You can help build a brighter future for kids with physical disabilities by remembering Easter Seals Ontario in your Will. You are invited to connect with Kayley Trumbley, Manager, Donor Relations, to learn about some gift options that might interest you.

Call Kayley Trumbley at 416.421.8778 ext. 361 or 1.800.668.6252 ext. 361, or email ktrumbley@easterseals.org.

YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE...

EASTER SEALS NEWSVOLUME 13, FALL 2015

RESILIENT YOUTH GIVES BACK

You can help build a brighter future for kids with physical disabilities by remembering Easter Seals Ontario in your Will. You are invited to connect with Kayley Trumbley, Manager, Donor Relations, to learn about some gift options that might interest you.

Call Kayley Trumbley at 416.421.8778 ext. 361 or 1.800.668.6252 ext. 361, or email ktrumbley@easterseals.org.

YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE...

Eighteen-year-old Ryan had dreams of excelling on northern Ontario snowmobile race circuits. But on Christmas Eve in 2013, one accident changed all of that.

After trying a jump Ryan realized his snowmobile was not going to land properly, so he jumped off. Ryan actually landed on his feet, but then fell onto his back and didn’t get up.

The impact caused Ryan’s back and spinal cord to compress and then shatter.

He spent the next 10 days motionless in a bed at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto, where he underwentintensive reconstructive back

surgery. Ryan no longer has any mobility in his legs and uses a wheelchair to get around.

Once he was back at home, Ryan committed himself to helping people with physical disabilities. Earlier this year he raised over $10,000 for Easter Seals’ 41st Snowarama in Timmins. The event brings snowmobilers together to raise funds for vital mobility equipment such as walkers, wheelchairs and communication devices as well as opportunities for kids to attend Easter Seals camp.

“Anything to help is just awesome,” said Ryan. “That was how I looked at it before, and now I see all the expenses in the healthcare field. It’s crazy – just my wheelchair, it’s a

$12,000 wheelchair. Anything I can do to help out other families and help children make the most of life is awesome.”

Before his accident Ryan had participated in and donated to Easter Seals’ Snowarama for years. Now, for Ryan, Easter Seals hits even closer to home.

“After being in the hospital, I didn’t really know what the future held,” continued Ryan. “I didn’t even know I’d be able to drive a truck, but that’s my truck out there (in the driveway). It’s totally customized for me and I can drive around whenever I want. The fundraising, that’s what makes me be able to do all this stuff anyone else can do.”

ROSE BRODIE PROVINCIAL AMBASSADOR SCHOLARSHIP FUNDCHAD LEESLARA WONG

JUDITH BEATRICE DRINNAN MCINTOSH SCHOLARSHIPVISHANA MANOO

BEATRICE DRINNAN SPENCE SCHOLARSHIP FUNDERIKA MAKIVAISHNAVEE SURESH

HIRA SCHOLARSHIP FUNDTYLER PREECE

AGNES MCINTOSH SCHOLARSHIP FUNDBRANDON HOTO

CAMERON AND CALLUM MCINTOSH SCHOLARSHIPROSALYN TYRER

TD SCHOLARSHIP FOR EASTER SEALS YOUTHDANA ARAFEHADAM BILTONPETER BUSSMANNEMILY CHANARSHDEEP DULLET

EASTER SEALS ONTARIOSCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

PROVIDING KIDS WITH A SENSE OF BELONGING

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING STUDENTS WHO WERE AWARDED FUNDING FOR POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION AS PART OF EASTER SEALS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.

KATERINA FORRESTVICTORIA LACEYMEGAN LEONARDJONATHAN LUSAMANTHA MILJAK

TRUELOVE DELL SCHOLARSHIP FUNDPAUL MANIERI

Easter Seals camp gives children and youth with physical disabilities the freedom many of us take for granted. For kids like Amy, who has cerebral palsy, it removes the barriers of her everyday life.

A GRATEFUL SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTI would like to express my sincere gratitude for the tremendous support that you have provided me with the TD Easter Seals Youth Scholarship. I was very happy to learn that I was a recipient of the TD for Easter Seals Youth Scholarship. I am writing to thank you for your generous, financial support towards my last year at university.

I am a Cognitive Science and Psychology major and will be entering my fifth and last year at the University of Toronto. I plan to pursue a Master’s in Neuropsychology in the field of Human Memory after graduation. I really enjoy my field of study and I am currently volunteering at the

2015 scholarship recipient Dana, has limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, a rare group of muscular dystrophies that is characterized by progressive weakness and muscle wasting in the arms and legs. She lives in a single parent family and has a brother with the same disability.

“It gives her freedom, and she gets to feel like a normal kid,” says Amy’s mother, Jennifer. “Last year was her first time at camp. She got to see that she was not alone, that there are kids just like her.”

Because of Amy’s disability, her daily routine is demanding. The time she spends at camp gives her a break but also offers her parents a respite and some time to spend with their youngest daughter, Grace.

“It’s just as important for us as it is for her,” reveals Jennifer. “Amy is the centre of our universe. So when she went away last year it was odd to wake up without her, but it gave me and my

husband the chance to interact with Grace one-on-one.”

While at camp Amy gets the chance to be away from home and try exciting activities that she never thought possible; such as white water rafting, swimming, a high ropes course, rock climbing, canoeing -- activities that wouldn’t otherwise be available to her.

The sense of adventure, belonging and independence that comes from a 10-day experience at Easter Seals camps is priceless.

Jennifer laughs, “As soon as we picked her up [from camp] and drove her home, all she wanted to do was go back.”

