WOW Award recipients recognized for making a difference
CLBC has been celebrating people who make their communities more inclusive through the Widening Our World (WOW) Awards for 16 years. To mark our 20th anniversary this year, the CLBC WOW awards are celebrating people and places who go above and beyond to create inclusive spaces and advance full citizenship for adults with developmental disabilities.
With many great nominations received, the evaluation committee of self-advocates, family members and CLBC staff had to make some difficult decisions in selecting this year’s award recipients.
Congratulations to the 2025 CLBC WOW Award recipients:
- Speak Up Self-Advocacy Awareness Society, Kamloops
- Spencer van Vloten, Vancouver
- Ann Janssen, Comox Valley Affordable Housing, Comox
- Tami Logan, Langley
- Okanagan Regional Library, Vernon
During the late spring and early summer, CLBC will be holding celebration events to present the WOW Awards to each recipient in their home community. Thank you to everyone who took the time to submit a nomination!
To read more about this year’s WOW Award recipients, and find photos and stories from their Award ceremonies, visit www.CommunityLivingBC.ca/WOW.
New guides support respectful relationships with Indigenous Peoples and communities
CLBC’s new Respectful Engagement and Territorial Acknowledgements Guides.
June marks National Indigenous History Month in Canada, with National Indigenous Peoples Day being recognized on June 21.
CLBC’s Indigenous Relations team is excited to announce that new Respectful Engagement and Territorial Acknowledgements Guides will be released during this month.
The Guides will help both CLBC employees and community living sector staff to learn culturally safe, respectful and meaningful ways to engage, collaborate, build relationships with, and work alongside Indigenous Peoples, families, organizations, and communities.
Information sessions will take place later in June to outline the contents of both guides and create a space for dialogue and engagement.
Find more information about the Guides, the information sessions and the annual celebrations here.
Sharing our progress on building accessibility
The Year 1 Report on Community Living BC’s Accessibility Plan.
When the Province introduced the Accessible British Columbia Act in 2021, CLBC responded by creating a three-year Accessibility Plan (2023 – 2026). The plan provides clear steps to help make CLBC’s services more inclusive for the people and families we support.
Earlier this year, we released the Year 1 Report on our Accessibility Plan, covering the first year of implementation from September 2023 to September 2024. The Year 1 report outlines the actions CLBC has taken so far and the foundations we are building for long-term change.
As part of our commitment to inclusion, we also developed an easy read version of the Year 1 Report. This is one of the ways we are working to make our communication more accessible and available in multiple formats.
Find the report and more information on accessibility at CLBC here.
CLBC has also created plain language videos found here to help families and individuals navigate CLBC processes more easily.
We have also added a Frequently Asked Questions section linked in the banner at the top of every page on the website.
CLBC welcomes new Board Members
(clockwise from top left) New CLBC Board Members Angus Monaghan, Tanya Rothe, Diane Sugars and Kim Stacey.
Earlier this year, CLBC welcomed Angus Monaghan, Tanya Rothe, Diane Sugars and Kim Stacey to our Board of Directors. Board members provide oversite and guidance on how CLBC does its work. This includes responsibilities like approving the strategic plan and making sure the services and supports provided by CLBC make a difference for the people we serve.
CLBC thanks departing board members Marnie Larson, Julia Payson, Simon Philp and Patti Sullivan. Serving on the board for six years, they each made valuable contributions to the work CLBC does for people with developmental disabilities throughout B.C.
Learn more about CLBC’s new Board Members here.
