RAPID Gets Official Charitable Organization Status

RAPID has now received its charitable organization status and federal tax number, after years of perseverance.

RAPID, or "Resources for the Anglophone Population with Intellectual Disabilities", is a south shore (Montreal) based non-profit organization whose mission is to facilitate services, communication and support for members of its community.

With its charitable status, RAPID will now be able to issue official tax receipts for donations, which effectively puts it into the big leagues in terms of credibility. Not only will RAPID have a much better chance of receiving donations from companies or large corporations, it will also be in a position to receive support from charitable foundations.

During the time that the application for charitable status has been in the works, RAPID has had the opportunity to conduct needs and interest surveys within its community and have accumulated substantial data, which gives them a good idea of how current services are lacking.

RAPID's recognition as a charitable organization was officially announced at the Annual General Meeting held June 15.

Marie-Victorin School Board Loses Attempt to Force Child to Attend Special Class

Reevaluation of Special Needs Education in Quebec? 

South shore Montreal area parents who sued the Marie-Victorin School Board in 2006 have won their Human Rights Tribunal case against the board.

The parents, whose son attended regular classes for his first two years of schooling, were furious when, after evaluation by a school psychologist, the school board insisted that he then go into a special class for children with intellectual difficulties.

Please see this article by Gabrielle Duchaine in rue Frontenac (now archived at www.exruefrontenac.com) for a full report on the case.

The tribunal found that the school board had put their prerogative to group children appropriately for their own purposes, ahead of the boy's interests and his right to be treated equally. There is speculation that this ruling will force CSMV and other school boards in Quebec to re-evaluate their special needs policies from top to bottom.

From the point of view of parents with kids who have special needs this decision comes as welcome news. However, the counterpoint is that it becomes painfully obvious how the dysfunctional system permits five years of a childs' education to fly by while such a case bounces around on its way to a final ruling.

REACH School 2011 Graduation June 16

REACH School's graduation and final concert of the year was held June 16 at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in St. Lambert.

The school, which provides specialized education for children, aged 4-21, with intellectual disabilities, celebrated the achievements of three young graduates and presented a number of awards, accompanied by an inspirational concert program.

Included in this year's awards were, the James O'Donnell Memorial Award, the Bill Clahane Memorial Award, elementary and secondary awards from the Riverside Teachers' Union, the Sheila Woods Memorial Award, the Riverside School Board Bursaries Achievement Awards, the REACH Certificate of Merit, the Riverside Administrators' Awards, the Commissioner's Awards of Merit, The Sports Merit Award, the Travel Training Award, the Work Study Award, the Music Award, the Robert Hobbs Memorial Award, and the Michael Poirier Memorial Award.

Congratulations to this year's three graduates, to all the award winners and to all the students and teachers of REACH for another successful year!


Members of the entire community joined in for a rousing rendition of the REACH Song, which is as follows:

The REACH Song

When the world leaves you feeling blue, you can count on me
I will be there for you
When it seems all your hopes and dreams
Are a million miles away, I will reassure you
We got to stick together, good friends there for each other
Never ever forget that I got you and you got me, so

Chorus:
Reach for the stars, climb every mountain higher,
Reach for the stars, follow your heart's desire,
Reach for the stars and when the rainbow's shining over you
That's when your dreams will all come true.

There's a place waiting just for you, it's a special place
Where all you dreams all come true,
Fly away, swim the ocean blue, drive that open road
Leave the past behind you
Don't stop, gotta keep movin'
Your hopes, you gotta keep buildin'
Never ever forget that I got you and you got me

Chorus

Don't believe in all that you've been told
The sky's the limit, you can reach your goal
No one knows just what the future holds
There ain't nothin' you can't be
There's the whole world at your feet

REACH, Climb every mountain
REACH, Reach for the moon
REACH

The song was written by a member of the REACH community a few years ago. It would be much appreciated if someone could fill in the name of the author by way of a comment.

RAPID Annual General Meeting Wed. June 15

The Annual General Meeting of RAPID will be held Wednesday, June 15 at 7:00 p.m. at the ARSDI in St. Lambert, 240 St-Laurent St.

RAPID stands for Resources for the Anglophone Population with Intellectual Disabilities. The organization is conceived as serving the Montreal south shore area, although there are no formal geographical boundaries.

RAPID is a non-profit organization established by parents and community members with a shared interest in improving the quality of family and community life of people with intellectual disabilities and their families.

RAPID acts as a liaison between existing service providers and the community and is actively engaged in facilitating improved communication and access to services for our community families.

The AGM is an important opportunity to share our results and future plans with members and the population at large.