Cindy creates such a welcoming and supportive environment. We are so grateful for Catching Stars.
Chapter Two: The Heart
Built from the belief that every person deserves to be seen, valued, and welcomed into belonging.
Catching Stars exists because every person deserves more than somewhere to go. They deserve somewhere to belong.
The heart behind Catching Stars
For Cindy, this story began long before Catching Stars had a name.
Growing up alongside her sister, who has diverse abilities, Cindy saw the joy, personality, strengths, and potential that can be missed when people are seen only through the support they require. She also came to understand how important it is for families to find a place where their loved one is physically and emotionally safe, genuinely known, welcomed, and valued.
Through her later experience creating and leading programs, Cindy saw what was possible when support was built around trust, consistency, friendship, and real connection. She created Catching Stars to be the kind of place she believed people and families deserved: a place where participants could belong, build meaningful relationships, discover what they can do, and continue growing toward goals that matter to them.
Cindy Walker Founder & Program Director
Starting with each person
Every person arrives with their own strengths, interests, goals, personality, and way of communicating.
We take time to get to know the individual and work alongside them and their family to understand what matters to them, which supports are helpful, and what they would like to work towards. We begin where the person is currently, build on their strengths, and create opportunities for confidence, friendship, independence, joy, and growth.
A place shaped by its people
Catching Stars is shaped every day by the people who enter it.
Participants share ideas, help one another, make choices, take on responsibility, laugh, create, and keep learning together. Cindy's vision is carried by a team that values consistency, encouragement, and genuine relationships. Together, they create an environment where people can feel comfortable being themselves and proud of the part they play.
That same people-first approach guides Catching Stars as an inclusive adult program for special needs, developmental disabilities, intellectual disabilities, diverse abilities, and varying abilities in Scarborough and Toronto.
That belief becomes visible in the way each day is shared.
The next chapter shows what that belief looks like in real life.