CLBC Editorial Board Members, from left to right: Top row: Erin Murphy (Vernon), Katie Moore (Coldstream), Matthew Yeomans (Chilliwack), Natasha Bidinoff-Gardiner (Nelson). Bottom row: Akshay Sachdeva (Surrey), Bryce Schaufelberger (Mission), Lara Gunkel (Vancouver), Brandon Wilkinson (New Westminster). Thank you to departing members Amber Rainshadow, Vanessa Mendoza, Lee Kissinger and Carrie Derickson who completed their terms since the last edition of this magazine.
Hello! We are the CLBC Editorial Board made up of self advocate and community living leaders from across the province. Our role is to work with Community Living BC to improve communication with the people they serve and to find ways to share the stories and contributions of people with diverse abilities in B.C. Working together on this magazine has been a one way to let CLBC, and the broader community, know what we think is important.
The theme for this edition of Celebrate Diverse ABILITIES Magazine is “Gratitude.” We have collected stories from people with diverse abilities about what they are grateful for, and what they are looking forward to as we start to slowly and safely move out of the pandemic and back to a more normal life. You will find stories about the things that have made a difference and helped to keep us safe and strong during a very challenging and often scary time.
For us on the Editorial Board, the things that made the biggest difference were our friends and family, and for many of us, our support staff who were there for us when life got even harder and nothing made sense.
To all of you who have shared time and support with others during moments of confusion and loneliness, we say thank you and raise our hands up to you in gratitude.
We are excited to reconnect with friends and community, but also to continue sharing gratitude for the things we didn’t realize were so important, like having a hobby, or going to school, or setting new goals. Sometimes it’s the little things that make the biggest difference.
We would also like to thank all the members of the self advocacy community and others with diverse abilities who contributed their stories to this magazine.
We look forward to your feedback and suggestions for the next edition of Celebrate Diverse ABILITIES.
Sincerely,
The CLBC Editorial Board
A special thanks to Editorial Board members and CLBC staff who provided writing and technical support to the authors in this edition.
