by board members, staff, and community partners, CCS moved into the Paramount building in the heart of Downtown Chilliwack. The Paramount building is a partnership, with the City of Chilliwack, CEPCO, BC Housing, and CMHC. This space allows nearly all of our programs to be under one roof and provides affordable housing through 8 units for young adults and 56 units for seniors.
We can never be certain of our future but we can remain confident that if we diligently ensure that the team is competent, the agency will be able to respond to the community’s needs. The Society has approximately 125+ employees and over 400 volunteers who work within 40 programs to deliver services.
