The Project officially incorporated as “Pacific Immigrant Resources Society”

In 1984, the Project changed its name to become “Pacific Immigrant Resources Society” and officially incorporated as a non-profit society. For the first time, it established a Fundraising Committee to help the Society broaden its reach. With the help of the Board, its core staff and a great number of dedicated volunteers, the Society established itself more firmly, grew in program development and met the challenge of diversifying its funding and support sources. 

Thanks to the expertise of women such as Maryann Bird and Rosemary Rawnsley, the LEAD and Building Bridges programs were developed in 1986 and 1992 respectively. L.E.A.D. (then, Leadership Extension and Development), started to promote the learning of leadership abilities among bilingual immigrant women, and by 1991 expanded to train participants to run the program themselves. This new program was called “Building Bridges” and it was a monumental success: 19 women started the program and 19 graduated, prepared to make their contributions to Canadian society with greater confidence in their own abilities.