Megan was only 20-years-old when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Over time, the disease has progressed to the point that she has limited circulation in her legs causing severe swelling and she can no longer walk. Megan’s occupational therapist recommended a power wheelchair with a tilted seat to give her mobility and relieve the pressure on her legs. But at a total cost of $18,730, the chair was out of reach for her financially. After receiving funding from the Ministry of Health’s Assistive Devices Program and the MS Society, Megan applied to March of Dimes Canada’s Assistive Devices Program for the remaining $2,700.
March of Dimes Canada was able to fund the remaining amount to help Megan purchase the wheelchair, and she is amazed at the difference it has made. Megan has become more mobile and much more comfortable.
“It’s a godsend,” says Megan of her chair. “It’s very helpful. For years I’ve had massive swelling in my legs and since I’ve gotten my chair I now have knee caps and shape to my legs… I feel very blessed to have been able to access this resource.”
Megan is very grateful to all the generous donors who contributed to her power wheelchair.
Thanks to your support over the last year, we have been able to provide 282 assistive devices to 119 consumers just in the Ottawa region alone! We were able to turn every dollar donated into $5.44 worth of equipment – purchasing in total $204,231 worth of assistive devices.
You are making a difference in your community!
You can now be part of our Door-to-door campaign without having to leave the couch! Sign up as an online canvasser and use the power of the Internet to help raise money to support Canadians with #disabilities: http://bit.ly/D2DOnline
Peterborough resident Wayne Eastabrook has been canvassing his neighbourhood in support of March of Dimes Canada’s Door-to-Door Campaign for over a decade. He was first driven to support the Campaign after the organization provided financial assistance to his daughter Kate that allowed her to move into her own apartment.
“I don’t believe that Kate would be able to be as independent and live on her own without the support of March of Dimes Canada,” says Wayne. “It made the transition from our home into a supported apartment so much easier, and our whole family is very grateful for this.”
He started canvassing his neighbours and is able to raise $300 -$400 each year. His community members know he’s coming, and are prepared with a small donation when Wayne comes to their door.
“I like to canvass in January, because how can anybody turn away a man in the cold,” jokes Wayne. “But really, I like to remind my neighbours that this a good cause, helping people in their community, and that every bit counts” he says.
Wayne believes in paying it forward, in addition to supporting March of Dimes Canada, he is also the Board President of Community Living Peterborough.
“I know that there are needs in the community, and somehow, we have to help,” says Wayne.
Want to be part of our Door-to-door campaign but are unable to physically go door-to-door? This is an easy fix! You can now sign up as an online canvasser – here’s the link: http://bit.ly/D2DOnline Help us support Canadians living with disabilities!
Barbara is a 73-year-old Kingston, ON resident who lives with osteoarthritis. Her condition results in poor balance and makes walking difficult. For over eighteen years, Barbara has been using a walker to help keep her mobile. Over time, the walker began to break down. However, she needed this equipment, so Barbara continued to use it, even without brakes. The condition of her walker was so poor that she could not even venture into the hall of her apartment building safely. Barbara said that “my old walker made me feel nervous when I was moving around.” Barbara’s occupational therapist began to worry about her safety and urged her to buy a new walker, but her limited income made this a difficult task. Barbara, in need of help, turned to March of Dimes’ Assistive Devices Program.
The Assistive Devices Program (ADP) provides financial assistance to people with disabilities across the province, assisting with the cost and maintenance of basic mobility devices as well as home and bath safety equipment. ADP is one of March of Dimes’ charitable programs supported 100% by donor dollars. Many of the people served live on an income of less than $15,000 per year, meaning that many assistive devices are financially out of reach. At ADP, the program is able to stretch every dollar to its fullest potential enabling staff to provide necessary, life-changing devices to people across the province that so desperately need them – and cannot afford the equipment on their own.
United Way donates a portion of its funds to the ADP program in Kingston and focuses on promoting Healthy People, Strong Communities. Without United Way, March of Dimes would be unable to continue helping people like Barbara. Without this partnership, the expense of a new walker, which exceeded $500, would have prevented Barbara from the peace of mind she now enjoys.
Barbara is happy to have her new, safe walker. Although she uses it primarily for indoor use, Barbara prefers using her walker over her wheelchair so that she can maintain and build strength in her legs. Without the funding she received from March of Dimes, Barbara said she “would have had to keep her old walker and she would have had to use her wheelchair more often.” The new walker is large and comfortable enough to allow Barbara to sit on it when she needs to, which allows her to use it over her wheelchair. Barbara is very thankful for the help she received from March of Dimes.
The L.I.F.E. Toronto group at March of Dimes Canada has teamed up with Canadian Music Therapy Trust Fund to add an exciting new component to L.I.F.E. program. Jess explained that she has always LOVED music however she never had the opportunity to participate in music in school. She was nervous for the first day of music therapy but that quickly changed to excitement and laughter.
