Learning Disabilities Association of Niagara Region
1338 Fourth Avenue, Unit S215 L2s 0g1 Saint Catharines, ON, Canada

Second to last, we want to give a big THANK YOU to all of our other volunteers who have committed their personal time doing tasks such as data entry, filing, counting ticket sales, collecting various resources, working our Bingo sessions, and many more! Being a small non-profit, we only have 4 full time and 1 part time office staff to do all of the work that a large company does with hundreds of people! Needless to say, we are so grateful for our volunteers who may not be abl...e to commit their evenings every week for programming, but still want to give back to the Niagara community and specifically to children and families in Niagara who are impacted by a learning disability. Although the pandemic has meant that we haven't been able to have as many 'other' volunteers as in past years, we have still been so fortunate to have volunteers help us with collecting resources and doing data entry for our research assistants. We're hopeful that we can welcome all of our wonderful admin, fundraising, and office support volunteers back soon!

The LDANR prides itself on maintaining and sharing up-to-date resources and information about all things LD-related. However, we appreciate that some of our families require additional supports for things such as behavioural assessment, occupational therapy, or counselling. If you find yourself frustrated or confused trying to scour the web for available resources and professionals, we encourage you to check out Everyday Heroes Kids. This social enterprise focuses on connecting families with pediatric professionals, organizations, and technologies that meet their specific health, mental health, and educational needs.

Third is reserved for our BEST program! Well I mean all the LDANR programs are the best but this one is B.E.S.T Our Better Emotional and Social Times (B.E.S.T) Program is a small group program designed to help students in Grades 3-5 develop self-advocacy skills. Through fun activities and a supportive environment, students embark on journeys exploring mindfulness, emotions, and coping resources to help them live their BEST lives! Although we don't have as many volunteers i...n this program, we wouldn't be able to create the supportive environment that we have without these dedicated individuals. Did you know? B.E.S.T. has been running at the LDANR for over 10 years! Each season, 3 B.E.S.T. volunteers lead an hour and a half session with a group of 8 students, facilitating conversation and participating in different games The B.E.S.T. volunteers alongside their facilitators have come up with active and creative activities such as creating stress balls and yoga Volunteers and their facilitators have managed to transition these fun activities from in-person to the online world Our B.E.S.T. volunteers make such a difference in our awesome students and we are so grateful for all of your creative, fun-loving attitudes!

Next on the docket are our wonderful Reading Rocks volunteers Our Reading Rocks program is designed to support individuals who have, or are suspected to have, dyslexia, dysgraphia, or other learning disability. Our tutors work one-on-one with their students to help develop reading fluency, and knowledge of sight words and phonics. The tutors help the students set goals and acknowledge their strengths, and even help the student design their very own reading folder! Since Jan...uary 2020: We have had over 150 different volunteers involved with Reading Rocks We have had tutors from all across Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, and even from the United Arab Emirates We have been able to offer many placements to students from Brock University and Niagara College Canada in programs such as: Law Plus, Early Childhood Education, and Educational Assistant - Special Needs Support. We also have a lot of volunteers who are teacher candidates All of these creative, supportive tutors have committed at least 25 hours to training, and designing and teaching fun literacy lessons to our bookworms in training! We want to thank all of the fantastic Reading Rocks tutors for the hard work that they do. There is no one better than YOU to instill a love of reading into children and youth across Niagara

Picture this: you're at a sporting event , the sun is shining , you've got your popcorn in hand , and you can hear the call of the 50/50 ticket seller coming through the aisles. In reality, you're at home staring at the TV, it's sort of rainy, and you've got your little one's snack that they didn't want in your handBUT we can still make your 50/50 wishes come true! Delta Bingo is holding a Delta’s 50/50 Draw! The first draw will take place April 24th at 7pm and feature...s a MINIMUM $10,000 PRIZE! Buy your tickets now at www.DeltaBingo5050.com! #deltabingo #charitablegaming #ontario #deltas5050draw #jackpot #win #raffle #5050draw #bingo #gaming Delta Bingo and Gaming Delta Monte Carlo Bingo Delta Bingo Sponsors Association of St. Catharines

First up are our amazing JUMP Math volunteers Our JUMP Math program is designed to support individuals who have, or are suspected to have, dyscalculia (a math learning disability). Our tutors provide one-on-one support to these students and use detailed instructions and repetition to make sure that their students understand the concepts. The tutors also help the students goal set and reflect on their strengths, while incorporating fun math games and activities. Since Janua...ry 2020: We have had over 50 volunteers involved with JUMP Math We have had tutors from all across Ontario We have brought on JUMP Math tutors with very diverse backgrounds . Medical Sciences, Agriculture, Engineering, and Business to name a few. All of these hard-working, dedicated tutors have committed at least 25 hours to training, and designing and teaching fun math lessons to our superstar students. We want to thank all of the amazing JUMP Math tutors for the work they do! We couldn't have done any of this without you

Happy #NationalVolunteerWeek All of the work we do here at the LDANR would not be possible without the dedication and commitment of our volunteers. Whether they are a student looking to gain some practical experience, a retired teacher looking for ways to give back to the community, or a business professional looking for something to do during their free time, our volunteers all have amazing skills and characteristics that they contribute to their volunteer position! In honour of all of the amazing volunteers we have on our team at the LDANR, we will be highlighting a different group of volunteers every day this week. Stay tuned to hear about what our volunteers do and see some pictures of their hard work in action.

