Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

TOYROOM FILLED

Christmas comes very early (or late) for Kamloops Sexual Assault Counselling Centre

Jan 22, 2021 | 5:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — Before Christmas, the Kamloops Sexual Assault Counselling Centre (KSACC) asked the community for donations to help fill their therapeutic playroom. CFJC Today got a glimpse of the generosity KSACC’s request ignited throughout the community.

Playing with toys should evoke thoughts of joy and happiness. However, for the youngest clients at the KSACC, the toys in the therapeutic playroom are important tools to help them deal with the trauma they’ve experienced.

“A lot of the kids we see have significant trauma — violence, sexualized violence,” Counsellor Jennifer Gardiner explains. “It’s just important that they have a safe space to come to.”

That playroom got a significant boost on Friday (Jan. 22). Last month, the Centre partnered with Tumbleweed Toys for the Fill the Toy Room campaign. That partnership has given the counsellors a whole new set of tools to help kids express themselves through play.

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“I think the kids really need to connect with different things in the playroom. Of course, they don’t have the language necessary to talk about their trauma so they play it out in the playroom,” Heidi Holst, another counsellor with KSACC explains. “They gravitate to different types of toys. It’s always interesting to see patterns in what they gravitate towards and how they get to play out their feelings and experiences.”

It didn’t take long for the wish list that KSACC provided to be completely filled. In addition to all the toys they received, folks also donated more than $500 in gift certificates for Tumbleweed Toys. That generosity will go a long way to helping KSACC’s clients.

“When we experience trauma, we need to connect with others and connect with the community, because it helps us heal,” Gardiner says. “We’re just really grateful and thankful that community here in Kamloops supports KSACC.”

“We’re humbled by the community’s support, and how willing people were to help us out,” Holst says. “They know how important it is for the ids to have the toys and how important it is for our work here.”