Because Some Things Are Too Precious To Gamble On
Rachel’s Kids
Who We Are – Rachel’s Kids
The founder of Rachel’s Kids Development Fund is Dr. Rachel Navaneelan, a local dentist in Cornwall. Dr. Rachel initiated a charity auction and garden party held in her own backyard to raise funds to assist victims of the tsunami. The aim of the fundraiser was to bring awareness and to raise money to benefit underprivileged children in Sri Lanka, her native country. Some of these children were orphaned and/or displaced due to past ethnic disturbances and many others were orphaned and displaced due to the tsunami tragedy on December 26th, 2004.
Dr. Rachel had been financially contributing in the past to the best of her capability to support these children. It had been 4 months since the tsunami and the initial tsunami assistance had already faded and the children had been forgotten. Very little or no support had reached the children post tsunami. There were no social benefits or unemployment benefit programs in existence in Sri Lanka, children of parents who lost their livelihood to the tsunami were experiencing the same fate.
Dr. Rachel promised if the fundraiser proved successful, her intention was to make this an annual event where half the contribution would be made to local charities, mainly to benefit children in the community, and the remainder would continue to go towards projects initiated overseas.
Thanks to the compassion and generosity of the communities of Cornwall, SD&G and surrounding area, the event proved to be an enormous success. Dr. Rachel kept her promise. With volunteering efforts and the unrelenting support of our local community we continue to hold our signature “Annual Garden Party & Auction”, as well as our “Foster Program”. We’ve proudly witnessed a significant upsurge in financial contributions allowing us to create, develop and grow multiple programs targeting our local surroundings with emphasis on children with special needs, children with terminal illnesses as well as family support.
We are proud of what we’ve accomplished since 2004 and we will continue to strive to be the community resource for SD&G and surrounding areas.
MEET OUR FOUNDER
There is an old saying and we all know it well. It takes a village to raise a child. That is the philosophy of Rachel’s Kids. It is about working in collaboration with those who are concerned, care about, and are committed to the children of our community, to make life a little better to that child who is battling a life threatening or terminal disease. As well we strive to help children who are differently-abled and I am excited to share our newest project that we are currently fundraising for which is the Rachel’s Kids Park of Hope- a fully inclusive, barrier-free park where children of all ages and abilities can play together safely and joyfully.
Because of what I have witnessed first-hand with the increasing number of school-aged children (1 in 54 in Canada) being diagnosed on the autism spectrum, we have been sponsoring some special outings such as horseback riding and installing sensory pathways in various local schools, as well as distributing specialized sensory equipment to bolster existing sensory rooms.
Additionally, Rachel’s Kids continues work overseas with children in need in Sri Lanka. Through our programs there, we help to build and renovate schools, pay for school supplies, augment teach salaries, provide food parcels and support various breakfast programs to some of the poorest communities in that country. Our Education Sponsorship Program helps provide tutoring at our Mount Carmel school for those wishing to compete for post-secondary studies. Most recently, we built a recreation center/study hall so that residents of a tea plantation community had a place to gather and the children had a place to complete their homework. Through these efforts, we have made a difference in the lives of more than 1000 children.
All this has been achieved due to the generosity of every one of you, through your financial contributions, your time that you give and for every other form of involvement that you make.
I moved to Cornwall in 1993 to start the second chapter in my life. I established a dental practice and 30 years later I’m still here. I can truly say that Cornwall is my home, and when I see the generosity and solidarity that brings this community together as a village to raise that child, I am proud of my home and to be a part of that village.
Sincerely,
Dr. Rachel Navaneelan