The entire group agrees that Rebecca, the music therapist, is so much fun to be around and incredibly encouraging. She is always telling us how well we played instruments and compliments us when we sing along with the song. We play a variety of different instruments such as drums, tambourines and shakers along to some of our favourite songs. When we sang Firework by Katy Perry, Rebecca had us choose colours that we wanted to incorporate into the song. All of the colours were written on cards. This made it really easy to point at which colour we wanted to sing about. For other songs like Stompa by Serena Ryder, Rebecca had us take turns choosing a sound or movement to incorporate into the song. Jess loves music therapy because she finds it helps relieve some of the stress she experiences in a day. Evan enjoys the opportunity to practice using his hands and arms while playing the instruments and Sraddha finds that it helps with communication. This spring the L.I.F.E. group is extremely excited to make a song of their own in Music Therapy and to share it with all of you when it is complete!
I knew 7 months ago when we decided to start fund raising for a wheelchair accessible van for Mark that it would be a huge challenge. What I didn’t expect was that it would turn out to be like a full time job, one that would not only change me but other family members as well. It is funny to look back and see a family of very shy and passive people actually going up to strangers and asking for money, merchandise, and haggling prices at flea markets all in the name of making money for Mark. Mark is a 17 year old boy with severe cerebral palsy who is wheelchair bound and requires full time care. He is non verbal and for those of us who know him best you can either tell what he wants just from experiencing his daily routine, by his smiles for yes or shaking of the head for no or sometimes you can just see it in his beautiful blue eyes. In the past two years he has had three hip surgeries and numerous treatments and appointments in Halifax, at least 9 in the past year. There hasn’t been very many months out of the past two years where we were not making a trip to the IWK. It’s heart breaking to see him go through so much. He has such a frail small body but a huge lovable personality. Once the hip surgeries were over and the chronic pain managed we decided it was time to take on the challenge of fund raising for the van. Not just because of the frequent trips to Halifax or the fact that the van we are currently driving will not see past this November’s inspection but because in February Mark will turn 18, an age when programs seem to expire as 19 is considered adulthood. The 9 trips I mentioned earlier, well those were not easy considering I had to borrow a vehicle to make the trips. I am scared to take the van I am currently driving the 22 km trip to his doctor, I certainly did not feel it could go the 400km one way trip to Halifax. So starts our journey.
One of our first fund raising ideas was selling tickets on a dozen of lobsters and 24 beverages. This was a hugely successful endeavor. Then I made up a sort of information package that I started e-mailing to everyone I could think of from local businesses to Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Gates. The information package included a flyer with Marks picture and a brief description of the purpose of the fund raiser, a letter from his occupational therapist supporting our efforts, and finally a letter from me describing in detail our situation and why we were doing the fund raising. I describe the fund raising as a full time job because it sort of took on a life of its own. We found ourselves at various malls selling tickets, gathering donated household items or clothing that we then sold off at flea markets almost every Sunday, a benefit dance, a merchandise bingo, personal donations, and even applying for any grant I could find on-line. I kept a journal of every e-mail, phone call, flea market, and a count of every book of tickets sold.
Through our personal efforts stated above and donations from clubs such as the Lions Club, the Kiwanis Club, the Royal Canadian Legion, Sydney Mines Seniors Pensioner Club and gift certificates for prizes from numerous local businesses we raised just over $12, 000. We were ecstatic to learn that we were approved for a $20,000 grant through the President Choice Children’s Charity. This was a huge piece of funding towards our goal and it definitely kept the family motivated. A huge donation of $5,000 was made by an anonymous donor. We couldn’t believe how generous people truly are. Then we won a contest through the March of Dimes and Pennzoil for $15,000 towards the retrofit (modification and conversion for wheelchair accessibility) of a vehicle. Global News Halifax picked up the story and we were on camera Nov 1st explaining our journey.
L to R: Mary Lynne Stewart, Travis Gunn, Michelle Watt, Tracy Lomond, Mark Lomond
That night at the annual Rock for Dimes concert, at the Cunard Arena in Halifax, we were presented with the contest winnings. It was a trip that none of my family members that were able to attend will soon forget. Finally, an anonymous donor gave us the remainder of the funds approx $2,000 to complete our goal. What usually takes 1 to 1 ½ years to do, we have accomplished in six months. We are truly blessed to have friends, family, and strangers who supported our cause and allowed our journey to end with a new Dodge Grand Caravan modified with a wheelchair ramp. To say that having this van will change our lives is an understatement. It is crucial to have a reliable vehicle to travel back and forth to Halifax every 3 to 6 months (depending on the effect of the treatment) for Mark’s treatments. It is projected that these treatments will be ongoing for many years, if not for the rest of his life. With such health obstacles and life challenges, one realizes what’s important in life, and what I think I’ve learned the most is that we have to appreciate life. I believe it’s all about perspective; life is so short and frail. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t thank God for my family, friends and most of all my two children, Mark and Aaron. I cannot begin to express my gratitude to those who donated gifts, merchandise, money, their time and prayers. All I can say is, “Thank You, and God bless you as he has blessed me.”
I wanted to share my story, not because it was a successful journey in such a short amount of time, but because I wanted to inspire people to never give up or to be scared of a challenge… it is truly worth it in the end!
Peterborough resident Wayne Eastabrook has been canvassing his neighbourhood in support of March of Dimes Canada’s Door-to-Door Campaign for over a decade. He was first driven to support the Campaign after the organization provided financial assistance to his daughter Kate that allowed her to move into her own apartment.
March of Dimes Canada Community Blog 