L’Arche Kicks-off Fundraising Campaign

L'Arche hosted a community event to launch its campaign to raise $3.5 million for The Anchorage Project.

It was an exciting night for L’Arche Comox Valley as people passionate about inclusion and belonging gathered at the Native Sons Hall on Friday, October 4. The event kicked-off L’Arche’s fundraising campaign to construct more safe and affordable housing for people with developmental disabilities in the Valley.

“L’Arche Comox Valley is best known for being a place of belonging,” says Lynda Brosko, Community Leader & Executive Director for L’Arche Comox Valley. “The model we’ve used for our I Belong Centre Suites – which creates independence and community – has proven very successful and it has increased the demand for The Anchorage Project.”

A Community Conversation

“It was an inspiring evening,” says Peter Gibson, Campaign Chair for The Anchorage Project. “We had an array of businesspeople, government representatives, people with disabilities, their families and other advocates discussing this critical need in our community. We caught the attention of the media and there’s clearly a growing interest in how we build inclusion and independence for community members with developmental disabilities, in a way that they can give back to their community and live their fullest life.”

A Parent’s Perspective

A highlight of the evening was award-winning, Vancouver-born Tamara Taggart. An activist, community leader and mother, Tamara shared a parent’s perspective on raising and advocating for her son Beckett who has Down’s Syndrome.

Tamara spoke to the importance and value of inclusion and opportunity for all people regardless of disability. She also talked warmly about all the things that her son is, versus all of the things the doctors told her he wouldn’t be or do.

“I wanted to hear that he would be determined like his mum,” says Tamara. I wanted to hear that he would make friends easily and he would be the best big brother. I wanted to hear he was going to prove every negative label of Down’s Syndrome wrong, he would naturally resist segregation and push for inclusion and equality. These are the kinds of things I want to know about a person who has an intellectual disability.”

Tamara helps to raise much-needed funds for many important causes, contributing thousands of hours and serving as a director of several non-profit organizations. She currently hosts the podcast Telus Talks with Tamara Taggart and is the volunteer president of Down Syndrome BC. 

L’Arche invites everyone on Vancouver Island to be involved. While all financial donations are appreciated, there are so many other ways to give, whether it’s your time, gifts-in-kind, partnerships, peer-to-peer fundraising or your influence.

“We’re grateful for everyone’s gifts,” says Lynda. “It helps us continue to foster belonging, celebrate our differences and create a place where you are welcomed as you are.”