Reach Child and Youth Development Society has hit a milestone in its fundraising campaign to build a child development centre in the heart of Ladner.
Thanks to several recent sizable corporate donations, as well as strong community support from groups like the Delta Agricultural Society, Reach has hit the $1 million mark on the way to its $4 million goal.
"We received a lot of community support and we're really focusing now on the corporate sector," Reach Foundation chair Barbara Wallick told the Optimist. "I'm really excited that we reached $1 million, and this is the result of recent funding commitments from the port-related companies, including Westshore Terminals, and the proceeds from Port Metro Vancouver's gala."
The project is a partnership between the society, the Corporation of Delta and the Ladner-Tsawwassen Kinsmen Cub. Reach formed a separate foundation, chaired by Wallick, aimed at helping the society reach the ambitious fundraising goal by 2015.
Wallick noted the port-related companies and others that have recently given are spreading the word about the project, helping Reach get closer to other potential corporate donors.
Delta will provide the land, valued at $1 million, while it's up to the society and foundation to raise the money to build the 20,000square-foot facility on the edge of Memorial Park.
The Kinsmen Club will use space in the new building, while the facility will give Reach a much larger and updated place to provide programs for youth with special needs. The society also operates two pre-schools where kids with special needs can learn alongside their typically-developed peers.
The non-profit group, which was founded in 1959, serves around 900 youths a year. The society's current centre on 72nd Street in East Ladner is too small and in a less than ideal location.
In a presentation to Delta council earlier this month, society president Rob vanSpronssen noted the rate of autism, in particular, is increasing, which means the demand for Reach's services will only increase.
Having two children of his own with developmental challenges, who are now well functioning young adults, thanks largely to early intervention services, vanSpronssen said it's critical no child be stuck on a waiting list.
"There are profound social and economic benefits with investment in the early years of childhood.
That's when it pays off," he said. "So waitlists are a real problem for our kids.
You make a kid wait five years and they've missed the boat with their brain development, so every dollar invested saves dollars in the long-term.
"Many kids with special needs can ultimately become gainfully employed and some will hold volunteer positions. My oldest boy does just that with the food bank."
vanSpronssen said the location for the new centre is a better spot for many reasons, but it's also important to be in the heart of the community.
"This is not just a functional move, it's a principle move. Fifty years ago when we first started, it wasn't very popular to have a disabled child in the community. Boy, has that changed.
"By building in a highly accessible, central area of town, we will help children with special needs be part of the community, not apart from the community. We need this new building to get more kids and more family support - double the kids in the mid-term and triple in the long-term."
vanSpronssen said the new centre would enable Reach to offer a wider range of services, including vocational training for high-functioning youths who have autism.
It will also have community space, including meeting rooms and a kitchen, in addition to a new home for the Kinsmen.
The goal is to have the centre operational by 2017.
For more information about the society and the fundraising campaign, visit www.reachdevelopment. org/campaign.
