Abundance

The 2010 Paralympic Games begin officially this Friday March 12th.  Starting immediately there is a lot going on - more than enough to interest the sports fan, party enthusiast or arts connoisseur!  The combination of events will banish once and for all, any misconceptions about the talents and contributions of people with disabilities.

Don't forget Ice sledge hockey and wheelchair curling will be contested in Vancouver while the skiing events will take place at Whistler.  Here is my personal guide to make the most of what will be another fabulous two weeks in Vancouver and Whistler.

First be sure to bookmark the folks at CityCaucus.com   They had the most popular guide during the Olympics and thanks to Daniel Fontaine they intend to do the same during the Paralympic Games. Discover the most popular pavilions, where the free venues are and best bets for the sporting events, all in one place. http://citycaucus.com/pa...

Wednesday's Federal Government Throne Speech ( http://www.speech.gc.ca/... ) contained a few paragraphs of 'social innovation' language for the first time.  This is a welcome political blessing to the social entrepreneurs inside and outside government.  I have reprinted the Throne Speech excerpt at the end of this post but the words and phrases will be familiar to those who

Keywords: Abundance

PLAN recently published its monthly ezine for March 2010.  It revolves around leadership and advocacy for our loved ones with disabilities. Below are a couple of the lead stories, if you'd like to receive the newsletter regularly, visit PLAN.

The Quetton Family: "We realized suddenly and completely, that advocating for Theo was our job, would always be our job..."
Click here to read more>>

PLAN advocates for individuals and families both individually and through public policy changes. Greg's story highlights some of the key lessons PLAN has learned in advocating for individuals.

BC Finance Minister, Colin Hansen, tabled BC's 2010 Budget a couple of days ago - March 2nd.  Federal Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty, tables Canada's 2010 Budget today - March 5th. 

Al, lays out the benefits the Federal budget holds for people with disabiliteis and their families, including:

"In today's Budget (March 4th) Minister Flaherty has fixed some of the growing pains and inevitable glitches of introducing something so new. For one, he is allowing RRSP's to be transferred into an RDSP, tax free.  For another, he is allowing families to carry forward their matching Disability Savings Grants and the $1000 a year Disability Savings Bond for 10 years. "

Read the rest of Al's post entitled, Flaherty's Budget Benefits people with disabilities and their families.

Jack Styan too commented on the Budgets with his post, What's in a Budget?

Brian McKeever is an accomplished athlete and star Paralympian who qualified for the Canadian Olympic team by winning an able bodied 50 km. race in January. On Saturday he was told he was not chosen for one of the four spots on the team.

From JackStyan.com:

During the construction of the great cathedral at Chartres the Cardinal sent his Bishop to investigate a prolonged period of limited progress. He decided to ask 3 workers at random, what they were doing.

The first was a draftsman so preoccupied by minute details he could only state he was measuring column lengths for the cathedral’s sacristy.

Note: This is the first in a series of posts on the Vancouver Winter Paralympic Games. I have a particular interest since I am a Paralympic torch bearer and have been an active participant in 'leveraging' the Games to advance the disability agenda for all people with disabilities not just athletes.

The Best Buddies Blues Band from LeBoldus High School in Regina will play three times in March in Vancouver and Whistler in conjunction with the Paralympics.

Please pass this information on to your PLAN and ACL members (and any others you think of), who would likely find this inclusive lively band encouraging and inspiring, as well as an awful lot of fun.

· Play at West Vancouver Secondary School – 1:30 – 2:15 Thursday March 18th

· Best Buddies Gig – 6:30 – 9:00 – we play the first 45 minutes. Friday March 19th at the Sandman Hotel in downtown Vancouver. Tickets for students and buddies are $10. Tickets for adults are $20. Doors open at 5:30 pm. Appetizers and drinks will be provided. Raffle prizes available to win. Tickets are now available from Vancouver Best Buddies Chapters.

· Play at Saskatchewan Pavilion at the golf course in Whistler – 3-4 Saturday March 20th

Here’s the contact for Western Canada:

Amy Lynn Taylor, Western Canada Program Manager
Toll Free: 778-318-3683
Fax: (416) 531-0325
info@bestbuddies.ca