Newsletter for May

May Your Day's Be Bright!

Happy May from Langley Pos-Abilities Society! Complete the poll to have your input about newsletter content. This newsletter introduces our new President and so much more!

Our New President

Bill Robson was born and raised in the North-East of England. He emigrated to Canada in 1974 and continued his banking career with The Bank of Nova Scotia after having worked for the Midland Bank in England for almost seven years. Bill retired from banking in 2011 after 43 years in the industry. Bill is married to Lona and has two daughters, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Bill was invited to join the provisional Rotary Club of Cloverdale in 1993 and went on to be the Charter President. He is now a member of the Langley Central Rotary.

Bill has served at the District level in several positions including District Governor for Rotary District 5050 for

2015/2016.

He is now completing a three-year term at the Zone level.

Bill has been fortunate to travel widely through and on behalf of Rotary. He has been to Ethiopia, Uganda, New Zealand, Brazil, China, South Korea, Japan and, of course, many places in the USA and Canada.

Bill is looking forward to being able to help LPAS with its programs and administration.

Bill speaks English but can order a beer in several other languages.

Search for a New Board Member

Would you like to join our Board? We are currently looking for a new board member. If you are organized, have initiative and enjoy taking on new projects this could be the position for you! We would prefer a person with a disability but please apply regardless. Apply Now

Langley Pos-Abilities and Pampered Chef Celebrate Dads

Wow! Father's Day will be here before you know it so you’ll want to get something special for the amazing man in your life (or maybe even for YOURSELF!!). How about gifting him with the perfect Pampered Chef electric appliance or grilling gadget while at the same time raising funds for a worthy cause? Join the LPAS Board of Directors, Executive Director, Zosia Ettenberg and PC Senior Consultant Rose Hominick to say thank-you to the father-figure in your life and support the work of Langley Pos-Abilities. Go to the online party page and see recipes. videos, posts and games. Join in the fun and while you’re at it, place an order. Orders will be sent directly to you from Pampered Chef. Langley Pos-Abilities and Pampered Chef Canada thank you for your participation.

Friday, May 28 to Monday, May 31st.

Join the Party page:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/472055524014491

Order page:

www.pamperedchef.ca/party/posabilities0528

Strategic Plan

Every three years, the board gathers together to create a strategic plan for the future. The board this year is eager to plan the future with the help of Cam Taylor, a Professional Certified Coach with the International Coach Federation and a Certified Executive Coach with the Center for Executive Coaching. With Cam's help we will be able to discover who we are as a board, ways to improve and what should be focused on in the future. Everyone agrees that the board should have these qualities: Inclusion, diversity, equality, acceptance. We should be innovative, supportive, work as a team, be committed, have drive, passion and collaborate on ideas. By the end of June, our strategic plan will be in place.

Volunteer With Us!

Tedd's Scooter

Recommendation from Sandy:

Hi Paul,

On behalf of Tedd Vallis, Doug, and Myself, we want to thank you and your volunteers for making Tedd's life a bit brighter. Thank you to the dear lady who founded this program and for her vision to help others. You have blessed many people, may you too be blessed this day and always.

Sandy

Receiving a message like this makes all the effort worth it. It means more than you can imagine!

Personal Assistive Devices Program

Through our P.A.D. Program, it is possible to request a personal assistive piece of equipment. If you would like to browse available equipment, please visit our catalog. Information about requesting or donating equipment can be found on our website.

TOAD Program

Through this program, we aim to provide:

disability-awareness education for private or public organizations as well as the business community
an atmosphere of cooperation between other service organizations and ourselves, to ensure individuals with disability are aware of programs and funding which will further their independence and inclusion in society
accessibility audits and certification for private or public organizations and local businesses

This program is not running currently due to COVID but don't let this stop you from planning for the future. For more information visit: TOAD Program

New Horizons Program

This is a pilot project to repair personal assistive devices for those people who have no ability to obtain money to repair them.

To promote our philosophy of giving a hand up, not a handout, candidates for the service are required to be part of the process and to meet the following conditions:

There is no other funding available to repair the item.
A written quote has been prepared by a reputable mobility aid shop.
The appropriate forms have been completed and submitted online.
The candidate will be expected to pay part of the repair.

Ed Roberts

Do You Know Who Ed Roberts Is?

At the age of 14, Ed contracted polio and was contained to an iron lung to help him breathe. As he grew older he was able to come out of the iron lung for small periods of time to continue his education, go to college, and become an activist for people with disabilities.

Do You Know How He Changed The World?

He insisted on living his life. Confined to a wheelchair, he attended protests and aggressively insisted that people with disabilities have rights. He wanted people with disabilities to be able to have an education, hold a job and sought to destroy traditional stereotypes about disabled people. He also wanted to be able to travel easily in a wheelchair around the city. Every curb cut on the corners of intersections is a tribute to him.

1960

Ed enrolled at U.C. Berkeley. A room at the campus hospital is converted into a living space that suits his needs, including the iron lung. He had a wheelchair attendant to help him get around. Eventually, other people with disabilities joined him at the university and they formed a group, "The Rolling Quads". They started advocating for inclusion in public life and for respect.

1970

Powerchairs had become popular and Ed realized the potential opportunities for traveling without a wheelchair attendant. Unfortunately, there was a problem: There were no curb cuts to allow movement in a powerchair from sidewalk to crosswalk. At that time, there was a six inch drop from the sidewalk to the crosswalk, making it impossible for someone in a wheelchair or powerchair to navigate intersections on their own. To deal with this problem, Ed, with the Rolling Quads and wheelchair attendants, sometimes went out late at night with bags of concrete to build their own ramps at intersections. They also went to Berkeley City Council to insist that curb cuts be put in at street corners in the city. It worked! The disability rights movement continued to carry on beyond Berkeley, to people around the world demanding curb cuts in their own city, wheelchair lifts on buses, accessible washrooms and much more. The demands and protests continued into the 1980's and 1990's.

Today

Ed Roberts is remembered as an international symbol of independence. He broke stereotypes, co-founded the Center of Independent Living and ran the Department of Rehabilitation Services in California for almost a decade. We are thankful for all he contributed and his insistence on living a full life. The next time you see a curb cut, think of him.

Learning More

If you would like to learn more about this amazing man, the people in his life and the changes he helped to create, please go to 99percentinvisible.org, episode: curb-cuts. We hope you enjoy listening to the podcast, reading the article or watching the related videos!

Brookswood Plaza

If you have visited the Brookswood Plaza, you may have realized how dangerous this place can be for people with disabilities or mother's with strollers. It lacks ramps for accessible movement between shops, forcing the individual to move through the parking lot.

At Langley Pos-Abilities, we believe that change is necessary. In the video above, we talk about why the Plaza is so dangerous and a solution to this problem. We have also started a petition to demand this change.

Please, sign our petition.

Is there scrap metal or unwanted vehicles in your yard to get rid of?

Donate your unwanted vehicle or any scrap metal to our organization and Your Choice to Donate will pick it up from your place FOR FREE!

Metal items that can be recycled and donated can be found here.

If you are interested in donating any metal scrap or vehicles, please call us at (604) 354-1722.

Have bottles to get rid of?

Donate your bottles to Langley Pos-Abilities to support our cause.

100% Proceeds go to our Charity.

Visit Langley Bottle Depot at 20137 Industrial Avenue, Langley, BC, V3A 4K6.

Our Return-It Account number is 711.

Your support and donation mean the world to us!

Poll

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