Comox Valley ElderCollege (CVEC) celebrated 25 years at North Island College鈥檚 (NIC) Stan Hagen Theatre Friday (Sept. 6).

CVEC has delivered lifelong learning to older residents in the community since 1999. As part of the celebration, CVEC presented a cheque for $35,000 to set up an endowment with the North Island College Foundation. To date, the CVEC has donated more than $163,000 to NIC for bursaries. 

Chair John North talked about how the Comox Valley branch is one of the largest in the country, growing from about one hundred members when it started. While COVID-19 affected attendance for a bit, the enrolment numbers have returned.

鈥淲e鈥檝e now got a thousand members again,鈥� North said. 鈥淲e look forward to many, many years of working together with the college.鈥�

The program has even promoted the Comox Valley. NIC President and CEO Lisa Domae said she hears raves from people all over the province.

鈥淲ithout fail, someone tells me they were drawn to the Comox Valley because of ElderCollege,鈥� she said, adding that NIC has learned much from its partnership with CVEC.