Vivien Symington Builds an Inclusive Village Through Sport and Service: Faces Tri-Cities Co-Author Series 

Geneviève Kyle-Lefebvre & Cathy Cena Today on Faces: Tri-Cities co-authored stories, Cathy Cena and Geneviève Kyle-Lefebvre had the pleasure of sitting down with Vivien Symington, founder of Club Aviva, vice-chair of the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce, and tireless advocate for children with disabilities. Earlier this year the Faces anthology, featuring fifty local women, launched on International Women’s Day and rocketed to No. 1 on Amazon, proving that collective storytelling can mobilize civic energy. Symington’s chapter expands that momentum by showing how evidence-based recreation can transform a community’s social fabric. Club Aviva will turn forty in 2026, but its mission has never wavered: provide safe, skill-building gymnastics for every child, regardless of ability. Symington recalls the moment in 2002 that set her current course. “A mother arrived with a child on the autism spectrum and said she was told I could help,” she said.

“I had no idea what I was getting into, but I said yes.” That yes led to the Symington Symbiotic Foundation, which now fills crucial funding gaps for therapy and adaptive sport, especially for families who receive little or no government support. Alongside an endowment at the Coquitlam Foundation, the charity backs children at risk, para-athletes, and Indigenous youth from the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm community. Symington’s civic reach extends further. She chairs the Chamber’s Women in Business Committee, organizes inclusive sport panels, and pushes for a public-private partnership that would secure city land for a larger gymnastics hub. “It takes a village to raise a child,” she told the audience, quoting her late father, a rehabilitation-medicine pioneer. “Every person has the right to participate, and every municipality should treat pre-hab as essential infrastructure.” Her growth-mindset coaching model values effort over innate talent.

The payoff is visible in moments like the day a young gymnast with cerebral palsy took her first independent steps. “The entire gym stopped,” Symington recalled. “Competitive athletes, parents, coaches, everyone applauded the effort it took to reach that milestone.” That culture of mutual respect, she argues, keeps young people off the streets, away from drugs, and engaged in healthy pursuits. To young women reading Faces, Symington offers simple advice: follow your passion, dream big, and listen closely when the community asks for help. “You start small, then let the village show you where to grow,” she said. In the Tri-Cities, her village is already stronger for it.