By Niomi Pearson - Nanaimo News Bulletin

Published: April 13, 2009 3:00 PM

Debbie Gallant finds inspiration in her 14-year-old son, Kevin.

"He changed my life and made me who I am today and I feel like he's made me a better person. He gives me so much strength and courage and he makes me appreciate so much more and what's really important in life is giving back," she said.

Gallant was recently selected by Flare Magazine for its 2009 Volunteer Award for her work with the Nanaimo Unique Kids Organization.

Kevin has a progressive neuro-developmental disability, but within NUKO's programs, he is thriving and learning with an individual education plan.

"It puts me at ease. This is the best thing for him," Gallant said.

The organization began in 2005 when Gallant and a group of parents got together and started looking at Nanaimo's resources.

Their children were not thriving in a traditional classroom setting and there seemed to be a lack of places for special needs families.

"We decided to get their needs met ourselves and once we got started on that journey, we realized there's a whole heck of a lot of needs in our community," Gallant said.

Through Service Canada's Job Creation Program, Gallant obtained funds to complete a community survey that identified challenges for parents with special needs, including getting help to assess and diagnose children and funding.

Today, NUKO has four programs year-round for children and youth with neuro-developmental disabilities between ages eight and 15 - a day program that runs Monday to Friday with an academic focus, a recreation program, life-skills program and summer camp. The summer camp is funded by donations from community organizations.

In addition to helping found NUKO, Gallant has worked on getting charitable status for the organization and continues to liaise with community partners such as BC Hydro and School District 68. Through Variety, Gallant obtained a 15-passenger van for transportation.

Gallant said she is excited to see how NUKO grows in the future.

"I think it's very important that parents dealing with children with special needs get a break," she said. "Everyone that has joined here feels like they've been given gold because their child is happy and able to attend full time."

Gallant will be flown to Toronto for the awards gala on May 13 and will also receive a stay at the Four Seasons Hotel, a fashion photo-shoot, a new wardrobe and will appear in the August 2009 edition of Flare Magazine.

As seen at www.bclocolnews.com