Um... wow. If you're new here, skip down to the previous blog post for information on our goal.

You're back? Great! Now that you know what our entire focus is for Anya's Journey Foundation, you can perhaps appreciate how ecstatic we are at how quickly this has come together! From an off-the-cuff Facebook messenger discussion with Mayor Al Siebring, to a meeting on December 2, 2021 with Director of Parks, Don Stewart, to receiving unanimous approval for the use of land at Fuller Lake Park by North Cowichan Council on February 2, 2022... it's been a whirlwind! But... now that real hard work comes in.

This is new to us, this playground construction / $500,000 fundraising effort. So we will be drawing in many different people, with many different backgrounds and many different skillsets, to help pull this off. While we have some amazing contacts in the business world, we are going to need help with the playground world and the grants / philanthropy world and the government world (although I do have some experience with that). Lots of planning, talking, emails, phone calls and events will occur, within a very short time, to get us down the road to getting a quality playground plan in place. We have already met with some people who work with teens & adults to ascertain their desires / needs in accessible & inclusive playgrounds, and will be completing more focus groups & discussions with families, groups & youth services.

"There is no joy better than the laughter & smiles on children's faces at a playground."

Please bookmark our website, follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and please reach out if you have questions, suggestions or would like to donate to help us reach our goals! Thanks!

Bruce & Cristina Findlay, Anya's parents.

Our main goal for Anya's Journey was to share information about Lamb-Shaffer Syndrome & to build all-ages accessible & inclusive playgrounds. Anya is 13 and getting tall. She may never lead an independent life. Where she has the most joy is at a playground - on a swing, on a slide, spinning, running - just being a free child. Anya is generally able to walk & run okay, with some issues. Other children and adults don't have that luxury.

Bruce reached out to the mayor of the municipality where we live - North Cowichan, British Columbia - on beautiful Vancouver Island, in Canada. The mayor was quite receptive to the idea of an accessible playground, and put him in touch with the director of parks & recreation. That meeting occurred on December 2nd, and from that first meeting we are enthusiastic that our purpose may be in reach much sooner than expected. It will take an enormous effort of planning and getting the municipality, its citizens and local businesses / philanthropists onside, but it may be able to be done here in our own community of North Cowichan! We are already in planning mode for a fundraiser to include some Vancouver Canucks legends (names to be announced soon), and hope to continue to plan small & large events to assist in the funding of this playground.

"There is no joy better than the laughter & smiles on children's faces at a playground."

We hope that you, the reader, will participate with us in making this playground a reality, either through your time, talents or assisting us in the cost of this expansive project. Please contact us for more information! Thank you.

Bruce & Cristina Findlay, Anya's parents.

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