Founded by Paul and Andrea Woodward, the Koru Pacific Foundation is a private foundation committed to helping children and families with access to food, shelter, basic infrastructure, education, and health care.
Our mission is to provide financial support to Canadian registered charities offering programs and initiatives aligned with our goals, focusing on children and families with diverse needs both locally and around the world.
The Koru Pacific Foundation is run entirely on a volunteer basis, has no full-time staff and all administration costs are fully funded by Koru Pacific Development Ltd., meaning 100% of every dollar goes directly to the benefit of the initiatives we strive to support.
We feel fortunate to have been able to provide support to the following organizations in 2021.
Ronald McDonald House BC and Yukon
When parents have a child who is battling a serious illness and the specialized care required is hours from home, the situation can feel overwhelming. Paul learned first-hand how invaluable the support of a Ronald McDonald House can be during a very difficult time.
For over 35 years, Ronald McDonald House BC has offered accommodation that keeps children and families close to that specialized care and an incredible community of support. Today, RMH BC is a wonderful 73-bedroom house located near BC Children’s Hospital.
The Koru Pacific Foundation has made a 3-year commitment to adopt one of these rooms.
Backpack Buddies
Families across BC living in poverty struggle to keep food on the table over the weekends when school meal programs are closed. For almost 4,000 families, Backpack Buddies provides a weekly bag of food including nine meals and snacks to feed children for the weekend and beyond. From seaweed snacks and hummus to sweet peppers and tuna, these weekly bags are loaded with kid-approved food to keep kids growing.
Last year Backpack Buddies delivered over 49,000 backpacks of food to children across British Columbia who would otherwise not have eaten on the weekend.
Andrea enjoyed volunteering with the team at the North Vancouver warehouse last year and is looking forward to helping out again in 2022.
The Koru Pacific Foundation is pleased to have been able to make a financial contribution in 2021 to help provide meals for BC kids.
Baraka Canada
Baraka Community Partnerships is a charity committed to improving education, healthcare, water and sanitation in Zambia and Laos. Baraka Canada was started in 2013 with the original goal to support medical trips to Zambia by building a working relationship between Peace Arch Hospital in White Rock, BC and Kabwe Hospital in Zambia. Since then, the Zambia mission has expanded. As well as sending out teams of doctors and nurses to Zambia on a biennial basis, Baraka Canada has become increasingly involved in fund-raising activities, working with sponsored children, and providing financial aid for a learning centre and other educational projects in Zambia. Recently, with the support of a small group of Canadian ladies they are also now focusing efforts on funding the New Dawn Safe House in Maamba, for vulnerable teenage girls.
As a former board member and volunteer in Zambia, Laos and Morocco, Andrea has witnessed the impact that Baraka has on the communities in which it works and the Koru Pacific Foundation is proud to provide financial support for their mission in Zambia.
Charitable Registration Number: 786599464RR0001