Giving Back to the Community
2020 was a different year for everyone.
More than ever, it is important to give back to our communities and to support initiatives that provide change and promote social justice.
As part of our annual efforts to give back to the community, OT Works! is pleased to support Vancouver-based Project Change Foundation for another year. Change is central to the philosophy of occupational therapy and our therapists facilitate change to promote health and recovery.
Project Change Foundation provides financial and other support to early-stage charities in Canada with significant potential for creating social or environmental change.
In previous years, the Foundation has already provided grants and support to charities such as Chilliwack Restorative Justice and Youth Advocacy Association, The Lipstick Project, Backpack Buddies, and Binners’ Project.
This year, Project Change was able to support two organizations: Inspire Community Outreach and Refugee Women’s Network.
Inspire Community Outreach is an incorporated non-profit social services agency providing evidence and culturally informed, family-centered education and programming, designed to meet the needs of those living with mental health issues and neurological/cognitive differences.
Read more about the Inspire Community Outreach on their website: inspirecommunityoutreach.ca
Refugee Women’s Network empowers refugee and new immigrant women with tools and resources to enhance and develop their skills through education to successfully integrate into Canadian society while still maintaining respective cultural values.
Read more about Refugee Women’s Network on their website: refugeewomensnetwork.org
Learn more about Project Change: projectchangefoundation.com
OT Works! also continues to support other organizations as they empower people in Canada and around the world, such as WWF, Plan Canada and Because I am a Girl.
Supporting Our Global Community: 2019 Run for Water
Last Sunday, OT Works! therapists and their families ran in support of Bekkye and other communities in Ethiopia. The 2019 Run for Water at Mill Lake Park (Abbotsford) raises funds for clean drinking water projects in these rural areas.
OT Works! Involvement
While our OTs work locally, we also want to have a global effect. As healthcare providers, OT Works! recognizes the impact one’s environment can have on well-being. By improving access to clean water, a community can transform. We are thrilled to have fund-raised and contributed over $2,226 to clean drinking water in Bekyye, Ethiopia.
About Bekyye
Bekyye currently has no access to clean water. Girls and women journey for hours every day to fetch water from rivers and ponds for cooking, cleaning, drinking and animal care. With the funds raised last weekend, as well as funds mobilized by the community of Bekyye itself (who are raising 10% of the project cost), access to safe, clean, and local drinking water can become a reality. The project aims to enable:
- Children to attend school
- Mothers to start businesses
- Fathers to water their crops
- Reduction in the transmission of waterborne diseases
Meet Kibra
Kibra is the youngest of 10 children and besides having to walk for two hours every day to fetch water for her family, she was travelling on foot for another two hours a day just to get to her elementary school. Five years ago, Run for Water began a sponsorship program in the communities where they bring clean water; this sponsorship provides a scholarship for girls to go to high school and university. Kibra was one of those recipients. Her story is an incredible example of what a small investment can do to change an entire community. Watch her story here:
Learn more and donate at Runforwater.ca.