Rockets help physically challenged
r Nursing students and the Kelowna Rockets players are speaking out to bring attention to what they believe is a critically under-funded service for Okanagan youth and adults with physical and cognitive disabilities.
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r As part of their political action course in the fourth-year Bachelor of Science in Registered Nursing program at UBC Okanagan, students Tracey Beech, JoyAnne Krupa, Luisa Braun, and Brianne Soltys are throwing their support behind the Community Recreational Initiatives Society (CRIS). The Kelowna-based organization takes kids, youths and adults with disabilities on outdoor adventures using adaptive equipment.
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r “CRIS is a great program; our team and players are very keen to become involved,” states Gavin Hamilton, Vice-President of Business Development for Kelowna Rockets.
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r The students have partnered with Kelowna Rockets players Jessey Astles, Antoine Corbin, Shane McColgan, Kyle St. Denis, Adam Brown, and Tyler Matheson, whom will be taking several participants on a hike at Mission Creek Park with adaptive equipment on October 31st . Due to reductions in funding from various agencies over the past year, the students planned this hike to raise awareness of CRIS’ goals and their funding shortfalls.
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r "We’ve had a lot of financial ups and downs, but with the recent economic uncertainty, our ability to provide adaptive programming has been challenged," says CRIS founder Troy Becker. "It was clear that we needed to develop a strong and sustainable funding strategy that will guarantee the future of our program”.
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r Established in 2001 with a dream, some borrowed kayaks, and some money raised through collected bottles, last year alone CRIS volunteers dedicated over 11,000 volunteer hours with over 1,300 outdoor and wilderness outings for participants.
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r The students say it's natural for nurses to be concerned about any threat to programs that help people with disabilities, who otherwise might have no access to outdoor recreation.
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r "Our group's goal is to create awareness about CRIS and how they are improving the quality of life for such a marginalized population," says JoyAnne Krupa. “And we want to make sure people know about their latest funding initiative, the Rescue House."
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r This initiative is a collaboration between CRIS and other community partners. Essentially, a new home will be built in a Central Okanagan neighbourhood — using contributed labour, materials and land — and will be sold at market value, with the proceeds going to support the organization's adaptive outdoor programming in the Okanagan.
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r The nursing students will be at Mission Creek Park EECO Centre at 3 p.m. on October 31 with information about CRIS, the Rescue House project, and how people can get involved.
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r For information, contact JoyAnne Krupa at [email protected].
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