A recent brochure outlining the upcoming recreational activities for children and adults with special needs included an impressive amount of programs at the local Jack Purcell Community Centre. This spring and summer will bring a breath of fresh air into the recreational events being run at the centre.
This year’s brochure by the City of Ottawa included programs that will be run across the city, but it was the Jack Purcell Centre that had nine organized activities.
Just off Elgin Street, the centre and offers various programs to children and adults with special needs.
From aquatic athletics to arts and crafts, the facilities at the Jack Purcell Centre make the most out of the space that it has.
This summer, there will be a number of new opportunities for people in the community. “We are expanding on our children’s program and looking to further explore our programming with visits in and around Ottawa,” says co-ordinator Karen Mitchell-Morrison.
One such trip is “Summer in the City” which is for adults with multiple disabilities and “includes outings within the city and weekly bus trips to outlying areas.”
Closer to home, the community centre boasts a number of facilities that are unique in the city such as the heated pool.
“We facilitate the only therapeutic pool in the city that has a temperature of 92 degrees. Many clients participate in wellness programs that benefit their overall health,” says Mitchell-Morrison.
It also has a fully equipped weight room that is accessible to people with wheelchairs that draws crowds from across the city.
Making Waves is an initiative that helps get people in the pool and includes nine weeks of one-on-one swimming lessons. The lessons are subsidized by a fund raiser and allows the kids to get fun and important lessons for a very low price.
Monique Marguerie, president of Making Waves, says the funding is allows them to waive the fees is a family is unable to pay it themselves.
“Making Waves was founded with the intention of filling that demand for families who may not be able to afford it,” says Marguerie. “The most important thing is that these children get swimming instruction.”
This theme of providing great programs for the minimal cost is a theme throughout the Jack Purcell centre’s offerings this summer.
Keeping the costs low is how they manage to offer such a unusually high amount of programs this summer.
The organization also runs two local parks, St. Luke’s and Jack Purcell Park. These parks have tennis courts of their own that can be utilized, especially as the cold starts to fade away.
These parks, like Making Waves, open up opportunities for activities at a low cost for the participant.
Outside the building, there is a centre-managed garden that the community helps to grow and flourish.
The organizers of the programs are working to schedule and finalize registration for the plethora of upcoming events.
Whether its trips across the province or an art seminar, this summer promises to bring with it many new prospects for the Centretown community.
Fact Box –
The issue: The Jack Purcell Centre is offering a high number of programs this summer considering its size
What’s new: The list of programs was just released.
What it means: The organizers are getting ready for these new programs.
What’s next: The programs will begin and new ones will be devised for the winter months.