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Okanagan child and youth development centre honours valued supporters

The OSNS Child and Youth Development Centre hosted annual sponsor appreciation evening
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Meg Dimma, OSNS community engagement coordinator speaks with those attending the facility’s sponsor appreciation evening at the Cannery Brewing Company. Mark Brett/Western News

Growing up, Manisha Willms lost her mom at an early age but there is a phrase she still remembers hearing all these years later.

“I actually think it was quite profound,” Willms, the executive director of the OSNS Child and Youth Development Centre told a group of people at last week’s sponsor appreciation evening at the Cannery Brewing Company. “Her saying was ‘you’re only as happy as your unhappiest child, you’re only as happy as your unhappiest child.’”

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She related that saying to families when they first bring their children to the centre for the many support services offered there.

“I would like you all to think for a minute about quality of life and what quality of life means to you,” Willms asked attendees. “For many of us we might think about our family you might think about home, you might think about well being and for a lot of us we think about a sense of belonging, so that’s likely on these families’ lists too.

“So by extension the quality of care that we give them is really important and I tend to believe that quality of care is really about love.”

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She credited those who donate to the centre as helping the organization provide that quality of care and, the love.

“The sponsor appreciation is a chance for us to acknowledge the people that support us in the community without our sponsors we could not exist as an organization,” said OSNS board chair, Ryu Okayama. “We just have so many supporters, whether it’s for our telethon, people who donate door prizes or their time.”

At the evening he summed up the feeling of gratitude of board and staff: “Every person in this room here tonight has shown their commitment to community by taking precious resources like time and finances and committing them to the child development centre and on behalf of the board of directors thank you very much.”

It was also announced at that time the 39th annual Share a Smile Telethon, the centre’s largest fundraiser of the year, will take place Sunday, Nov. 18 at Cherry Lane Shopping Centre.

Related: OSNS Share-a-Smile Telethon underway in Penticton

The telethons in the past have been at the OSNS Carmi Avenue location.

“We’ve really increased our funding (from the recent telethons) and we hope to keep that momentum going,” said Okayama. “It’s (Cherry Lane) an area that gets high traffic and I think it will be visible in the community and we can do just as well, it’s a nice public space too.”


 

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Executive director Manisha Willms of the OSNS Child and Youth Development Centre with board chair Ryu Okayama at the centre’s sponsor appreciation evening. Mark Brett/Western News