One
morning Barbara Godin, shown 2nd from the right in the back row
of the photo, an employee of
the Hanmer Branch of the Royal Bank of Canada, was feeling a bit
frustrated with certain events that had occurred that day and found
herself grumbling and complaining about her situation to no one in
particular. We have all had days like this where we feel sorry for
ourselves, but Barbara’s turned out differently.
Just
as she was getting into her car to drive to work, she noticed Mathieu
Dubreuil, sitting in his wheelchair, waiting for a ride to the Special
Needs Centre at Ecole Notre Dame du Rosaire in Blezard Valley. It was then
that Barbara realized just how fortunate she was. Here was Mathieu facing
his challenges with a positive attitude, spending his energy on ways to
enjoy what life has to offer. He wasn’t in a miserable mood, complaining
about how unfair life was. Instead, he was meeting life head on and
getting the most the day had to offer.
Barbara
told her story to her fellow staff members at work and together they
decided that they would make the Special Needs Centre their mission. For
the past three years the group of 11 or 12 has been holding a variety of
fund-raisers to help the Centre purchase much needed equipment.
The
latest cheque was presented to Suzanne Fortin, the Special Needs Teacher,
shown in the middle of the back row. It will be used to purchase a hot tub
for the deaf and blind children at the school. The hot tub will be used in
the therapeutic treatment of the children. Already funds have been raised
to help equip a Snoezelen Room consisting of special lights, sound and
aromatherapy to provide a relaxed, stimulating environment for the
children for a portion of the day.
The other people in
the photo include: Back row from left to right: Janet Villeneuve (Royal
Bank); Rick Pichette (RB), Suzanne Fortin (Teacher), Barbara Godin (RB),
and Gilbert Mongeon (R.B. Manager). Front row: Sue Landry (Intervener),
Mathieu Dubreuil (15), Kelly McNicoll (RB) and Laura Burch (R.B.).
