OCDSB’s Crystal Bay Centre for Special Education selected as a finalist in second annual Win 4 Kids Contest

GoodLife Kids Foundation announced today that OCDSB’S Crystal Bay Centre for Special Education has been selected as a finalist in their National Win 4 Kids contest. As part of the contest GoodLife Kids Foundation is giving away a total of $100,000 to programs across Canada that are helping kids have a healthier future.

Crystal Bay Centre for Special Education was founded in 1972. The Centre serves 96 students with moderate to profound developmental disabilities.  Students who attend the Centre range in age from 4-21 years. All students have a developmental disability that may be coupled with one of the following: autism, hearing impairment or deafness, visual impairment or blindness, physical disability.  The Centre’s mission is to offer a caring and individualized approach to meet the diverse needs of the students. We work with students and their families to provide a sense of independence, dignity and future successes. We believe all students should be provided the opportunity to reach their personal potential

After a National submission process, GoodLife Kids Foundation selected 10 finalists from the across Canada. All 10 finalists will receive grants but Canadians’ votes will determine the amount of the grants they receive.  There is one $25,000 national prize, for the organization with the highest number of votes, along with three prizes of $12,000, three prizes of $8,000 and three prizes of $5,000.

Vice-principal Karen Landheer says, “Crystal Bay Centre for Special Education is a school that endeavours to support the wide-ranging requirements of our students. All of our students have distinctive needs and genuinely benefit from physical activity. We have a unique and valuable physical education program but the equipment that we require for the students is extremely expensive. This specialized equipment makes sure that no student is left behind and allows our students to turn their disabilities into abilities. This grant would assist us in encouraging and improving our students’ self-sufficiency, confidence and coordination."

The majority of the grant funds were generated through fundraising efforts by GoodLife Fitness staff, members, partners, friends and family at the national Spin4Kids Plus event— a one-day fitness fundraiser in support of GoodLife Kids Foundation . The finalists will receive their funding from Win 4 Kids at this year’s Spin4Kids Plus event taking place across the country on

Saturday, March 7

. “The reality is that only five percent of Canadian kids achieve the recommended amount of daily physical activity,” said Lisa Burrows, Executive Director, GoodLife Kids Foundation. “GoodLife Kids Foundation believes we can change that reality and that is why we are excited to be holding our Win 4 Kids contest again this year. Through support of fantastic organizations like our ten finalists, we can work towards our vision of providing every Canadian kid the opportunity to live a fit and healthy good life.”

How to vote:

Canadians can vote by going to www.win4kids.com . Voting will take place from

11:59am EST

on February 2 until

11:59pm EST

on

March 6, 2015

. Organizations are encouraged to recruit as many votes as possible as there is only one vote per person.

Voting Begins February 2 and goes until

11:59 p.m.

on

March 6 2015

The results:

On

Saturday, March 7, 2015

, all ten finalists will be asked to attend a Spin4Kids Plus event in their community to learn how much they’ll get through Win 4 Kids!

Help spread the word and support your local organization:

GoodLife Kids Foundation will be profiling all ten organizations at www.win4kids.com In addition to voting, you can support your organization by spreading the word in your community: share the GoodLife Kids Foundation Facebook page , connect with @goodlifefkids on twitter and join the conversation using the hash tag #Win4Kids .