Crescent Beach Community Services
Contact Information
Crescent Beach Community Services
at Camp Alexandra
2916 McBride Avenue, Crescent Beach
Surrey, BC V4A 3G2
Phone: 604-535-0015
Fax: 604-535-2720
www.campalex.com
info@cbcscampalexandra.com
General Description
Camp Alexandra was founded in 1916 as a summer camp for children from the Alexandra Orphanage, one of the first buildings constructed on the west side of Vancouver. The children were given a month at camp in Crescent Beach to rest, relax, and gain health and strength, and the results were so good that in 1916, the Board of Management purchased a permanent site there and established the ‘Alexandra Fresh Air Camp’. By 1930, the Orphanage had joined the Vancouver Welfare Federation, (now the United Way), and the Crescent Beach camp had become an important service for the needy who required much more than fresh air and sunshine. Symbolic of this thinking was the change in name in the 1940’s from the ‘Alexandra Fresh Air Camp’ to ‘Camp Alexandra.’
The camp continued to operate in the summer for the next 30 years until the residents of Crescent Beach demonstrated a strong desire to have a neighbourhood center in their community. The camp was an ideal location and in December 1972, once the buildings were winterized, Crescent Beach Community Services was established and a Board of Management began to plan for the provision of community services. Ongoing year-round funding was secured when, in January 1974, CBCS was granted the status of a Neighbourhood House in the Neighbourhood Services Association, the evolution of the original Alexandra Orphanage. NSA is now the Association of Neighbourhood Houses of Greater Vancouver.
CBCS at Camp Alexandra quickly developed into a viable social and recreational centre, serving not just the immediate neighbourhood, but all residents of the Semiahmoo Peninsula. The demand for social services has continued to increase proportionally with residential immigration, and upgrading of the facilities and expansion of programs and services are ongoing.
Today Camp Alexandra is a Neighbourhood House, a residential summer camp and an overnight retreat by the ocean. Programming, services and special events reflect the changing needs and interests of our rapidly growing community, providing stability, valuing diversity and promoting a sense of belonging and sharing.
Current major sources of funding include the United Way of the Lower Mainland, the Ministry of Children and Family Development, Human Resources Development Canada, rental and catering revenues, the BC Gaming and Policy Enforcement Branch and program fees. Other smaller, but important sources of revenue include grants/donations from foundations and service clubs, individual donations and memberships, the Alexandra Foundation and internal fundraising activities.