SPONSORED BY TELUS
Kids in Motion has been making a difference in Port McNeill since February 2016. Matt Martin, president for the non-profit society, gave all the credit to his partner, Lani Siminoff, for the idea.
“After we had our son, there just wasn’t much for them to do in the winter,” he said. “So one day we were sitting around having dinner and she said we needed something like an indoor play centre, and why don’t we start one ourselves.”
After that, they sat down and invited some friends to get involved, formed a group of directors and started fundraising in March.
“We started sending out letters asking for donations,” Martin said. “It was local fundraising — we sent letters to individuals and businesses in Port McNeill and even to Port Hardy.”
The group also raised money by holding events like a ladies movie night at the Gate House Theatre, a petting zoo during OrcaFest, a hot dog fundraiser outside the IGA and even started a gofundme campaign online.
Kids in Motion’s indoor play centre officially opened its doors in November, and Martin was proud to say they had more than 1,400 kids come through the doors in the first five months.
When asked how much work went into the play centre becoming a reality, Martin said it was “an insane amount of time,” adding he usually spends two or three hours every day on the project, “and everybody else involved is very busy working on the project, too.”
Martin said the group really cares about what’s happening in Port McNeill. “We knew if we wanted to see a change here we had to take it upon ourselves to make that change happen.”
“I think the biggest thing for me is just knowing we’re making a difference,” said Martin. “I think we all have different motivations for wanting to do this, but for me personally my favourite thing is just seeing kids having fun and enjoying the space.”
Martin continues to work tirelessly in support of Kids in Motion. Professionally he is in charge of Homecare Services, and continually finds the time to build new opportunities for kids and adults to be active and create together. Thanks to Martin and the other Directors of Kids in Motion, children and adults have had opportunities for leading and participating in a variety of different art activities, children’s dances, and ladies wine and board games nights on an ongoing basis in Port McNeill.
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