Did you know that United Way Centraide (the National United Way Agency) supported more than 5800 community programs last year? In Ontario alone, the United Way invested $153 Million to supporting community agencies focused on helping children thrive, bringing individuals out of poverty, and creating strong and resilient communities. This year however, United Way has received a substantial increase in request for funding and has not been able to bring in the same amount of rev...enue due to the cancellation of important fundraising campaigns and fewer donations. This means that in order to meet the urgent need of community agencies, they need to seek support from the government. United Way Centraide has put together this website which will allow individual and organizational supporters to send letters of support to their local MPs and The Federal Government to help establish a Community Services COVID-19 Relief Fund in the budget for the upcoming year. We encourage all of our supporters to submit a letter of support using this website here: https://act.newmode.net//support-canadian-frontline-charit. Once you fill in your information, a letter will be created on your behalf and sent to the appropriate contacts. It is no secret that the LDANR’s programs wouldn’t be possible without the generous funding through @uwniagara and in order to help support our agency, we need to help support United Way.

The LDANR’s March 2021 newsletter is now available! Read about what our agency has been up to over the past few months and what the next few months of program will look like. We’ve included some screenshots from our Winter programming and our first ever Virtual Trivia Fundraiser and, as always, you can read about our volunteers of the month Pat, Ashley, and Janvi who have gone above and beyond to support our program participants! https://mailchi.mp/bc8281b5993b/ldanr-march-2021-newsletter

Mark your calendars! Spring 2021 program applications open next week on Monday, March 22nd! This spring, we will be offering our Reading Rocks and B.E.S.T. programs, but spots are VERY limited. Be sure to have all necessary documents ready to submit along with your application, including your child's:... Most recent report card/progress report (required); Individual Education Plan (required, if applicable); Assessments (if applicable) Any additional information that you feel may be useful in determining your child's needs for the program. For more information, visit our website at https://ldaniagara.org

You're invited to join the LDANR’s Program Coordinators for a FREE Program Information Night taking place on Tuesday, March 16th at 6:00 pm! Learn more about our agency, the programs and services we offer, and upcoming programs and application dates. You will also have the chance to ask any questions to our Program Coordinators. To register your attendance, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/x/145517596047/

Did you know that you can get a fourteen day trial for Reader Pen by Scanning Pens Canada just by filling out a form? When you request a trial, a rep from Scanning Pens Canada will call you to discuss the pen in detail, we will explain its functions, provide links to print and video user guides and generally make sure the pen is a good solution for you! Interested? Fill out a form here: https://www.scanningpens.ca/.../Request-Parent-Trial...

Program applications for the winter session of LDANR’s S.O.A.R. Post-Secondary Program open on November 23rd at 6:00 AM! The S.O.A.R. Post-Secondary program is a small-group self-advocacy program for students in grades 11 & 12 with a diagnosed, identified, or suspected learning disability to assist with their transition to College or University. For further program details, visit www.LDANiagara.org or contact us at [email protected]... This program is generously funded by the Rotary Club of St. Catharines South

Program applications for the winter session of LDANR’s S.O.A.R. Secondary Program open on November 23rd at 6:00 AM The S.O.A.R. Secondary program is a small-group self-advocacy program for students in grades 7 & 8 with a diagnosed, identified, or suspected learning disability to assist with their transition to high-school. For further program details, visit www.LDANiagara.org or contact us at [email protected]

The LDANR wants to thank Mike Szymanski, long-time program staff of the LDANR, for organizing a half-marathon fundraiser to raise funds for the LDANR! Mike raised a total of $1,035 to support our agency and subsidies for our program families. The LDANR relies on donations, fundraisers, and revenue from local granting agencies such as United Way Niagara to keep program costs low for families. Please help us in congratulating Mike for surpassing his goal, and thanking him for choosing to support the LDANR!

The LDANR is excited to announce that our office is moving, thanks to the Niagara Community Foundation and BCM Insurance Company! We will soon be located in the South Wing of The Branscombe Centre at Unit S215, 1338 Fourth Avenue in St. Catharines. We will commence business at our new location in the new year. Our phone number and email addresses will remain the same, as will our website and social media accounts. This new facility will allow the LDANR the opportunity to ...strengthen community partnerships, increase visibility of our services, and better serve our clients. We look forward to continuing to further our mission of supporting families affected by learning disabilities at our new location! This move could not have been possible without our generous funders. We would like to thank the Niagara Community Foundation and BCM Insurance for the financial support provided to make this happen!

Winter 2021 program applications open on November 23rd at 6:00 AM. Participants must have access to a working device (e.g., computer, tablet, etc.) with microphone, camera, and internet connectivity, as all Winter programs will be operating online via Microsoft Teams due to Covid-19 restrictions. Note: The LDANR office remains closed to the public, and therefore we will not be able to accept hard-copy applications to be dropped off to the LDANR office.... If you have any inquires or concerns about our Winter programs, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected], or visit our website at www.LDANiagara.org for more information. **We encourage you to apply for these programs as soon as possible, as spots are limited. *