The Kootenay Child Development Centre officially opens its doors on Sunday, April 1st, 2012 and I couldn’t be more excited for the families here in the Kootenays because I know how needed these services are and how hard people have worked to make this Centre a reality.
You see, even though there’s an estimated 700 children with disabilities in our region the nearest community of specialists is a 4½ hour drive through the Rocky mountains away.
And, even though we’re the only region in BC without this type of centre it wasn’t until last week that the provincial government announced it would provide $100,000.00 funding to our region for a child development centre.
Our community didn’t give up on doing what’s best for the children and families in our communities. In 2009 Community Connections Society of South East BC purchased the old Shannon’s Fabrics and planning and fundraising efforts began in earnest.
Thanks to the organizational and fundraising efforts of Gwen Noble, Jan McGinn, Patricia Whalen, Gail Brown and others and the generous support of families, individuals and businesses the Society has raised over $900,000 of its $1.1 million goal since 2009.
Anyone who’s familiar with Whimsical Publishing and Miss Emily Goes to Bat knows that Micheline and I are a part of that enthusiastic group of Kootenay Child Development Centre (KCDC) supporters.
When we first launched Miss Emily Goes to Bat we did a number of library and classroom readings and pledged 20% of our retail sales to the Centre. We’re also excited to donate two signed, numbered and framed prints of Miss Emily to the Centre.
Congratulations to everyone in the Kootenay region for making this centre a reality –it wouldn’t be a reality without your support! 🙂
For more information on the Kootenay Child Development Centre and some of its incredible sponsors or to make a donation visit the KCDC website at www.kootenaycdc.ca.
~ Trina
