07 Jan Thank you Kali Dyck Foundation

Kali Dyck Foundation Donates $50K for Autism Supports

The Kali Dyck Foundation is helping Variety Manitoba fill an underfunded need.

Variety, the Children’s Charity of Manitoba is a registered charity that provides equipment, programs, and services for children living with special needs and economic disadvantage. Jeff Liba, Variety CEO, said support for the organization allows Variety children to have the same ability to grow and learn as other children around them. The Kali Dyck Foundation has donated $50,000 to the organization to support the needs of children living with autism.

The Kali Dyck Foundation was created in memory of Kali Dyck, Lloyd and Jackie Dyck’s daughter and Erik and Chad Dyck’s sister. Chad is living with autism and has a language disability, and with him, Kali found her cause. She believed strongly in supporting special needs causes and had a lifelong interest in the rights and support for people with disabilities. Kali never said no to Chad and spent much of her time volunteering with numerous organizations that support people with special needs until her tragic passing at 25. Kali, at the end of her life, was in the process of entering psychiatric nursing, just one of the many ways she gave back during her lifetime.

“Variety Manitoba is a unique organization that supports people with special needs by assisting them to access the supports they need,” said Lloyd. “It is filling a gap where there are solutions, but people cannot obtain services because of a lack of funding and other issues.”

  Liba said the generous donation of $50,000 will support the needs of children living with autism – specifically for Speech and Language Pathology, autism-specific tutoring services, autism-specific social skills development, and respite. Their gift will support approximately 25 requests.

The Kali Dyck Foundation has supported Variety, the Children’s Charity of Manitoba with several donations over the years, with the funds going toward the same cause.