![BARBECUE VOLUNTEERS: [Back row, from left] Friends of qathetSafe volunteers Danielle Welp-Ellis, Abi Woolley, Abigail Welp-Ellis, Graham Welp, Rob Southcott, Linda Cumming, Donna Rekve, Pamela Ellis, Monique Harwood-Lynn, Teresa Harwood-Lynn. [Front row, from left] manager of Grace House Martyn Woolley, and Friends of qathetSafe volunteer Benjamin Fairless.](https://www.vmcdn.ca/f/files/powellriverpeak/images/people/2839_qathetsafe_edit_bbq.jpg;w=960;h=640;bgcolor=000000)
Grace House manager Martyn Woolley and Friends of qathetSafe (Safety and Advocacy for Everyone) stepped up to provide nourishment and a much needed break for 200 youth participating in International Choral Kathaumixw, a weeklong choir festival which concluded last weekend in Powell River.
The youth choir barbecue hosted by Friends of qathetSafe began in the late afternoon at the Rotary pavilion at Willingdon Beach on July 6, with volunteers rushing to prepare and set out condiments, buns, hot dogs and watermelon for the hungry youth singers.
“This [barbecue] is being done under the umbrella of qathetSafe who runs poverty law, special victims services and Grace House,” expressed Woolley.
All of the services provided by qathetSafe support women fleeing domestic violence.
For many of the youth choir participants, travelling here included riding on a ferry boat for the first time. For most it was their first time travelling abroad and experiencing the qathet region.
Kathaumixw depends on hundreds of volunteers such as Friends of qathetSafe to provide lodging, food and transportation to the visitors from around the world. The Canadian charity qathetSafe aims to support “an empowered community free of violence” and has four programs in the qathet region.
Ann Kurtz is currently executive director of qathetSafe. Grace House is a transition/support house for those who identify as women in need of emergency shelter and supportive recovery. For more information about qathetSafe and Kathaumixw, go to qathetsafe.ca or kathaumixw.org.
