SURREY RESIDENTS WITH SCI CATCH NEW OPPORTUNITIES THANKS TO SUPPORT FROM G&F FINANCIAL GROUP FOUNDATION
Surrey, BC, September 17, 2018 – They didn’t let expectations, or the rain, hold them back. On Sunday, a group of 10 Lower Mainland residents with spinal cord injuries and related physical disabilities, and their families, came together for an afternoon of fishing and friendship at Green Timbers Lake.
For some of the group it was the first time they had tried to fish again after sustaining a life-changing injury.
“I loved it, even despite the weather,” says Brent Maddess, 53, a former angler who now lives with quadriplegia. “I have not been fishing since my accident fifteen years ago. It made me think about family, and how I would love to bring my children and grandchildren out next year.”
Spinal Cord Injury BC’s ‘Learn to Fish’ afternoon is an annual event held in partnership with the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC. As well as showing people that fishing is an activity that can be enjoyed by everyone, the outing is designed to provide local residents living with spinal cord injuries with a great way to connect with nature, socialize with old friends and make some new ones.
Spinal Cord Injury BC (SCI BC) Peer Coordinator, Randeep Sharma, said this is one of his favourite events of the year:
“It’s an escape from the daily challenges of living with a disability. The event gives us all sense of freedom and normalcy—for a day, you can come back to so-called ‘normal’ life after injury. I saw many people meeting each other, making new connections and, for a while, just feeling like themselves again.”
This year’s ‘Learn to Fish’ was only one of a series of Spinal Cord Injury BC Healthy, Active Living events and activities that have received a fresh injection of funding support thanks to the G&F Financial Group Foundation.
The SCI BC Healthy, Active Living program offers people with spinal cord injury, together with their family and friends, the opportunity to connect with others in similar situations and try activities they may not have thought possible after injury. New support from G&F Financial Group will allow SCI BC to expand the accessible recreation events and peer support it offers throughout the Surrey region.
“This support from G&F Financial Group will bring more great events and support to people living with spinal cord injuries in Surrey and around the Lower Mainland,” says Sharma.
G&F Financial Group said it was excited to be partnering with Spinal Cord Injury BC on this initiative:
“At G&F Financial Group, our goal is to make a positive impact in our communities,” says Bobby Dhillon, SVP, Marketing and Planning at G&F Financial Group. “Through the G&F Financial Group Foundation, we’re able to support initiatives like ‘Learn to Fish’ to help make a difference to those impacted by a spinal cord injury and to their families.”
To learn more accessible recreation opportunities in the Surrey region, check out: sci-bc.ca/events
