It’s one of the country’s most beloved pastimes, and on Saturday, members of Easter Seals Ontario and their supporters came together to fundraise.
Easter Seals is a charity supporting children with disabilities and their caregivers.
It provides funding for equipment, camp experiences and more.
13-year-old Dawson Stewart is an Easter Seals regional ambassador.
“Easter Seals has helped me afford a lot of equipment we couldn’t have afforded without Easter Seals,” said Stewart.
The same goes for Easter Seals mom Nicole Hayes who’s daughter Jessica is also an Easter Seals ambassador.
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“She was diagnosed at 15 months with Pitt-Hopkins Syndrome. It’s a rare neurological condition, it’s a deletion in the chromosome 18,” said Hayes.
Since joining Easter Seals in 2018, Hayes says their support has enabled them to purchase a bath chair for Jessica, which costs $1,200, as well as a chair lift for their home.
Hayes says it’s like they’ve found a second family.
“The family of parents is huge, the support we give each other. We get behind all the Easter Seals events as much as possible. It’s amazing to see the turnout and the people,” she added.
Easter Seals Community Engagement Officer Linda Clouthier, also a mother of a child with a disability, said they really wanted to rally around the idea of curling as a fundraiser.
“Curling is woven into our community, we have so many curlers who have been doing this for numerous years,” said Clouthier.
At last year’s Curling for Kids event, they raised over $13,000.
By noon on Saturday the total crested $12,000.
For someone like Dawson Stewart seeing all these people turn out to help kids like him is heartwarming.
“It makes me feel pretty good that people are coming here to fundraise and help Easter Seals,” he said.
In his first few months as an Easter Seals Ambassador, he has a very clear goal. “I want to help fundraise for children, help them thrive in life and help them get the equipment they need.”