About Cherished Moments Recreation Therapy
Our work is grounded in recreation therapy: an evidence-informed health profession that uses purposeful activity and social connection to support emotional, physical, cognitive, social, and spiritual well-being.
We provide professional, mobile recreation therapy and companion services to individuals and families throughout Kamloops and the Thompson-Nicola region. Our services are designed to meet people where they are — at home or in the community — and are thoughtfully adapted to reflect changing abilities, goals, and life circumstances.
Cherished Moments was founded by Melissa Hood, a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (BTR, CTRS®) with extensive experience in long-term care, dementia care, and community-based programming. Her practice is guided by clinical reasoning, professional ethics, and deep respect for each individual’s lived experience.
Every service follows a structured recreation therapy process:
Assessment
Individualized Planning
Purposeful Implementation
Ongoing Evaluation
This ensures that interventions are intentional, measurable, and aligned with therapeutic outcomes.
At Cherished Moments, we believe that meaningful engagement is essential to health, well-being, and quality of life.
To enhance quality of life through individualized, evidence-informed Recreation Therapy that supports meaningful participation, independence, and whole-person wellness.
We provide professional, ethical, and responsive services that adapt to each person’s strengths, goals, and evolving needs.
We envision a community where every person, regardless of age, ability, or life circumstance, has access to Recreation Therapy that fosters dignity, belonging, and continued growth.
We believe Recreation Therapy is an essential part of health and wellness across the lifespan, supporting people to live with purpose, connection, and meaningful participation in everyday life.
Our Vision
Our Mission
Person-Centred Practice
We recognize each individual as unique. Services are guided by personal history, strengths, culture, preferences, and goals.
Professional Integrity
We deliver evidence-informed Recreation Therapy grounded in professional standards, thoughtful planning, and purposeful interventions that support meaningful outcomes.
Dignity and Respect
We honour autonomy, identity, and lived experience in every interaction, creating spaces where individuals feel valued and heard.
Inclusion and Accessibility
We actively reduce barriers to participation by providing adaptive, welcoming, and accessible services for people of all ages and abilities.
Collaboration
We partner with families, caregivers, and other professionals to ensure continuity of care and a supportive, connected experience.
Growth and Empowerment
We believe that growth, creativity, and connection remain possible at every stage of life, and we support individuals in building confidence, independence, and purpose.
Our Values
Recreation is often misunderstood as optional or secondary. We know it is foundational to health and well-being.
Meaningful engagement shapes identity, strengthens relationships, and builds resilience through life’s changes. It restores confidence after illness or injury and preserves dignity as abilities evolve.
Our passion lies in helping people continue participating in life, not simply observing it.
At Cherished Moments, we believe that the need for purpose, connection, and growth does not diminish with age, illness, or circumstance. These needs remain essential at every stage of life.
Through Recreation Therapy, we create intentional, goal-directed opportunities for individuals to:
express themselves
strengthen their abilities
reconnect with what matters most
experience belonging and community
We are not simply facilitating activities. We are supporting health through purposeful engagement and advancing Recreation Therapy as an essential service within community wellness.