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HOLIDAY 2015

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POWER TO BE

By DANIEL PALMER

CIANNA LYON

Wilderness School youth help another participant navigate across China Beach using Power To Be’s TrailRider. The single-tire wheelchair is used to help people access locations such as Mt. Finlayson and to help people transfer across beaches for kayaking and surfing programs.

As a kid growing up outside Toronto, Tim Cormode fell in love with the great outdoors.

MARYAM MORRISON PHOTOGRAPHY

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is father, a pediatrician, and mother, a physiotherapist, ensured nature was an everyday occurrence through their lakeside home. They would also take the family on weekend getaways kayaking, hiking and camping far beyond the suburban sprawl to peaceful escapes.

But it wasn’t until much later, high in the Canadian Rockies near Canmore, A.B., that Cormode first conceived the idea for Power To Be, a B.C. charitable organization that provides accessible and adaptive outdoor recreation adventures for youth and families living with physical, social and mental support needs.

“At the time, adaptive recreation wasn’t a big thing in B.C. I remember thinking, ‘How cool would it be for kids with disabilities to climb their own mountain and use the great outdoors as a vehicle to create change in their lives,’” says Cormode, now a proud Victoria resident and founder and executive director of Power To Be. Since launching in 1998, Power To Be has grown exponentially while sticking to its core values of collaborative, life-affirming curriculum. With programs offered in Victoria and Vancouver, nearly 30 full-time staff provide facilitation, personalized support and equipment necessary for everything from kayaking, canoeing, hiking, climbing and camping for people of all ages, to life skill development for teens and young adults. Predominantly privately funded, the non-profit ensures neither financial restraints nor age or ability prevent people from accessing Power To Be programs.

In 2014 alone, Power To Be served more than 1,000 participants and delivered 429 programs in partnership with

more than 50 community organizations. Volunteers chipped in 5,800 hours to make those experiences reality.

“What makes us innovative is our ability to connect all our partners to make large scale social impact,” Cormode says.

“We’re trying to address three things: social isolation – which we counter through recreation and group activities; inclusion and accessibility – where 100 per cent of our programs are subsidized; and physical activity – where we help people get active in an incredible environment we want to protect.

If we’re not bringing out that next generation and making them more physically active, then we are missing something really fundamental. That’s really the essence of what we do.

Power To Be programs are delivered through two streams. Wilderness School is a three-year co-ed experience based out of Victoria for youth referred to the program by counsellors and teachers. These teens go on one weekend trip a month and longer expeditions in the summer with their cohort to build self-esteem, self-confidence and a sense of community while learning wilderness skills.

“A lot of these kids didn’t necessarily grow up with the belief that anything is possible,” Cormode says. “The thing that I always hear when they come through Wilderness School is how connected they feel to positive role models in their lives. There is a friendship that occurs in a working environment where trust and belief in themselves becomes reality.”

Past Wilderness School activities have included summiting Mt. Albert Edward, kayaking Clayoquot Sound and hiking to Cape Beale.

The other program stream, Adaptive Recreation, offers inclusive, nature-based recreation activities for people living YOUR HOLIDAY 2015 9

DUNCAN MACK

“What makes us innovative is our ability to connect all our partners to make large scale social impact.” – Tim Cormode

POWER TO BE

Transferring from beach to board for adaptive surf programs, participants use special wheelchairs to navigate the beach and enter the water off Tofino.

TOBYN ROSS

Adventures with Power To Be happen year-round, with both programs taking advantage of snow on the ground to play. Wilderness School youth, pictured here, explore Lake Helen McKenzie on an annual overnight trip in Strathcona Park.

Participants explore the water off Cates Park in North Vancouver, supported by the Adaptive Recreation team and equipment such as pontoons.

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with physical, mental and social support needs. Activities include everything from a day in the Tofino surf for a father with a spinal cord injury to try a new activity with his daughter, to a kayaking adventure for someone with a seizure condition.

“The participants we work with are the experts in their own experience,” says Carinna Kenigsberg, Power To Be program manager. “We can outfit someone specifically to their body and their physical and emotional needs so that when they’re doing these activities all of a sudden the barriers disappear and they can just have fun and connect.”

