09/04/2026
The PADDLE Program seeks sustainable provincial funding as the waitlist continues to grow.
North Bay Toyota is renewing its partnership with the PADDLE Program, sponsoring the Annual North Bay Toyota PADDLE Appreciation Lunch to recognize another year of growth and community-building among adults with complex disabilities in The City of North Bay. (BayToday Staff - Aug 8, 2026 12:00 PM)
With 42 people on its waitlist, the PADDLE Program is continuing to press for sustainable provincial operating funding to help secure the future of its experiential learning and wellness hub in North Bay.
The PADDLE Program is a community-based experiential learning and wellness hub where adults with complex developmental and physical disabilities pursue wellness, healthy and meaningful relationships, self-determination, and the opportunity to fully participate in community life.
"One of the principles that defines The PADDLE Program is the belief that adults with complex developmental and physical disabilities deserve the same dignity, autonomy, and opportunity to direct their own lives as anyone else," says Megan Johnson, executive director of The PADDLE Program. "Rather than asking people to fit within a predetermined program, PADDLE has evolved into a community hub shaped by the adults who make it their own. Its direction is guided by their lived experiences, goals, choices, and aspirations. The result is more than a service—it is a community where people are respected as adults, where their contributions matter, and where they experience the dignity that comes from helping build something that belongs to them as much as it does to anyone else."
North Bay Toyota and the PADDLE Program are celebrating a partnership built on shared community values
North Bay Toyota's partnership began with a shared commitment to community. After choosing to support The PADDLE Program, team members spent time in the hub, meeting participants, listening to people with lived experience, and learning firsthand what this community means to those who have built it.
"They came to understand the uncertainty surrounding PADDLE's future and what would be at risk if this community was lost," added Johnson. "Rather than stepping away, North Bay Toyota chose to continue investing—not simply in an organization, but in the adults, families, and relationships that make this community possible."
TOYOTA's global mission, Producing Happiness for All, reflects a belief that strong communities are created when people have the opportunity to thrive. That belief is reflected in the partnership between North Bay Toyota and The PADDLE Program.
To celebrate another year of community built by the adults at PADDLE, North Bay Toyota sponsored the Annual North Bay Toyota PADDLE Appreciation Lunch, recognizing growth, contributions, perseverance, and the relationships that continue to strengthen this remarkable community.
"The strongest partnerships are built on understanding," explains Johnson. "Taking time to meet the people who make up this community, to listen to their experiences, and to see what is possible when adults with complex disabilities are allowed to pursue lives defined by choice, contribution, and connection. We are deeply grateful for their continued belief in this community and in the people who make it so extraordinary."
The PADDLE Program continues to advocate for sustainable provincial operating funding.
"Protecting PADDLE means sustaining a place where people are not defined by the support they receive, but by the relationships they build, the knowledge they share, and the contributions they make to one another and to the broader community, on their own terms," adds Johnson.
The PADDLE Program resumes operation September 8 after an annual break in August. Forty-two people remain on the waitlist.
Visit the PADDLE Program Website: http://www.paddlenorthbay.ca/site/
Toyota Canada Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc.
