Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to the SMILE program in my riding of Annapolis Valley-Hants. SMILE stands for Sensory Motor Instructive Leadership Experience.
Through this program 165 school aged children with special needs are paired with close to 200 student volunteers from Acadia University. The goal of the program is to enhance individual self-esteem by helping to improve the physical skills of the participants. The positive effects of improved self-esteem spill over in all aspects of their lives.
The SMILE program has been operating for 14 years and through tremendous efforts of both volunteers and participants everyone comes away with a positive experience.
I ask all members of the House to join with me in recognizing all those individuals who have made this program such a success.