The Kali Dyck Foundation is helping Variety Manitoba fill an underfunded need.
Variety, the Children’s Charity of Manitoba is a registered charity that provides equipment, programs, and services for children living with a permanent disability and less fortunate children. Jeff Liba, Variety CEO, said support for the organization allows Variety children to have the same ability to grow and learn as other children around them. The Kali Dyck Foundation has donated $50,000 to the organization to support the needs of children living with autism.
The Kali Dyck Foundation was created in memory of Kali Dyck, Lloyd and Jackie Dyck’s daughter and Erik and Chad Dyck’s sister. Chad is autistic and has a language disability, and with him, Kali found her cause. She believed strongly in supporting special needs causes and had a lifelong interest in the rights and support for people with disabilities. Kali never said no to Chad and spent much of her time volunteering with numerous organizations that support people with special needs until her tragic passing at 25. Kali, at the end of her life, was in the process of entering psychiatric nursing, just one of the many ways she gave back during her lifetime.
“Variety Manitoba is a unique organization that supports people with special needs obtaining the supports they need,” said Lloyd. “It is filling a need where there are solutions, but people cannot obtain services because of a lack of funding and other issues.”
Variety Manitoba is a charitable organization that isn’t funded by the government, so they rely fully on the generosity of the community. Liba said the support Variety provides to families relieves the financial burden they face to simply provide their child with the basic skills and tools they need to reach their potential and have a brighter and more inclusive future. The Kali Dyck Foundation’s donation helps them to continue this.
Variety operates two programs on an annual basis. Their special needs program provides support to families for items and services that help their child address challenges they face because of their disability. The program also provides recreation opportunities for these children, like the annual Variety Bike Camp and the Volt Hockey program. Variety also owns and operates Variety’s Camp Brereton, which provides camping opportunities for children during the summer. It’s the only facility of its type between British Columbia and Southern Ontario.
Liba said the generous donation of $50,000 will support the needs of children living with autism – specifically for Speech and Language Pathology, autism-specific tutoring services, autism-specific social skills development, and respite. Their gift will support approximately 25 requests.
“We are very grateful for the ongoing support of the Dyck family,” he said. “Through our conversations with Lloyd, Jackie, and Erik, it became apparent their desire is to help make a difference for children living with autism. As a family who has an autistic child, it was interesting to learn that they faced many similar challenges to the families we serve while trying to access programs and services for their son Chad.”
The Kali Dyck Foundation has supported the Variety Club, the Children’s Charity of Manitoba with several donations over the years, with the funds going toward the same cause.