Reach Child and Youth Development Society is well on its way to giving dozens of local children the gift of speech this holiday season.
Among its many other services, Reach provides speech therapy to children with complex development needs using augmentative tools like iPads that help children communicate for the first time, and last month the society kicked off its annual Gift of Speech holiday campaign with the aim of removing 50 children from its speech therapy waitlist.
READ MORE: Help Reach give the Gift of Speech this holiday season (Nov. 30, 2021)
In the three weeks since, the society has raised $28,960 — enough to provide therapy for 58 children — thanks to the generosity of community members and local businesses like Annacis Island’s Fraserway RV, which gifted Reach with $5,000 towards the campaign on Dec. 16.
“Fraserway RV’s generosity will provide an amazing 100 hours of speech therapy for Reach children,” Reach Society executive director Renie D’Aquila said in a press release.
Reach has now extended the campaign’s goal to $37,500 in the hopes of removing even more kids from the waitlist and providing them with the augmentative tools vital for speech therapy sessions.
“Many children have speech deficits that can limit their future and it is critical to provide support as early as possible,” Reach Society said in a press release.
A gift of $50 will allow one child to receive a speech therapy session, and 10 sessions are enough to make a meaningful difference to a family.
To donate to the 2021 Gift of Speech campaign, visit canadahelps.org/en/charities/reach-society/campaign/2021-gift-of-speech.
Reach Child and Youth Development Society is a non-profit charitable society that has been providing services to children and their families since 1959. Reach currently provides programs and services to over 1,000 children and their families in Delta, Surrey and Langley every year.
editor@northdeltareporter.com
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