Kingston Rotary kicked off March 2022, as Easter Seals month with five presentations at their Feb 24th meeting.
2022: A Monumental Year for Easter Seals
Ontario President and CEO, Kevin Collins, and Lynda Cloutier (Kingston Community Development Officer) brought greetings and a big thank you to Rotarians for their long time help and an explanation as to why 2022 is such a monumental year for Easter Seals in Ontario.
Collins said, “Not only are we celebrating our 100th year but we are also celebrating the 75th anniversary of our three legacy programs : our ambassador program, March as Easter Seals Month, and the Seals themselves.
A Mother’s Story of How Easter Seals Helped Her
Next, three mothers, Rachael Hornbeck; Laura Patterson and Nicole Hayes shared their child’s personal journey with Easter Seals in break-out sessions. Nicole Hayes and her daughter Jessica are featured in this video clip. The overwhelming extra cost of having a daughter with a disability becomes clear as Nicole shares her story.
Jessica was born with Pitt-Hopkins Syndrome, so rare, only 1000 cases exist in the World. It affects, her neurological development, body muscle mass, reflux action, constipation and the brain’s mylar thickness.
Camp Merrywood: Plans for summer 2022
Kate Goodfellow, Operations Manager of Camp Merrywood, near Perth, Ontario, was pleased to announce that the camp will be open this summer, after being closed for the past two summers due to the pandemic.
Goodfellow said, “The Merrywood Camp experience provides kids who would otherwise experience barriers to participation in a regular camp program, a fully accessible and adaptable program to the kids’ abilities.” There will, however, be no guest visits even for Rotarians this summer.
An Easter Seals Ambassador's Story as Told by Coleen McKane
Coleen McKane was 12 years old when she was the Provincial "Tammy" for the year 1991. Today the term Tammy has been replaced with Ambassador. Coleen is now 42 is getting married and holds two jobs. McKane encourages ithers with physical challenges to apply for the role of ambassador because as she siad, "The ambassdor program changed my life forever. It is the reason I am who I am, as successful as I am today.
Keira's Story: "Limited Edition Me"
In this video, Keira McLeod, a resident of Kingston, shares her story of how Easter Seals has helped her. In it, Keira sings a song she wrote and recorded “Limited Edition Me”, that is a life with Spastic Diplegia Cerebral Palsy. During 2016, Keira was an Ontario Ambassador. Her obvious joy with having a life full of mobility shines through.