HELP CREATE MEMORIES TO EMPOWER A LIFETIME
If Codi didn’t believe in showing her children they should try everything once, she may not have left her hotel room in Tofino that morning. The thought of putting on a wetsuit to try surfing was equally exciting and panic inducing.
“Having sustained a spinal cord injury a little more than two years ago, I’ve become accustomed to trying new things because, well, everything seems new. Surfing though, surfing was way out of my comfort zone,” Codi says. “I really did wonder how I was going to accomplish this. I wondered how my children would do this. I discovered it would be with a lot of help from some amazing people.”
Codi is a Power To Be participant — one of more than 1,400 people living with a barrier or disability that the non-profit supports. In addition to surfing trips, year-round programs in Victoria and Vancouver connect people to nature through activities such as hiking, camping, canoeing and kayaking. The activities offered and landscapes explored are as diverse as the people Power To Be serves because they focus on individual ability. One thing, however, is consistent. Power To Be creates community inclusion and access to nature for as long as an individual or family needs.
“How do you prove that our programs work?” asks Tim Cormode, executive director. “At the end of the day, for me, if there is this perk of life that you can’t really describe, you can only feel and see it, then to me, we have done something right.”
Codi’s story is unique to her and her family, but participants’ experiences share a common thread: empowerment. Participants speak of being more confident, more connected to community and more engaged in the world. “I never thought we would go surfing together as a
family. It was just something that seemed too complicated and not really feasible,” Codi says. “It felt unbelievable to catch a wave. I have never done this before. It felt very freeing, just like I was taking part in something like everybody else. It was a trip we will never forget, thanks, in large part, to the wonderful staff at Power To Be.”
You can help ensure this legacy of inclusion continues to empower people for a lifetime. To start a conversation about your impact, contact Dana Hutchings, director of Advancement and Communications at: 250-385-2363, or: dana@powertobe.ca powertobe.ca