PADDLE wishes to Thank the Rotaract Club and the North Bay Canoe Club!!!

$14, 000 RAISED!!!!

They were up the creek without a PADDLE!

Bay Today

Kate Adams

It was a great success on the shores of Trout Lake Friday as the newly formed Rotaract Club of North Bay-Nipissing hosted thier first fundraising event in partnership with the North Bay Canoe Club titled ‘Up the Creek Without a PADDLE.’

The event was in support of the Providing Adults with Disabilities Lifelong Experiences (PADDLE) Program had local politicians, business leaders and other community members stranded in a dragon boat on Trout Lake just off of Olmstead Beach where they had to earn their way back to shore by soliciting donations.

Members of the North Bay Canoe Club have also been collecting pledges for a spin-off event called PADDLE for PADDLE and will be paddling around the lake throughout the event in support of the program.

Pictured below Ted Thomson presenting cheque to PADDLER Allison Lampi.

PADDLE program keeps growing

Receives cheque from Lions

Dave Dale, North Bay Nugget

Shawn Venasse expressed a hearty “thank you” Wednesday when the North Bay Lions Club presented a $5,000 donation to a community-based program that’s attracted provincial recognition.

PADDLE, the acronym for Providing Adults with Developmental Disabilities Lifelong Experiences, has grown by leaps and bounds in less than two years.

It’s run by volunteers and parents with a paid co-ordinator and, while it’s based out of two rooms at Chippewa Secondary School, the members spend most of their time participating in activities and events within the community.

Cam Ceppetelli, a steering committee member, acted as the MC for the cheque presentation event.

He said PADDLE offers its members an organized and structured program that allows young adults a chance to enjoy the facilities in North Bay.

There’s nowhere else for a person with developmental disabilities to go once they reach the age of 21, Ceppetelli said.

“There’s not the support services out there that people think are out there,” he said, adding that it is the support of groups such as the Lions Club that make it possible.

Blake Chapelle, past president of the Lions Club, said proceeds from their Cogeco bingo night and other fundraising events funded the donation.

He said more such donations may come in the future after the club has met its pledge targets to benefit the new North Bay Regional Health Centre.

PADDLE serves 16 young adults and has four new applications being processed as it grows quickly to help families when their children are no longer young enough to access secondary school programs.

It’s overseen by NADY, the Nipissing Association for Disabled Youth, which has a strong track record of serving the community for more than three decades.

Shawn Venasse accepts $5,000 Donation from North Bay Lions Club

After A Year They Just PADDLE On
By Kate Adams
BayToday.ca
Sunday, October 05, 2008

Members of Chippewa”s Student Council present a cheque to the PADDLE Program Friday to help celebrate the first anniversary milestone,

An Ontario Trillium Foundation grant for $24,000 helped the local PADDLE organisation launch their new brand and website as well as mark their first anniversary in North Bay.

PADDLE, which stands for Providing Adults with Developmental Disabilities with Lifelong Experiences is located at Chippewa Secondary and the parent-run initiative is a pilot program funded by the province that allows young adults with special needs the ability to flourish and continue learning long after high school. The program is divided into four main areas: Academics, Life Skills, Physical Fitness, and Recreation/Leisure/Crafts and works with community partners like the YMCA and Near North District School Board to ensure participants have a full productive day.

PADDLE Committee member and parent Cam Ceppetelli says not only does the program allow the kids to continue developing life skills but it also allows for some important respite time for the parents

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