Leadership Team
Our Story
As a team we are strong advocates for social health and the connection of people to their communities. We strive to remove barriers that exist to participation that prohibit autonomy and freedom to choose how we interact with our communities. We believe ’nothing about us, without us’ means those with disabilities, those who are vulnerable or marginalized are the voice to everything we develop and deliver in our services and programs.
We have extensive experiences from our own families and support those in caregiving roles who are often in crisis. These experiences are united with extensive educational backgrounds, in therapeutic recreation, gerontology, psychogeriatrics, complex mental health, social services, disability studies and child and youth work. Our entire national team is celebrated as the best of the best! Applying knowledge and skill to every person centred experience we deliver. Their expertise contribute to the collaborative projects and initiatives we take part in around the world. They are truly amazing!
As a team we strongly believe in collaborative efforts that will maximize support and minimize the dollars required to deliver optimal services and programs to the individuals that we support. We strive for partnerships in the for profit, non-profit, social enterprise and community organization spaces to ensure effective service delivery. This commitment to knowledge transfer, peer collaborative projects, workshops and training and keynote speaking has led to international scope of inclusion practices in the social health space.
Our Founder and CEO, Amy MacFarlane is also a member of the Canadian Accessibility Network (CAN) and part of the Community Engagement committee and is the Vice Chair of the Vulnerable Persons Committee, for the Standards Council of Canada and represented Canada at BSI headquarters (London, UK) to assist in the development of ISO 22458 a standard that protects the most vulnerable consumers in product delivery and service implementation. Our Founder has also been nominated for the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 but considers our daily work, reward enough.
Team Testimonials
Working for Recreational Respite is truly a rewarding experience! I enjoy seeing my clients progress and learn new skills, or enjoy activities that they were able to do independently in the past. My 1:1 work with my clients develops self-esteem and confidence, while positively impacting their physical and cognitive abilities. Recreational therapy stimulates our clients’ overall well being from the inside out. I also enjoy meeting with care-givers, and feel good knowing that my work affects their overall well being too
Petra
Working as a Recreation Therapist at Recreational Respite is truly a unique experience, it allows team members to foster a personal connection with clients, creating a comfortable and enjoyable environment for growth and stimulation.
Brianne
Our work with our clients is so unique! It’s the opportunity to really connect with our clients and their families with measured therapeutic goals, outcomes and the ability to see it all come together with a successful outcome
Melissa
Recreational Respite is truly a special company to work for. It’s approach to each and every one of our clients are individualized to their needs, abilities and strengths. That kind of attention to detail, makes it a great experience and confirms my role as a Recreation Therapist as being so meaningful
Lina
I enjoy working with those who have developmental disabilities. My experience was varied and somewhat limiting to the provisions of the program designs we could create. The team at Recreational Respite are so nurturing, creative, educational and supportive and they allow us to create programs with far more innovation that includes the community and their programs my clients live in. I love this approach and I enjoy my work so much because of it!
Jennifer
Any Questions?
Give us a call if you have any questions about our in home respite or virtual support!