Ten Years at GPS

Here at Gifted People Services, we recently celebrated our 10 year anniversary on August 26th, 2022. It has been a fulfilling and rewarding journey, not without many hardships. We are pleased to celebrate this milestone with our 10th Year Anniversary Gala in October. Here is an overview of the past 10 years at GPS:

Origin of GPS

About the Founder 

Founded by a mother of a child with autism and global developmental delay, founder and executive director Dianna Jiang recognized the importance of support before and after a diagnosis of a developmental disability. She believed that people with special needs are gifted just like everyone else. Before GPS became an organization, Dianna organized parent support groups for families that had children with special needs and were going through similar struggles. The first parent support group was in March of 2012. 

Learning and First Steps (2012-2013)

In August, we officially registered as a not-for-profit organization and had our first family trip, which GPS will continue to offer free of charge for families with developmental disabilities. Gifted People Services was started with the goal of helping families with developmental disabilities discover their child’s unique talents and skills.

It was a busy first year at GPS. Our first office opened and we welcomed families and children in need of support. Our first program was an Adapted Afterschool program and the first workshop was on navigating a registered disability savings plan. We had many summer trips and holiday celebrations as well.

Growing and Building a Community (2013-2019)

After GPS’ first year, we continued to receive interest in our organization. Services with ABA/IBI and special programs for children and support and workshops for parents became the staple of GPS. We had a variety of special programs including yoga, cooking, fitness, violin and piano, talent, respite, music therapy and speech therapy. Our family trips included ice fishing, fruit picking, cottage trips, outdoor events and field trips. We also had successful fundraising galas to celebrate our anniversaries and talent shows to celebrate World Autism Awareness Day. In 2018, our largest office opened in Markham and since then it has been the home of many of our successful programs and workshops. 

Adapting to a Pandemic (2020)

Due to the unprecedented pandemic caused by COVID-19, our organization was challenged in ways we never expected. We were forced to adapt to changes and discover new ways to manage, along with the rest of the world. Our center closed in March and services were suspended. It was an extremely difficult time for our clients and families. Thankfully, we reopened in May while adapting and being mindful of all the new restrictions.

Strength from Adversity (2021-2022)

With the dedication of our staff and volunteers, we rose to the challenge brought by the pandemic and continued to work towards strengthening the potential of our clients. We opened our Scarborough office in 2021, which brings us to four operating offices in the GTA. We also launched our first online store GPS Gifts to raise funds for our organization. We have happily resumed our programs and services at full capacity and it has been a fruitful year with our school group program, social skills program and camps.

GPS Values and Initiatives

At GPS, there are a few causes/matters that are very important to us that we take extra care and initiative towards.

Funding

We strive to provide families with the information necessary to help them receive funding to use towards services. GPS has repeatedly collaborated with other organizations and professionals to give funding and workshops to help support the families in our GPS community. We also provide assistance with applications and forms related to funding and government subsidies. 

Environment

At GPS, we make efforts to be environmentally conscious and have a positive environmental footprint. At our centers, we strive to reduce our waste, particularly in plastic use. We encourage our staff and clients to bring in reusable water bottles and containers for their meals. We invested in wooden utensils and reusable cups. We frequently repurpose materials that would otherwise be thrown out, to be used in arts and crafts and do-it-yourself projects. We accept donations of items such as clothing, accessories and diapers, to store and be of use for families in need of these items. An exciting initiative was our Veggie Monday Program. We encourage our staff to bring a meatless lunch or meal on Mondays. We are aware of the environmental impact of consuming meat products, therefore it is our goal to collectively lessen our consumption as an organization. We were happy to see an organization-wide effort in participating in this initiative. 

Support for Parents

As GPS started as a place for parents to support one another, we always strive to support parents in navigating the challenges of special needs. We offer the following services for parents:

• Family consultations

• Parent support group

• Stress management program

• Parent ABA training 

• Workshops 

We are proud to provide a full range of services to families with children with special needs. We are proud of the work we’ve done and look forward to the future and serving more families. Please join us on October 21st to celebrate.

https://giftedpeople.ca/anniversary-gala

- Gifted People Services