John M. Sims Fund

Banner-with-a-picture-of-a-smiling-Special-Olympics-athlete-and-text-saying-John-M-Sims-Fund

 

Mission

As a longtime Special Olympics BC Director and champion, John M. Sims was committed to ensuring athletes have equal access to life-changing sport programs and health opportunities.

Too many people with intellectual disabilities are still being left behind and forgotten by society. They knew the pain of loneliness long before COVID-19. Their isolation has a devastating impact on their health. Despite severe need and higher health risks, people with intellectual disabilities around the world often lack equal access to health services, and die on average 16 years sooner than the general population.

In B.C., Special Olympics is committed to changing that with our inclusive health initiatives and our high-quality year-round programs. For many Special Olympics BC athletes, our sport, youth, health, and leadership programs are the primary place – or for too many, the only place – where they get vital social connections and healthy physical activity.

Your support of the John M. Sims Fund will ensure Special Olympics athletes have equal access to sport, health, and community. Like John Sims, you will show them they are valued, celebrated, and seen for their abilities.

Please donate today 

 

Your Impact

Building opportunity and community

Special Olympics BC offers year-round sports and youth programs that give athletes with intellectual disabilities the chance to gain sport and life skills, and feel the joy of being part of the team. 

“Special Olympics has helped me overcome barriers and bullying, and has helped me not to give up and go for my best.”
-Susan Wang, SOBC – Surrey athlete 


Creating health equality

People with intellectual disabilities lack access to quality health care and experience dramatically higher rates of preventable disease, chronic pain, and premature death. Our ultimate goal is to create a world where all people have the same opportunity to be healthy by addressing a range of barriers, which include lack of access, education, and resources. 

“Special Olympics means a lot to me. It keeps me motivated, happy, and fit. It helps me be how I am today – a champ.”
-Ryan Courtemanche, SOBC – Kelowna athlete


Opening hearts and minds

Special Olympics raises awareness about the abilities of people with intellectual disabilities. Through sports, we showcase the skills and dignity of our athletes. We also bring together communities to see and take part in the transformative power of sports.

"Special Olympics has given me a community, it’s given me confidence and endless opportunities."
-Genny Verge, SOBC – Sunshine Coast athlete

 

Please donate to make a difference today

 

About the John Sims Fund

John Sims and friends.
SOBC Treasurer John Sims (centre) and friends and clients Greg Forrester & Milton Carrasco, initiators of the John M. Sims Fund.

In his decade with the Special Olympics BC Board of Directors, John Sims was a true champion of Special Olympics, and a generous and wholehearted supporter of the goals and ideals of this organization. In recognition of Sims’ dedicated and thoughtful service to SOBC, his friends and associates chose to honour his significant impact by creating an endowment fund in his name to benefit Special Olympics BC.

During his years with the SOBC Board of Directors, Sims gave generously in a wide variety of ways in order to ensure opportunities and life-changing experiences for Special Olympics athletes. An avid sports enthusiast, Sims was a strong advocate for Special Olympics athletes receiving the same kinds of training opportunities afforded to other athletes.

A distinguished Chartered Accountant, partner at Manning Elliott Chartered Accountants, and Executive Director at Ernst & Young LLP, Sims set an example of strong community service, giving his time to many charitable and community associations. In 1999, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of B.C. named him CA of the Year in recognition of his community service, and he was elected a Fellow of the ICABC in 2004 in recognition of his service and the honour he has brought to the accounting profession.

In addition to the personal generosity and vision Sims shared with SOBC, he brought his financial acumen to bear on our behalf as our Treasurer from 2006 to 2013. A compassionate and intelligent leader for the organization who always had the best interests of the athletes at heart, Sims was a strong advocate for SOBC's Coach Development Workshop programming, and he was passionate about helping athletes improve their health and wellbeing with health screenings, athletic training, and nutritional information in programs.

John Sims and family
Former SOBC Treasurer John Sims and his family at the unveiling of the John M. Sims Fund for SOBC.

Sims truly made a mark on our organization. Recognizing and celebrating this, his friends and associates sought to honour him by launching the John M. Sims Fund to ensure the continuation of his vision and support of SOBC.

His business associates, family, colleagues, and friends from many areas of his life came together to support the idea. The first fund appeal was issued to friends, family, and fans of Sims at the beginning of March 2013, and by the month’s end, donations in his honour totalled more than $60,000.

The creation of the fund was initiated by Milton Carrasco and Greg Forrester, longtime clients and friends. The idea was forged and those generous first donations drawn together without Sims' knowledge, and the surprise tribute was revealed to him in March 2013, when members of his family, friends, and associates came together with SOBC staff at the provincial office to unveil the fund.

“We’ve created a fund here at Special Olympics BC in your name, John, to honour you for everything you’ve been to us, in every different way, whether it’s doing charity work with Special Olympics, whether it’s the professional group you’ve mentored, the many hundreds you’ve touched and been able to help out, your fishing buddies, clients, friends, and family,” Carrasco said. “It’s with great honour we have come together to say thank you for everything you’ve done.”

“The creation of this fund will absolutely help athletes for years and years to come,” SOBC President & CEO Dan Howe said.

 

Ways to Give

Donations are welcomed in a variety of ways:

By phone: 604-737-3180

By mail: The John M. Sims Fund

c/o Special Olympics BC, #210 – 3701 Hastings Street, Burnaby, BC V5C 2H6

Online: Please click here

For more information on how you can support the John M. Sims Fund, please contact SOBC Fund Development Coordinator Amanda Liao at aliao@specialolympics.bc.ca or 778-938-8202.