ESTEVAN - Estevan's Limitless Disability Advocacy Services (DAS) was celebrated as the SARC Community Builder Award recipient for 2022 in late October.
Kandyce Meili, who alongside her husband Conrad started and has been developing the organization since 2015, said they don't do what they do for recognition, but it is great to hear about what their work means to others.
"It was very humbling to hear from the people that we created these programs for how much it affects them. We never do this for recognition. We're doing it only to help people," Meili said.
Back about seven years ago, the Meilis’ daughters Olivia and Emily were diagnosed with a rare genetic condition, and the family started looking into what kind of programming was available for them as far as extracurricular activities.
"They weren't on par with their peers, and it was hard to put them into peer activities as they need a little bit more patience and some modified activities," Meili explained. "At that time, Estevan didn't have anything for kids with disabilities. And we were told that in order for our daughters to go into something like dance or swimming lessons, we would have to drive to Regina to do that. And so rather than drive, we chose to just start something up here for kids with disabilities."
At that time, the Meilis had some experience with being on boards of non-profit organizations, but they didn't know much about starting and running one. So, they started working with other businesses and organizations that were running programs for kids.
"The community support has been a huge help in this," Meili said.
Starting Limitless, they wanted their offering to first fit the needs of kids with various disabilities, and second, be free.
"Free programs … has a dual meaning. It's for you to be free to be who you are. And then free to be also because we offer all of our programs for free through grants and donations," Meili explained. "We also collaborated with some soccer programs in Ontario to find out what they were doing. And then we worked with Estevan youth soccer to create a youth soccer program for kids with disabilities, which we're still actively involved in.
“And we just reached out to different organizations within the community, whether it be CrossFit or Zumba, or places like Encompass Fitness, that will run programs for us for kids with disabilities."
They started by offering CrossFit and soccer classes for kids with disabilities. Later they added Zumba and fitness lessons. They also are running personal activities, where they'd go down to Fresh Air Fitness and have family events for kids with disabilities.
Along the way, they also started working with one of Estevan's schools to adjust their track and field.
"[We were] talking about how their track and field really wasn't inclusive for these kids with disabilities. So, we worked with them to create a more inclusive track and field where they changed a few things," Meili recalled.
Limitless has also partnered with the Southern Plains Co-op to bring more awareness and help make their Trail of Terror event more inclusive and accessible for people with special needs. Besides, they worked on having a Limitless corporate box at Affinity Place for Estevan Bruins' games and special events. Limitless patrons get tickets for free and can order some food that the organization pays for so that members could have a great experience in settings that suit their needs.
"That one was really important because when our kids were young, it was harder to be in a crowd of people with kids with disabilities. And it was not always comfortable when you have behavioural challenges, as well as physical limitations, to be in a crowd of people. So being able to have a space that is secure and just feels safe to be there was important to us. And we're happy to be able to offer that to other people," Meili said.
They started offering the latest service last year and are continuing into this year.
Limitless DAS originally was working with kids with disabilities, but over the years it started providing options for adults as well. And all of their offerings are free to all patrons, thanks to the support from the community and beyond.
"The Dustin Pratt Memorial Fund has sponsored programs quite often. Sask. Lotteries has given us grants quite often. The city of Estevan, the Estevan Bruins and Lonestar Directional are big sponsors of the box. Anytime we needed help there's definitely been people willing and able to help," Meili said.
The number of patrons they serve varies depending on what they are doing and can be anywhere from 10-40 people. And their programs are always open to new members.
"Anytime we run any program or do anything we try and get the information out ... for anybody who wants and who would benefit from it," Meili said.
She added that Limitless significantly affected the lives of their daughters, and they hope it also helped other local families.
"It has given [our daughters] the ability to participate in things on their level. And it's given them more opportunity to participate," Meili said. "For our daughters, they started in our programs where it is a little bit more patience, a little bit more direction, but our 11-year-old daughter now is participating in some activities that her peers are participating in and that aren't just for kids with disabilities. So, we really look at it as not the end, but a stepping stone to help kids move into whatever they want to do, to gain the confidence in a safe and secure setting to be able to move to whatever it is they want to do."
To learn more about the organization and their programs, for contact information or to suggest any ideas, go to Limitless DAS Facebook page.
