Life Without Limits Gala

The 2018 Life Without Limits Gala

This year, our Life Without Limits Gala is all about learning without limits.

Many have experienced being a student at some point but couple that with living with a disability and the weight of responsibility can become tremendous. Cerebral palsy is the world’s most common childhood disability and with rising prevalence, aspiring students in BC will need support to reach their goals in education.

That’s why we’re focusing on giving students with cerebral palsy a better chance at a successful post-secondary career this year. By attending our event, you’ll be able to help us do just that.

Proceeds of the Life Without Limits Gala will raise critical funds for our programs and services, including the Tanabe Bursary. This financial assistance program helps students with cerebral palsy attend a post-secondary institution of their choice by significantly cutting down their tuition costs.

2018 also marks a new home for the gala! Here are the event details:

Location	Sheraton Wall Centre – Pavilion Ballroom 1088 Burrard St, Vancouver, BC V6Z 2R9
Date	15 March, 2018
Time	5:15 PM – 9:00 PM

Get your 2018 Gala Tickets

What to expect

Presentations from leaders in the disability community and our generous sponsors
Live entertainment
Sit down dinner
Silent Auction
Live Auction

What’s up for auction at the 2018 Gala?

Our Special Guests

Emcee

Geoff Hastings

Geoff Hastings is a news anchor and occasional reporter for Global BC, hailing from Alberta and has worked in the Okanagan. If he weren’t working in news, we would be a scientist – his thirst for discovery and trying new things is his favourite part of the job. Geoff will be bringing his onscreen charisma to the Gala as our emcee for the night!

Speakers

Cindy Frostad

Cindy Frostad is a member of The Family Support Institute, and a Resource Parent supporting families in her area who are raising children needing extra support in education and daily living. A mother to an individual with cerebral palsy, Cindy is an independent educator and consultant working collaboratively toward system change with people in education, health, and social development, often bringing all sectors together to work on the same goals. She sees the crucial importance of special needs education because “knowledge is empowering… we need to set up an environment where every individual can achieve potential. They need to be able to explore, follow passions, and [we need to] support them in doing that.” We are lucky to have her as part of our Gala speakers panel!

Nathan Bragg

Nathan Bragg is an undergraduate at Carleton University, studying a double major in journalism and communications studies. A four-time Tanabe Bursary recipient, the financial assistance with his degree has allowed him to learn without limits and be a successful participant in the Carleton community. He also has significant experience as a programming coordinator for his university’s Disability Awareness Centre, working on increasing disability and accessibility awareness on campus and providing peer support and mentorship. Nathan also plays wheelchair rugby for the Ottawa Stingers! We are excited to welcome him as a Gala speaker for the night!

Marco Dixon

Marco Dixon is a 2017 Tanabe Bursary recipient and a man of many talents. His interests range across film, art, illustration, and design, and he is currently at Capilano University, aiming for the Bachelor of Illustration and Design program. Marco started his own business at the age of three, selling his artwork on clothing down at the beach! In more recent times, he set up his own production company, Naked Lenny Media, which he say has been instrumental in gaining exposure for his art and achieve ultimate results. We are pleased to welcome him in our Gala speakers lineup!

Julia Halipchuk

Julia Halipchuk is a young, successfully employed structural engineer living with cerebral palsy. This helps her relate to the same struggles and challenges that the members face and further ignites her passion for the organization. She enjoys the nature of her work since it’s always changing and there are always new problems and challenges to solve. In addition, she is glad to give back to an organization which has helped her pursue her career goals and gave her the space to feel like a welcome member of the community. The former Tanabe Bursary recipient will be doing our closing remarks!

Dallas Bennett

Dallas Bennett is a Tanabe bursary recipient from Campbell River BC. They received their honours BSc in Biotechnology from UBC and BCIT in 2015. Having moved to Halifax NS, Dallas is currently working as a technician in a Medical Neuroscience research lab at Dalhousie University. In their spare time, Dallas enjoys listening to podcasts, watching Netflix and cuddling their 5 pets. Dallas will be putting together a special video exclusively for the gala!

Auctioneer

David C. Jones

David C. Jones is a producer, director, writer, actor, and editor. A man with many hats, his passion for a multitude of issues is what makes his award-winning work compelling and full of social commentary. He strives for diversity and inclusion in his films, and represented Vancouver as an ambassador for BC Culture Days. His motivations for being a part of our dedicated cause? “I help out because if I can’t give a lot of money and can give my time (and try to convince others to give money!) … I think one way of letting people know that they are not alone in their struggles is my showing up and letting them see how many people actually care.” We’re excited to welcome back David’s enthusiasm as our Gala auctioneer for the third year running!

Performer

Zoey Leven

Zoey Leven is a 17 year old indie rock artist from Coquitlam, BC. She is a multi-instrumentalist who composes her own music and plays a variety of covers, from indie and classic rock to pop tunes. We’re happy to have her performing for us on the night of our Gala!

Stephen Lytton

Stephen is a member of the Nicomen Indian Band within the Nlaka’pamux First Nation. Stephen lives with a disability (cerebral palsy), and is a residential school survivor having spent 13 years in the St. George’s Indian Residential School starting when he was a young child.

An accomplished actor, writer and presenter, Stephen has presented both in western and eastern Canada to various groups regarding his personal experiences in residential school as an Aboriginal person living with a disability. He will be gracing our event with a territorial acknowledgement.

Current Sponsors

Presenting Sponsor

Gift a Table Sponsor

Media Sponsor Print Sponsor AV Sponsor

Wine Sponsors

Friends of the Gala

Purchase Your Ticket

Stay tuned for more as we get closer to the event.

The History of the Gala

The Annual Life Without Limits Gala 2017

The 2017 Life Without Limits Gala was held on Thursday, March 2nd, 2017 and what a night it was. Our theme, Play Without Limits was truly in effect — we celebrated and we inspired. Thanks to all of your efforts, we took steps towards improving the disability community in British Columbia

A major highlight of the evening was our live screening of the Play Without Limits short film, showcasing the journey we had with the Darvish family. The funds raised from our 2016 Life Without Limits Gala helped the CPABC to donate a new adapted tricycle to Hassan and Marjaneh Darvish for their daughter Eleeka. Eleeka’s experience is the embodiment of our theme, Play Without Limits.

Our event raised over $45,000.00!