TUESDAY, September 26, 2017
www.kamloopsthisweek.com
Years of Maureen Doll KELLI COORDINATOR
K
YOU ARE MY
SUNSHINE
Ivy and Thatcher enjoying a hug.
erri and Thatcher (now 4 years old) have enjoyed Parent Child Mother Goose (PCMG) since Thatcher was a baby. Being from out of province, Kerri doesn’t get to see her family much so when she heard about the Intergenerational PCMG program at Gemstone Care Centre, she was excited. She loved the idea of spending time with seniors and felt it would be good for Thatcher too. At the first session, Thatcher took a liking to one particular senior, Ivy. Within the first weeks, he started calling her “Grandma Ivy”, sat next to her, and liked to touch her face and hands. Ivy has mild dementia and doesn’t always remember Thatcher’s name, but has a ready smile for him when she enters the room. “I think this program is just great and I love seeing the children,” says Ivy. Thatcher has a speech delay and tends to talk very fast. Ivy has a hard time understanding him, so Thatcher has learned to slow down and work on his pronunciation of words. “Mother Goose has been incredible for his speech delay by helping with his vocabulary. We sing the songs all the time especially “You are my Sunshine” because this is Ivy’s favourite song. Thatcher loves to sing it to her. “Watching their relationship grow is a gift,” says Kerri. For information: 250-554-3134 or kelli@interiorcommunityservices.bc.ca
OVER $700,000
Raised!
Jeremy reading to his daughter Willa
WHAT A SUCCESS STORY
T
en years ago a small group of people met in the Kamloops Daily News boardroom to plan the first Kamloops Raise-a-Reader campaign. At that time, no-one could have predicted what a success story it was going to be. Thanks to the generous support of our local communities, corporate sponsors and donors, the enthusiasm of our volunteers and committee, we have raised more than $700,000 to support local literacy programs for all ages. Local sports teams are the backbone of our volunteer effort; their enthusiasm and ability to raise funds for the campaign remain unmatched. The TRU Men’s Volleyball and Basketball teams compete against each other each year, and this year TRU Men’s and Women’s soccer teams join the campaign. The Kamloops Blazers, Kamloops Broncos and Kamloops Storm are long-time supporters as are the Rotary clubs of Kamloops, Kiwanis club, Kamloops Ambassadors, City of Kamloops, TRU ECE students, Urban Systems, Domtar, Active Health, ICS, Cathy McLeod’s office and Marilyn Simpson. Raise-a-Reader Day is a true community effort! The goodwill shown by our main venue locations - McDonalds, Starbucks, Tim Hortons and A&W - and the generosity of the public is much appreciated. Each year we have increased the amount we raise which increases the percentage of matching funds we receive from the province. Last year’s total was $110,637.88. By inviting the neighbouring communities of Barriere, Clearwater, Logan Lake and Chase to participate in 2010, we increased our pot. (Each community gets back all they raise plus their share of the matching funds). This year, 27 local elementary schools are pitching in to raise funds during early morning drop off.
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