2025 NPD – The Impact of Inclusion

On Nov 14th, we celebrated National Philanthropy Day, our annual gratitude event.

Every year, we celebrate the givers in our midst. Donors, volunteers, the philanthropists who make our community beautiful, vibrant, & kind. We don’t focus on the size of the gift but the size of the heart with which the gift is given. And we know Abbotsford has got some of the biggest hearts around! This year’s celebration was focused around the Impact of Inclusion.

It was once again, a sold out event, and we were so grateful to welcome 3 special speakers who shared amazing stories on the impact of inclusion. From ‘Adelie’ who was able to make friends thanks to a critical gift from FVCDC’s Emergency Family Fund, to ‘Sarah’, who started her journey to employment with understanding and acceptance from Communitas’ Employment Team, to what turned out to be a lifesaving paddle program for ‘Aaron’, thanks to the persistence of Power for All Adventure Therapy Society. Stories that inspired & truly helped us all understand that when we give to support inclusion, we make an impact that can last for years, for the whole of a life. Our deep thanks go to:

• Karen Dickenson Smith, CEO at Fraser Valley Child Development Centre
• Matt Dirks, CEO at Communitas Supportive Care Society
• Alex Thompson, Founder & ED at Power for All Adventure Therapy Society

We have pictures galore to commemorate the event on our Facebook page here. We’ve also been so fortunate to have a number of attendees share their own photos & posts about the event. We always encourage our community to talk about gratitude & philanthropy and this event helps propel those conversations. It’s the generosity of Abbotsford that makes it a place we love to call home.

We also celebrated our Philanthropy in Action Award winner, Anne Jesse. Nominated by Care for Women, they recognized & thanked this amazing volunteer for her support & care for new moms in our community. Thank you, for all you do to support some of our most vulnerable families in Abbotsford. Your light shines through your giving & quiet generosity, Anne.

Of course, this event could not happen without the support of our sponsors. We thank them for helping us make this an accessible gratitude event for our wider community.

If you would like to nominate a local philanthropist that makes a difference in your organization, nominations open every August. You can learn more about the Philanthropy in Action Awards here. Want to join us next year for our annual gratitude event? We would love to have you join us. Ticket sales open next summer and we’ve already got our date booked for Friday Nov 13th, 2026.