Happy 5th Birthday OTFC+

As OTFC+ turns 5 today the proud parent in me had a few things to say….?

We should make a sibling for OTFC

Ten years after having the one clinic, it became apparent we needed a larger space for the clients we had been servicing since 2005 – these children were turning into teenagers and young adults and the small therapy spaces at our flagship clinic (Adelaide) were no longer providing the “just right” challenges for our bigger friends. One friend in particular, had been a client with Dino Mennillo since he was two and with all the challenges he had faced in his little life, he kept surprising everyone and was turning into a very physically capable teenager. He wasn’t unlike other clients we had and Dino would come home and say “we need to build something bigger for Alex – he is getting too big!”. I had worked the front desk for many years and knew all the families and I too thought this cannot be where?Alex’s development stops. To be fair, I equally thought the same of quite a few of our clients.

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The hard stuff - The Birth

We started looking for a site to purpose build the second OTFC whilst we were training for the NYC marathon (there are a lot of roads to run in Adelaide) and in February 2016 when we arrived home from the USA (and smashing that Marathon for the Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis society), we secured Mile End South. Two years in the design and building phase (with Detail Studio , Horizon Construction Services , and Prana Studios) and on June 4th 2018, OTFC+ was open to the public. I just want to pause here for a moment because that sentence was easy to write but in reality those two years were relentless, unforgiving and hard. This was unchartered territory for Dino and I. A $4m investment that was financed privately with?everything?on the line. If I could explain it, it was like getting up and doing 16 hour days with a blind fold on working toward something and not knowing if it was going to fail or succeed. It was scary and at times we did not have anyone but each other to lean on. There were sacrifices and we made each one knowing “if” this works, our great people at OTFC are going to make the lives of so many families greater. As we now know,?there are many clients like?Alex, and what became apparent to the OTFC family was that there was nothing for a large cohort of young people in the community and OTFC+ opened the doorway for these beautiful humans to leave their homes and once again begin to engage in physical activity and learn to be more socially comfortable. OTFC+ was a step forward (for all of us)

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The Reveal

The joy in opening OTFC+ and seeing what is has achieved and how many families have been impacted by its presence (felt so warmly by everyone in attendance on Friday night at our little staff celebration and to some of our families that came out to celebrate the milestone) is an addiction. Once you get a seat at the table and know how hard and messy the way to that type of joy can be, it takes only a moment to realise that you always want to continue that feeling.?

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What’s next

I have had a lot of people ask me of late what is our driver behind wanting to expand nationally and it has been hard to describe. I wish I could have bottled up the conversations and the “feeling”?experienced on Friday night because that is what we want for as many people as possible. OTFC makes people’s lives greater and we do it with our therapy carefully hidden in play. It literally is life changing fun!?

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The road to achieving that is not going to be easy – in fact it will be exhausting, it will be unrelenting, it will be messy, and there will be a price to pay for this type of effort,?but, what unequivocally overrides that, is JOY. And that joy can only be found within the walls of our buildings, between our people and our clients, in the lunchrooms, the boardrooms, the waiting rooms and it is the single reason Dino and I dedicate our lives to this purpose.?

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A Thankyou

So, before I close out this trip down memory lane I do want to say thank you to Michael Crisci for taking what has been a labour of love for Dino and I and nurturing It in the way that only Michael can do, and making it the beautiful place it is. We are proud to know you and are thankful for the enormous respect you always show us but also the reciprocal trust, friendship and care between us all that has enabled OTFC+ to flourish and for you to take it on a national stage this coming week. Thank you Michael - This birthday celebration is as much yours as it is ours! And to the rest of the incredible team that have each touched part of the OTFC+ project (The O.G's, staff who are no longer with us and more those that continue to be a part of its journey - THANK YOU

An Awesome life

As I walked back to my car on Friday night, I glanced up at that night sky and quietly thanked the universe for allowing me to be a part of this incredible life experience and somewhere hiding behind the white silhouette of the OTFC+ building was the tip of the birthday hat that today sits proudly on it's roof.

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OTFC is our life and we choose to make it a big awesome life with all of you.

* I went through the archives and found this photo of Dino and I at the official launch party for OTFC+ in 2018... tired and happy!