The Saskatchewan Abilities Council Yorkton Branch is starting its annual Spirit of Success campaign. The effort will see letters mailed out across the area, in order to raise funds for the operations of the Yorkton branch. John Denysek, Regional Director, spoke to The News Review about the work the Abilities Council does and the importance of the campaign.
The Abilities Council has seven services it offers in the community, including Employment Services, Immigration Settlement Services, Quality of Life Services, Community Relations and Fundraising Oppor--tunities, Commercial Products and Service, Recycling Services, and Transit Services. Denysek notes that these services are all partnerships with other groups, and focused on improving the quality of life in the community.
One of the new initiatives is getting people with special needs more involved in the community, with a commitment that began 18 months ago to have fifty per cent of activities for participants in the day program taking place in the community. Denysek says the move has been a big success in getting clients more involved and independent.
"We said that's not providing a sense of inclusion if people with special needs are just coming out to the ability centre, they need to be part of community activities... That's lead to a variety of enhancements, some individuals have gotten jobs because of that integration, some people have gone on to independent volunteer positions, and other people are just more aware of the social skills they need to develop if they want to be fully independent," Denysek notes.
"The Saskatchewan Abilities Council has been around for 61 years now, and I think part of the reason we have been around for that long has been because of the fundraising efforts and the generous contributions of individuals and businesses that supplement our government funding and funding from other sources.
"And I think everyone can take pride in the knowledge that they're part of that success, either by providing employment opportunities, providing some activities for the people that we're serving in terms of community-based programming, or by making a financial contribution to the program because then we can deploy staff to make things happen," he adds.
The financial bottom line is one of two the council focuses on, the other being what Denysek calls the "Social bottom line." He says that they want to provide their clients with the ability to be independent, increase their confidence and keep them off of social assistance. While this is harder to measure, it is something that they strive to do.
The community focus is also what drives the immigration settlement services offered by the council. He notes that it's all about connecting newcomers to the services and people of the area, and getting them to feel included in the community.
"It's making people feel as welcome as possible, and making them feel as connected as possible so they stay."
One thing the Yorkton branch is proud of is their commitment to innovation, with staff members often joking that they have the most pilot projects, Denysek notes.
He says that taking on the challenges and finding new partners to meet different needs is an important part of the council's philosophy.
"We're always looking at new ways to improve ourselves and meet needs in the community. The second point is the staff is very open to pilot projects. It can create challenges moving forward, but we're always in that learning mode and that's part of that value, in constant search of excellence. Can we do better, are there more people that can be served, and are there new needs that can be met?"
The goal of Spirit of Success is to raise $10,000. The Abilities Council needs a large donation annually to keep running, and Denysek says this will help the organization continue helping people in the community.
"We hope people see it as a good value for their money. We are moving to an investment philosophy, that providing to the Spirit of Success you can help us continue the work we're doing in different areas, and continue to meet needs of individuals. That will then better the overall quality of life in the community," Denysek concludes.
