Summer Fun campers got together a couple weeks ago at Memorial Park in Ladner for a wrap-up barbecue.
Clad in orange T-shirts, the participants of the six-week Delta Life Skills Society program got a chance to enjoy music, food and sunny weather at the all-sites event.
Summer Fun, in its 26th year of operation, has served children with a wide range of disabilities, helping them continue the life skills they've learned through school.
"It's awesome," said Terri Inouye, a board member with the society and also a parent with two kids in Summer Fun.
"It's six weeks of them going out and doing something. Six weeks of having activities they can participate in," she said.
Activities include outings to local parks, beaches, swimming pools, Grouse Mountain, Playland and the Reifel Bird Sanctuary, noted program director Margot O'Reilly.
"We go places and do things," she said.
She said the budget for the summer is around $200,000 and the parents fundraise about $180,000 of that.
"A lot of our kids have really high needs so most of our staffing is one-to-one.
That's what costs so much to run the program."
O'Reilly said the staff is dedicated and really good at what they do.
"It's like one big family." The program, which has sites in South Delta and North Delta, runs for six weeks in the summer and starts right after the July long weekend. Kids need to live in Delta to participate.
For more information on the program, including an application form, visit deltalifeskills.net.
dwillis@delta-optimist.com
