Mission Statement
The Central Interior Community Services Co-operative strengthens the response of member agencies to community social needs. Our Co-op was incorporated in April 2004.
Membership
Members of the Central Interior Community Services Co-operative are not for profit charitable societies. Currently there are five members:
- Boys and Girls Club of Williams Lake and District
- Jubilee Care/Canadian Mental Health Association
- Cariboo Chilcotin Child Development Centre
- Williams Lake Association for Community Living
- Women’s Contact Society.
What is a Co-operative?
Co-ops are founded on some common ideas:
* People, no matter what economic class or educational level, know what’s best for themselves.
* People can work together to meet their own needs.
* A co-op is any enterprise that is collectively owned and democratically controlled by its members for their mutual benefit.
* In a co-op, each member has one vote, regardless of investment.
* Co-ops are generally community based organizations.
Our Values
Respect
Cooperation
Resourcefulness
What we have learned:
- The success of any venture depends on the proper combination of components, married with tenacity and timing
- Integrating opposing elements creates harmony
- Adjusting to circumstances and involving others increases capacity to respond
- Sharing opportunity can dramatically alter the landscape of an agency’s future
- Members or the Co-op are both benefactors and recipients
Summary of Service Delivery Improvements:
- Integrated management planning, integrated finance and administration, integrated youth services – referrals, planning, and delivery with flexible staff deployment
- A signed non-competition agreement with a process to resolve conflict
- Shared expertise and resources in program development and management with open sharing of information.
- Support one another to plan, strategize and deliver services.
- Reduced service duplication.
- Provide “One stop shopping” for persons supported.
- Access to larger knowledge and skills base.
- Greater influence is achieved by speaking in a unified voice.
- Improved capacity to manage change.