Teagan Lyseng wanted to do something really special for her 10th birthday.
The youngster decided she wanted to help children with special needs in her community, so for her birthday party last month she asked friends to donate to the Reach Child and Youth Development Society instead of giving her presents.
Reach is a non-profit organization in Delta that provides programs and therapies for children and youth with special needs.
Reach has a special meaning to Teagan: When she was an infant she experienced challenges meeting some of the typical developmental milestones, so her mother brought her to Reach.
Teagan's mother said the speech therapy program worked wonders on her daughter's confidence and ability to express herself, and said now that she has grown, Teagan wants to help other children experiencing the same challenges. Teagan's friends had a great time at her birthday party at Delta Gymnastics, and generously brought donations that added up to $200. Teagan's grandmother was so proud that she matched the money raised at the party, and Teagan was able to bring in a donation of $400.
Teagan asked the donations go towards Reach's Building for Children Together project to help build a child development centre in Ladner for children with special needs. To date, Reach's building project has raised $1.3 million of its $4 million goal, all from donations by businesses, service groups and individuals like Teagan. The new centre will include new therapy and meeting rooms, Reach's inclusive preschool, an outdoor accessible playground for the whole community, as well as a learning centre for youth with special needs and a resource centre for families.
The centre will be larger than Reach's current facility, enabling expanded programs and allowing Reach to serve more children and youth with special needs.
Reach is asking for support from the community this holiday season through donations to the new centre. To help, it has developed Reach pledge pages where people can post stories and photos and appeal to friends and family to donate.
To create a pledge page or make a donation, go to www.reachdevelopment. org/pledge, visit www.reachdevelopment.org or call 604-946-6622 ext.0.
