At just 21 years of age, Kaleb Spellman has his own apartment, a secure job and more friends than he could have dreamed of when he was a lonely child coping with cerebral palsy in rural New Brunswick.
Feeling isolated and left out of activities, Kaleb was in high school in Sussex when he first reached out for help from Ability New Brunswick. Thanks to Ability NB, a United Way funded partner, and a whole new world opened up for him.
“The Ability New Brunswick team helped me get into sports and, through sports, I have made tons of amazing friends. They have an equipment loan program and that helped me a lot,” Kaleb says.
“They also helped me when it came time to go to college. They helped me decide what my options were and if I needed some adaptive equipment. Because of them, I went through college, I graduated and I actually was able to start up my own business.”
Kaleb, who studied graphic design at the New Brunswick Community College, is now a successful graphic designer.
And thanks to United Way donors, Kaleb and others with a mobility disability in the province are getting the support they need to gain a new perspective on life.