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Thank you for supporting Spinal Cord Injury BC! This booklet will tell you more about how your dollars are making an impact in your community.
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A newsletter for new supporters ofSpinal Cord Injury BC
Welcome to SCI BC and thank you for your support. Thanks to passionate and dedicated donors like you, we are able to help people with spinal cord injuries or related disabilities – and their families – adjust, adapt and thrive in communities throughout the province.
About Spinal Cord Injury BCH o w a c o m m u n i t y w a s c re a t e dThe Canadian Paraplegic Association was born out of the ashes of WWII. Prior to the 1940’s, people with spinal cord injuries rarely survived. Soldiers returning from battle as paraplegics and quadriplegics found the physical environment at home to be unwelcoming and isolating. Nor did their family, friends and health care professionals have any real expertise or ability to truly understand what these men were going through.
A group of injured soldiers formed together and set out to create a community of “members helping members”, learning from each other – their peers – on how to meet the uphill struggle of adjusting to a new life where everything had changed, forever.
Here in British Columbia, the Canadian Paraplegic Association – known today as Spinal Cord Injury BC (SCI BC) – broke down barriers preventing people with spinal cord injuries from engaging in and contributing within an “able bodied” world. Thanks to donors like you, the spirit of this post-war organization is alive and thriving.
INSIDE• The Gifford Family Story
• How Your Donation Makes an Impact• Keep in Touch
The Gifford Family Story
“My father doesn’t get out of his comfort zone ever, and his comfort zone for the last 35 years has been his chair and his computer,” says Rachel Allenbrand, Paul’s daughter.
“He’s always talked about hiking and fishing and boating, and as a little girl I always wanted to do those things with him, but we never had the ability to do it,” says Rachel. “It was such a milestone for him.”
The Gifford family joined SCI BC in April 2013 and Rachel is now one of our most active volunteers and fundraisers in the Okanagan, and Paul rarely misses one of our weekly coffee groups. “I just wish we had discov-ered this organization sooner!” says Rachel.
Events like this don’t just help people with spinal cord injuries and their families participate in new activities, they help to break down barriers, build self- confidence, and create friendships and communities of support that last a lifetime. None of this could be achieved without the support of donors like you.
This summer, Paul Gifford did something he thought he would never do again. “We went up the side of a mountain,” says Paul. “It was really exciting. The last time I went up a mountain was 35 years ago, before I got hurt. What an adven-ture. It’s given me an opportunity to do something there’s no way I could normally do myself.”
Paul is quadriplegic; with little to no upper body function, he uses a power wheelchair with a set of sip and puff straws to get around. This past June, he was one of the 85 people who joined Spinal Cord Injury BC (SCI BC) on a camping trip for peer members and their families in Fintry Provincial Park.
Thanks to donors like you, SCI BC provided dozens of people like Paul the opportunity to reach beyond their comfort zones. They had a chance to go camping and to challenge themselves with adaptive sports like kayaking, waterskiing and hiking—in many cases for the first time since they were injured.
Visit our YouTube page to hear from
Paul, Rachel and many others about
the impact that SCI BC and donors
like you are making in their lives.
How Your Donation Makes an ImpactOur mission is to give people with spinal cord injuries or related disabilities — and their families — the connections, support and key information they need to adjust, adapt and thrive in their communities. Whether someone is dealing with a new injury, or with the ongoing challenge of living and aging with a physical disability, we’re here to help.
2012-2013 SNAPSHOT
InfoLine 1-800-689-2477The BEST Resource for living well with a spinal cord injury in British Columbia.
Other Ways You Can Help• Become a monthly donor• Include a bequest to Spinal Cord Injury BC in your will• Make a tribute gift to recognize a special occasion or person• Volunteer at an event• Plan a workplace campaign
Stay in TouchTo find out more about these and other ways you can help, please contact us.
Shelley or Maureen will be happy to speak with you.
www.sci-bc.ca 780 SW Marine Drive, Vancouver BC
Call Us: 604-324-3611 // Toll-Free: 1-877-324-3611
Twitter: @SCI_BC // Facebook: SpinalCordInjuryBC
YouTube: SpinalCordInjuryBC // LinkedIn: SpinalCordInjuryBC
Charitable # 11883 5024Registered as the Canadian Paraplegic Association (B.C.)
Maureen Brownlee Manager of [email protected]
Shelley Milstein Manager of [email protected]
These were some of our major supporters in 2012/2013. For a complete list of our supporters, please visit www.sci-bc.ca
