At this time on behalf of the Langley Pos-Abilities Board of directors and volunteers it is my pleasure to wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
First and foremost allow me to offer our heartfelt thanks for your generosity in 2016. Your ongoing help and support has allowed us to continue in our mandates and grow our programs. I would like to share with you some of our successes in 2016 that were made possible by your support.
But first here are some of our very positive outcomes in 2016. Because of your support we were able to:
- Be active in our community by participating in a number of Community Events such as Langley Community Days, Canada Day and several community displays. We were also invited to educate people through our "Try on a Disability" program and at a Diversity Seminar in Burnaby, St John's Ambulance in Abbotsford and Kwantlen Polytechnique University in Langley. We also invited the community to an Open House in June to show off our facility.
- Our gaming grant this year provided extra money to allow us to purchase two trailers - one for our wheelchair obstacle course and the second is a cargo trailer to transport the donated equipment to and from our clients.
- To date this year we have collected 25 pieces of equipment. These include wheelchairs, scooters, power chairs, lift chairs, walkers, bathroom aids, CPAP Units and Magnifiers for the blind, etc. In 2016 we have provided21 pieces of equipment to people in need. We are looking for ways to be able to ask for some specialized pieces of equipment as we often are asked for equipment that we don't have. The following is a link to a video describing how this service impacts on the people we assist. You will see that we can change people's lives. http://pos-abilities.org/donate/
- In 2016, our Education Program featuring the Try on a Disability documentary includes closed captioning thus aiding those who are hearing challenged. We need to create more DVD's as we have very few left. The fourth annual Day of Pos-abilities was held in Douglas Park it again and celebrated the abilities of people with disabilities.
- This year we had two Pub Nights and a Fashion Show for able bodied and disabled models. That proved to be well accepted and something which can be repeated again.
We have been very fortunate in being able to cover the costs of our Showroom/Storage facility this year and it had made it a lot easier to access our equipment and to allow others to come and find things that may be suitable. Again money is needed to fund that and for the past three years our gaming grant has provided a lot of the money for that program.
Everything we do is accomplished with the help of our wonderful team of volunteers, who give unstintingly of their time and talents to help others. We must fund raise to provide money for the operating expenses
So as 2016 draws to a close, we find ourselves worrying about the funding to do our programs. One of the challenges is that the costs of repairs has jumped significantly this year. I realize that, at this time of year, there are very many worthwhile causes to support and I understand there are only so many dollars to go around. But our need is great.
I am asking you to consider making Langley Pos-Abilities your charity of choice this Christmas. We have a Revenue Canada Tax number and can provide you with a tax receipt for any donation of $20 or more. If you would like to have more information, please feel free to call me at 604-961-0117.
Thank you in advance for your support and again at this time on behalf of the Board members and volunteers and allow me to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.
Donations can be made on line
on
our website or mailed to Unit 80 -2270 - 196 St. Langley BC V2Z 1N6