{"id":758406,"date":"2026-06-24T16:49:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T16:49:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/758406\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T16:49:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T16:49:11","slug":"surrey-schools-receives-35000-grant-for-accessibility-from-rick-hansen-foundation-rbc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/758406\/","title":{"rendered":"Surrey Schools receives $35,000 grant for accessibility from Rick Hansen Foundation & RBC"},"content":{"rendered":"

June 24, 2026 <\/p>\n

\"proud-recipient-badge-768x764.1a6497206176.png\"\/<\/p>\n

A significant grant from the Rick Hansen Foundation (RHF)<\/a> and RBC<\/a> is recognizing Surrey Schools\u2019 efforts to improve accessibility and helping the district break down barriers.<\/p>\n

The district is among 40 groups from across Canada to receive the RBC Barrier Buster Grant<\/a>, empowering organizations to remove physical barriers to accessibility in their communities. For Surrey Schools, the $35,000 grant will support our Wayfinding Enhancement Project, updating signs, symbols and maps at numerous district sites to help guide people through environments and spaces safely and efficiently.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis grant, and the change we plan to make in our buildings, grew out of the experiences someone with a disability has within our district,\u201d said Colin Reid, District Principal with Student Support<\/a>. \u201cThat experience was heard, and with the help of the Rick Hansen Foundation, we are going to remove barriers and\u00a0continue our commitment to a more accessible Surrey Schools.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reid said the issues with signage were raised by Leena Sansoa, a Grade 12 student who is blind and is a part of the district\u2019s Accessibility Advisory Committee that informs the Surrey Schools Accessibility Plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Upon Sansoa sharing her lived experience, another member of the committee highlighted the Barrier Buster Grant as a potential funding solution, leading Student Support to partner with the Advancement Office<\/a> to submit the application.<\/p>\n

\u201cMembers of our committee often share stories of their lived experiences with a disability, and those experiences\u00a0have been the catalyst for much of the work taken on by our Accessibility Working Group and detailed in our Accessibility Plans,\u201d said Reid. \u201cWe knew this was a great opportunity to try to make improvements\u00a0in this area and we wanted to make sure we had a plan in place to create long lasting change.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rick Hansen Foundation has been a strong supporter for accessibility in schools across Canada for many years. In Surrey and White Rock, the foundation has:<\/p>\n

As the Accessibility Advisory Committee and Accessibility Working Group further their work on the district\u2019s next Accessibility Plan, Reid said he is grateful for the support of organizations like the Rick Hansen Foundation and RBC in addressing the importance of accessibility in our schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it\u2019s more accessible playgrounds, automatic door openers or lifts, sport opportunities or appropriate accommodations\u00a0for employees with disabilities, it\u2019s great to see so many people contributing to removing barriers and increasing accessibility,\u201d said Reid.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are committed to this work, and with the help of the Rick Hansen Foundation, we are removing barriers and increasing accessibility for all.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"June 24, 2026 A significant grant from the Rick Hansen Foundation (RHF) and RBC is recognizing Surrey Schools\u2019…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":758407,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194299],"tags":[49,48,87674],"class_list":["post-758406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-surrey","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-surrey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=758406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758406\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/758407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=758406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=758406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=758406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}