Power To Be’s willingness to partner with local community agencies that are already delivering programs to people with support needs is part of what makes it so effective, Kenigsberg says. Rather than duplicate work, Power To Be provides the adaptive and professional know-how to give participants their nature experience in partnership with organizations such as Community Living Victoria and Canucks Autism Network.

“We look at comfort, mobility and stability, both emotionally and physically,” Kenigsberg says. “If we teach someone with a physical disability about creating a hike on Mt. Doug and showing them an accessible route, they can go back on their own or with their family and do it with confidence.”

Power To Be’s client-centered approach and ability to adapt also means it can accept participants at any age and from all backgrounds, she adds.

“Even when people find us in adulthood, there’s an ‘A-ha!’ moment where we show them that limitation doesn’t have to exist,” Kenigsberg says. “We aren’t looking at somebody with a physical challenge or mental disability and telling them ‘No.’

KOSTAS ZOLOTAS

Q&A with Dr. Mark Paquette Q. I am getting headaches, but I don’t know if it’s related to my vision or to something else?

Q. How young is too young for a child’s first eye exam?

Indoor climbing programs allow participants to work on individual goals in a community setting. Power To Be supports climbers through a variety of equipment options, as well as verbal and visual aids.

We’re looking at them in a way that has a ‘Yes, we can’ approach.

We want to be the place where people are told ‘Yes,’ and then we figure out how to get there.”

What makes the non-profit so unique, says Cormode, is its ability to deliver life-affirming experiences for people where gaps exist in health and education services resulting from constrained family and government resources.

“There are a lot more opportunities now for families with support needs, but there’s still a long way to go in the social service and education sectors,” Cormode says. “What makes Power To Be so effective is that we’re creating an environment where people really feel included and where all our participants are part of a community.”

Cormode and his team are now looking at creating a custom-built, “world-class” facility in Greater Victoria that would move beyond outdoor recreation activities to provide children and families with a more holistic scope of services and access to connect to nature.

“In the next five years, we hope to launch a program that will create a legacy for B.C.,” Cormode says.

To realize that vision, Power To Be will need to rely on the generosity and belief of its donors, and on a large group of passionate volunteers.

“Every dollar in our organization has a significant impact,” Cormode says. “It’s first and foremost about having fun for our participants, staff, volunteers and donors. If people are interested in volunteering or donating, please get in touch with us. B.C. is a remarkable place to enjoy the outdoors. I moved here for that very reason. So if you love to surf or kayak or climb mountains and want to help people, we’d love to chat with you.”

For more information, visit powertobe.ca.

A. In Canada the recommendation for routine optometric exams is as early as 6 months, and yearly thereafter until adulthood. After 19 the recommendation is every 2 years until age 65 when it becomes yearly again.

That being said if it is clear to a parent that something seems wrong with a newborn’s eyes, they should contact their Optometrist.

Q. Why are regular eye check ups important?

A. The eyes truly are a window to one’s own heath. It is the only place in the body that a doctor can assess a “naked” nerve (The optic nerve) and “naked” blood vessels.

Everywhere else in the body, we see blood vessels at least through the skin.

It is possible to detect diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, high cholesterol, and some forms of cancer… all by looking into someone’s eyes.

A. It’s true that some headaches can be related to eye function.

An eye exam performed by an Optometrist is great for investigative purposes, and many Family Doctors will recommend this step. Headaches are best dealt with by a detailed history. Are you dehydrated? Are you stressed?

Is your neck/back tight? Are you having any trouble with your vision? There are many potential reasons to consider.

Q. What is the difference between a sight test and an eye exam?

A. A sight test determines only the spectacle prescription. An eye exam tests the spectacle prescription but also does a comprehensive eye health examination of structure and function and a test of how the eyes work together. Only an Optometrist has the training to perform this.

Q. I heard that cataracts are common in the aging population and there are things we can do to prevent their progression… is this true?

A. Very true! Cataracts are part of the normal aging process, so everyone will get them eventually.

The best thing someone can do to prevent cataracts from happening prematurely is ultraviolet (UV) protection for the eyes. So wear your sunglasses, and a hat! Poor diet choices and smoking are other factors that can contribute to early cataract development.

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