When Matt first arrived at CNIB Lake Joe in his role as a volunteer counsellor, he was a teenager with a humble goal of completing volunteer hours for school. He jumped at the chance to get involved with CNIB Lake Joe as it was a stone’s throw from his family’s cottage. It didn’t take long before he began to understand the magic of CNIB Lake Joe.
“I immediately felt the passion for helping kids with sight loss,” explains Matt. “I decided to stay past the completion of my required volunteer hours to be at camp the rest of the summer.”
He didn’t realize the impact that volunteer experience at CNIB Lake Joe would have on him and his family…nor the impact they would ultimately have on the camp community.
“The faces the kids would make when we would take them tubing, fishing, swimming; these are things they never thought that they could do,” describes Matt. “The first time they went out on the water, the reactions that I would see really stood out to me and reminds you of the great work that CNIB Lake Joe does.”
When Matt told his family about the kids at camp being so happy that they couldn’t sleep, his parents got involved. Volunteering with CNIB Lake Joe and supporting the camp soon became a family affair.
In 2015, Matt’s parents Nancy and Steve held a small party at their cottage and guests were asked to donate to CNIB Lake Joe. That was the seed of what has grown into CNIB Lake Joe’s annual signature philanthropy event and the party of each summer in Muskoka, raising critical funds to support the camp. Nancy serves as a philanthropy leadership volunteer on CNIB Lake Joe’s Vision Team and has passed the event planning torch to Matt.
While Matt has always helped his mom with event details, in 2023 he officially joined the CNIB Lake Joe: Cookout with Cuddy event committee. As the youngest member of the committee, Matt emerged as a go-to figure in recruiting guests, facilitating connections, and rallying his friends to help with the monumental task of setting up and tearing down the event.
“My goal is to ensure that all kids can experience camp, no matter their financial need, to give all children equal opportunities to have the childhood fun they deserve,” Matt explains.
CNIB Lake Joe: Cookout with Cuddy was a sold-out event that exceeded its goal of raising $300,000, ensuring kids of all ages can enjoy the magic of camp!
Join our passionate team of volunteers and help CNIB Lake Joe create future events as successful as Cookout with Cuddy! If you're interested in joining our event committee for CNI Lake Joe’s 2024 event, please email Steve Smyth at steven.smyth@cnib.ca today!