Our Mission

Through sports, arts and crafts activities, BC Newcomers helps to build friendships, community, teamwork, and confidence in recently arrived refugee children.
By teaching these skills, we equip the children with the tools needed to more easily make friends and successfully transition to the classroom when they enter the public school system. Our camps include staff members that are fluent in a variety of languages, as well as members trained in specific sports and English language teachers.

Who We Help

Recently arrived refugee children face difficulties in acclimatizing to Canada, including being at greater risk of encountering unequal access to services, social exclusion, isolation, and low educational achievement.

Many of our participants have spent large portions of their lives in refugee camps and entering a formal education system can be very intimidating.

Their lives have been marked by trauma and they haven’t had the chance to experience childhood the way most other Canadian children have. Our camp provides them with a warm welcome to Canada and allows them to have a carefree, fun experience.

Our History

2016

Inspired into action by his own childhood experience as a newcomer, as well the Syrian Refugee Crisis, Duncan Bernardo created East Vancouver Newcomer Camp Association (EVNC) along with co-founder Dakota Koch. 20 campers attended that first year, with 10 volunteer youth facilitators.

2017

Became a registered Canadian charity with two locations in East Vancouver and Surrey. We were facilitated by 8 paid employees and 7 volunteers which lead 60 children attending camps.

2018

We expanded to include 9 paid employees and 12 volunteers leading 60 children attanding camps.

2019

We had 8 paid employees and 20 passionate volunteers leading 60 children attending camps.

2022

In 2022, we had a team of 7 staff members and 30 children spread amongst two locations

2020

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we extended our after school programming online. To ensure every child had access to these digital resources, we held a Tech Drive for used laptops and tablets. Our staff and volunteers scheduled pickups with our donors to ensure the safety of everyone. In addition, we launched a new year-round music program for newcomer refugee youth while ensuring strict social distancing protocols in place.

2023

Coming soon.

2021

Looking ahead, we plan to further improve how we facilitate our programming online to ensure more children have access to learning English and feeling welcome to Canada under the new normal.

Our Campers’ Country of Origin

Recently arrived refugee and refugee claimant children between the ages of 6 and 12 years old who have arrived in Canada within the previous 12 months (Jan 2022 -Jan 2024).

Endorsements

“With the arrival of so many Syrian refugee children to the Vancouver area, we see that there is a need for pre-teen programming. Many of these children have never had any formal schooling. BC Newcomer Camp helps them get prepared to enter school this fall by providing a structured and organized educational environment.”

— Deb Bryant, CEO of YWCA Metro Vancouver

“Programmed by volunteers with strong backgrounds in athletics, and numerous Arabic speakers, BC Newcomer Camp is a fun and engaging way for refugees to learn English and sports in a supportive, nurturing environment.”