British Commonwealth Society

History

 

The Society first came into existence as the "British Society" in 1922 when it was granted legal status by the Chilean Government. The name was later changed to “British Commonwealth Society” (BCS) which is still used today.

 

The legal status requires annual filings to be made with the Chilean Ministry of Justice to ensure our continuity as a registered charity.

 

The Society has undergone many changes since it was founded 90+ years ago.

 

• Until the 90s, the Society ran a Retirement home (Commonwealth House) for people from the community. This was finally closed due to the increasing complexity of running such a home and the cost arising from the requirements of the Dept. of Health and other authorities.

• An enthusiastic group of lady members operated a very successful “Casi Nuevo” shop for many years which sold second-hand clothing and other goods in Nuñoa. This too was closed when the situation of the clothing industry changed with cheap imports from Asia.

• Since then, the Society has raised funds with social and cultural events, and more recently, film premieres held in conjunction with the Royal British Legion, as well as theatre productions and other events, with the assistance and partnership of the Instituto Chileno-Británico de Cultura.

 

 Why We Exist

 

See our objectives included under our Mission Statement

 

Current Activities and financing

 

Over the years, the prime activity of the Society has been financial assistance to persons in the community who have fallen on hard times.  This is carried out through:

• The management and administration by the BCS Committee of financial assets held by the BCS, as well as the long-standing entrusted shareholding in PWCC (Inmobiliaria Príncipe de Gales) and the Country Club in Concepción (Inmobiliaria Pedro de Valdivia).

• Administrating the support of community members in need.

• Planning and promotion of social and cultural fund-raising activities:

  • Theatre productions from abroad.

  • Backgammon nights.

  • Film premieres.

  • National Theatre Live (NTL) performances at the Teatro Nescafé de Las Artes (e.g. The Audience, War Horse, Hamlet and As You Like It).

• Administration of the BCS cemetery plots in the Cementerio General on behalf of community members and families. The BCS has some cemetery plots available for sale should anyone be interested in purchasing one.

• The raising of funds through an annual appeal for donations.  Traditionally, these have come from two sources:

  • Individuals –  Members and supporters.

  • Institutions – Santiago Community Church (through their Outreach Committee) and the International Association of Chile, both of whom have made generous donations in the past.

 

Monthly Newsletter (now included in our Webpage)

 

• The BCS Newsletter started publication more than 9 years ago, in November 2009, and was sent out monthly between March and December by e-mail to all our Members and Supporters, as well as anyone else interested in receiving it, at no cost. Its main purpose was to keep our readers informed about community events.  

• This has now been replaced by an updated Newsletter which is included on this webpage under NEWS.

 

Membership  

 

• We are always looking for new members.  Membership is not onerous, although we look for volunteers from the membership to help with the social activities. If you are interested and are not yet a Member or Supporter, please contact the BCS Administrative Secretary by sending us a message from this webpage under Contact Us.

• For legal purposes, since 2013 we have established that $10,000 pesos from each donation received will be considered a membership fee.

• Members will benefit from discounts on tickets to BCS organised social and cultural events.

 

BCS Office 

 

• ​BCS has a part-time Administrative Secretary (Pamela Yorston) who works on Wednesday mornings in the SCC vestry (Holanda 151, Providencia). For inquiries, etc. she can be contacted at britishcomsoc@gmail.com