FortisBC presented Reach Child and Youth Development Society with a $10,000 contribution towards the completion of the new Reach Child Development Centre in Ladner at last week’s Delta Chamber of Commerce After 5 Business Social.
“We are very grateful to FortisBC. This donation will help provide more community-based services and as a result more children will be helped,” Reach’s Executive Director Renie D’Aquila said in a press release.
The 20,000 square feet project, a partnership between the Reach Society, the Corporation of Delta and the Ladner Tsawwassen Kinsmen Club, will allow the society to double the number of children it helps and serve as a place of learning and belonging for children with special needs and their families. Reach currently provides programs and services to families in Delta, Surrey and Langley, serving over 1,000 children annually.
Officials broke ground on the centre, located in Ladner at 5050 47th Avenue, on June 23 and construction is expected to be complete in September 2017.
“We’re proud to be supporting Reach Society’s efforts to make programs, services, resources and support more accessible,” said Viviana Zanocco, Community and Aboriginal Relations Manager for FortisBC in a press release. “This contribution builds on a long history of FortisBC – and our employees – giving back to the communities where we live and work.”
The new facility will provide therapy and counselling rooms, youth social and prevocational training, specialized lending libraries, and an inclusive preschool with accessible playground. It will also serve as the new home for the Kinsmen Club of Ladner and Tsawwassen as well as an expanded event space for municipal, business and community use.
The Reach Foundation is appealing to the community to help raise the remaining $600,000 needed for furnishings and fixtures in order to complete the new child development centre. For more information or to donate visit reachdevelopment.org.