“Grandview makes the community whole. By supporting an organization like Grandview, the community is coming full circle – supporting those with challenges, helping them succeed and integrate into the community.”
— Jonathan Schickedanz, DRHBA President
The president of the Durham Region Home Builders’ Association (DRHBA) chooses their charity of choice at the beginning of their term, and throughout their year, the majority of the money raised through the Association’s fundraising endeavours are donated to that charity, including proceeds from their annual Presidents’ Ball.
Current past-president Emidio DiPalo was the first to name Grandview Kids as his charity of choice. He was inspired after witnessing how the work at Grandview helps families realize their dream of watching their children achieve incredible developmental milestones in their lives, which previously may not have been possible. Current DRHBA president Johnathan Schickedanz also made Grandview Kids his charity of choice after taking a tour of their facility. He was inspired by their efficient use of resources and space, and of course, all of the services they provide.
“My passion is for children and people at the beginning of their life,” says Johnathan. “They need all of the resources possible made available to them to help them succeed in life.”
Both Emidio and Johnathan, as well as DRHBA’s sponsors, really enjoyed their recent tour of Grandview’s facility.
“My favourite part of the Grandview tour was seeing how different rooms and educator expertise switched gears and transformed on the fly to create the types of environments which meet the special needs of individual kids, and helped make positive steps forward in their development,” says Emidio.
Johnathan loved the classrooms.
“I really love the educational part of the facility and being able to interact with the kids and see how they learn,” he says. “The sensory room, to come up with that kind of creativity and execute it in such a perfect manner, given their limited amount of space, was incredible.”
Both presidents feel that it is incredibly important to support a local organization like Grandview that focuses on helping kids with their physical, communication, and developmental needs.
“I think it is important for the community to support and embrace a centre like Grandview, because these types of programs work toward making all children achieve their greatest potential, and in doing so, it allows their families, city and region achieve a real sense of community,” explains Emidio.
Thank you to DRHBA for their incredible commitment to Grandview Kids in 2018 and 2019. We are so pleased to have you by our side!