I thank you once again for your generous support in this endeavor. I hope that one day I can have a chance to help others, as you have helped me.

Sincerely,Dana

Moscivitch lab and at the Hasher lab at the University of Toronto.

I hope to work on my independent study next year and continue volunteering at the labs to gain more research experience. After my Master’s, I hope to pursue a PhD and then become a professor and active researcher one day.

This scholarship will allow me to focus all my time on my studies and research next year without worrying too much about my financial situation. Additionally, it will allow me to contribute to my community by working in the health care industry in the future. Your financial generosity has allowed me to be one step closer to my goal.

DROP ZONE Be a superhero for kids with physical disabilities by raising funds and rappelling down the side of a high-rise building!

Moreinformationat TheDropZone.ca.

London, September 16 Ottawa, September 21Toronto, September 29 Windsor, October 6

THE SMALL THINGS CAN CHANGE A FAMILY’S LIFE

CELEBRITY HOCKEY CLASSIC TOURNAMENTSTeams have the opportunity to choose and play alongside a former NHL player in a 3-game tournament and meet and greet other former NHL players during a draft party.

DetailsavailableatCelebrityHockeyClassics.com.

NEW for 2015, Huron-Bruce, October 29 & 30 Eric Lindros, Whitby, November 5 & 6Paul Coffey, Vaughan, November 12 & 13Brad May, Oakville, November 19 & 20Rick Vaive, Kitchener-Waterloo, November 26 & 27

Lilly was born seven weeks premature by emergency C-section. During the procedure her oxygen was cut off. Her mother Kelly believes that this is what caused her to have cerebral palsy.

When they returned home as a family, Kelly and her husband noticed that Lilly was missing some milestones; her hands were not opening and key steps were being missed.

When she was six months old, Lilly was officially diagnosed with CP. Her parents didn’t know anything about the disability prior to the diagnosis, so they began the process of learning how it would affect Lilly and then set their goals from there.

“She will walk one day, that’s the goal,” explains Kelly. “She is ready to go now, when she does the laundry with me she pushes herself, along with support form the laundry basket or a diaper box. We are excited to get our walker today.”

Despite having CP, Lilly is like any other kid who likes to play with her brother, build towers out of mega blocks and watch one of her favourite movies: Despicable Me.

Says Kelly, “Though she is limited by her physical disability on the outside, she is like everyone else on

the inside and always ready to go!”

When they had their first fitting with the new walker Lilly’s main challenge was that she was going too fast! It will take some time to get used to the new equipment, but Kelly is excited about the amount of independence it will give her daughter.

“It’s not that she’s really heavy yet but to have to carry her everywhere, it takes such a toll

on my back. And otherwise, she has to crawl so it will be nice for her to be able to get around on her feet and be able to keep up with other kids.”

Kelly and her family have nothing but gratitude for the help Easter Seals provided. “Easter Seals was amazing – they processed our application so quickly, and as a stay at home mom and my husband temporarily out of work, we really needed help for Lilly’s equipment.”

EXCITING EVENTS HAPPENING NEAR YOU!

More

and play alongside a former NHL player

“She will walk one day, that’s the goal...”

-Kelly, Lilly’s mom

Anonymous (8)Clifford AndersonMilton & Mary BlackMichael BoothSteve BradieCatherine & Rudolph BrattyMr. Brian BrownFrancis ChantiamStewart R. ChislettMike DunnHenry EnsAgnes Faraci

THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR GENEROUS DONORS RECOGNIZING DONORS WHO HAVE MADE A GIFT OF $1,000 OR MORE IN 2015.

We apologize for any inadvertent errors or omissions. If you have any questions about your membership or wish to join the President’s Circle, please contact Sheila Street at sstreet@easterseals.org, 416.510.5074

or 1.800.668.6252 ext. 352.

info@easterseals.org | easterseals.org

CONTACT USEASTER SEALS ONTARIO One Concorde Gate, Suite 700 Toronto, ON M3C 3N6

Tel: 416.421.8377Toll-free: 1.800.668.6252Fax: 416.696.1035

We apologize for any inadvertent errors or omissions. If you have any questions about your membership or wish to join the President’s Circle, please contact Sheila Street at sstreet@easterseals.org, 416.510.5074

easterseals.org

Ms. L. Ruth GilmerDoris HansenGrace HarshmanJohn HerlhaltFrank & Christina HolmesPuisand LaiColin & Judy McIntoshRoss McIntoshRobert McLeanMr. Dino MelchiorBharat & Bina PatelKhorshed Patel

Orlando RosaKaron ShepperdsonSally ShortMr. Michael SkinnerEdward SmithJohn TreqaskissYolande TsampalierosMartez WestSteve WilhelmJoan Williams

LOCAL NHL HOCKEY HEROES SPEND TIME WITH EASTER SEALS KIDS IN THUNDER BAY

Eric (captain, Carolina Hurricanes), Marc (New York Rangers) and Jordan Staal (Carolina Hurricanes), Carter Hutton, (Nashville Predators) and Robert Bortuzzo (St. Louis Blues) came out to help raise funds and meet Easter Seals kids and other young fans at the annual Celebrity Skate at Tournament Centre in Thunder Bay in July.

NOW RECRUITING 2016 PROVINCIAL EASTER

SEALS AMBASSADORS!

Want to be the voice for kids with physical disabilities

across Ontario?

Enthusiastic, well-spoken youth between the ages of 9

and 18 are encouraged to apply to become a 2016 Provincial Easter Seals Ambassador at

easterseals.org.