South Fraser Active Living Group (SFAL) was created by 4 like minded people with physical disabilities. Our first goal was to find out what was available at our local recreation centres and fitness facilities that we could access. We advocated for chair fitness classes & encouraged the City of Surrey in particular to indicate on their websites what is “accessible” at their facilities: the local recreation centres & pools mostly. We wanted to access and identify fitness opportunities in our community. Our aim is to reduce and eventually eliminate the barriers that prevent people with physical disabilities from full participation in a variety of regular physical activity at an affordable price. As we grow and connect people to one another and their communities we have active members from both sides of the Fraser but mostly from New West, Burnaby, Delta, Tsawwassen, Surrey & Langley. We get some support from Spinal Cord Injury-BC & SPARC-BC which allows us to host some in-person events such as bowling, fish n chips, BBQ & Boccia at no cost to the members. Cost is so prohibitive as people with disabilities have so many extra expenses associated with living such as transportation (adapted vehicles can cost 2x what a "normal" van would cost), having to rely on Handy-Dart and public transportation can also be harmful to some of us. We encourage members with spinal cord injuries and related diseases to get together with each other and chat. Networking as we all know can have many benefits.
We are asking for donations to help fund our activities not only during the summer but throughout the whole year.
We encourage people in our community to become more active with support and friendships. We advocate at different city and private gym facilities to include universal workout machines we can all benefit from.
The South Fraser Active Living Group has a mandate to help people who have physical disabilities who live in close proximity to the Fraser river near Vancouver BC. Our mission is to facilitate opportunities and to remove barriers that prevent full and inclusive participation in our local communities. We also endeavor to work with all British Columbians who have physical disabilities to enhance their quality of life by being active in their community and beyond.