'Historic' $30M donation to support 11 disability organizations

Disability advocates and health-care providers say a new $30-million donation to 11 organizations will help kids, adults and families get the support they need.

The Slaight Family Foundation, a charity founded by late media mogul and philanthropist Allan Slaight, announced the large gift Tuesday — on International Day of Persons with Disabilities and Giving Tuesday. 

Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto and the Rick Hansen Foundation in Richmond, B.C. will help lead the investment that funds a partnership between the 11 organizations to provide solutions for Canadians with a disability and address inequities.

"This is the largest donation in Canadian history ... to support, from childhood straight through to elderhood, people who have disabilities," Holland Bloorview Foundation president Sandra Hawken told CBC Toronto in an interview, calling the gift "historic."

Through the funding, Holland Bloorview will be able to develop brain-computer interface technology, prosthetics and other tools, plus take existing robotics and arts programs and share them all with its new partners, so that more centres across Canada are better equipped to help children and adults, Hawken said. 

"It's about bringing 11 organizations who've never collaborated before together and ensuring that the face of disability is changed in Canada."

Hawken says the Slaight Family Foundation Disability Initiative will help transform disability care and support in Canada, where one in four people identify as having a disability. According to Statistics Canada, the number of people with disability is set to rise as the country's population ages.

"This is going to impact from coast to coast every age level and in a way that's never been done before," she said.

The money will be given to national and regional organizations, including:

• Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation: $10.5 million.
• Rick Hansen Foundation: $10 million.
• Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work: $1 million.
• Canadian National Institute for the Blind: $1 million.
• Canadian Women's Foundation: $1 million.
• Easter Seals Canada: $1.5 million.
• Empowered Kids Ontario: $1 million.
• Inclusion Canada: $1 million.
• March of Dimes Canada: $1 million.
• Ontario Disability Employment Network: $1 million.
• Wavefront Centre for Communication Accessibility: $1 million.

In a news release, Gary Slaight, president of The Slaight Family Foundation, said disability exclusion has a significant impact on individuals, families, the economy and culture.

"Connecting and expanding programs and innovations from organizations dedicated to disability care and awareness will create an umbrella of support across Canada, while dismantling stigma and creating a more inclusive society for us all," he said.

A 'life-changing' donation

Disability and accessibility advocate Taylor Lindsay-Noel, a former athlete who stayed at Holland Bloorview after a gymnastics accident in 2008 left her paralyzed from the neck down, says the investment into the rehab centre will be "life-changing" for clients, especially those in marginalized communities who need financial support and resources.

"The opportunities are endless," Lindsay-Noel said, adding that the money will also help fill gaps in the health-care system.

"There are about 850,000 kids in Canada who have a disability, but we only have 150 or so developmental pediatricians," she said. "The need is there."

Zach Priest works at Holland Bloorview, has a disability and is the father of a 5-year-old who also gets support from the centre. He says he was floored to learn about the donation, knowing that it would have "an impact on all levels."

"People want to just be independent … and that's something that's very much usually taken away from kids with disabilities," he said. "A donation like this just changes everything across the board."

The Slaight Foundation's initiative will also help bring awareness to stigma and accessibility, Hawken said.

"Our hope is that this gift will create a conversation of inclusion that will impact all Canadians," she said.