Caledon girl is an Easter Seals Ambassador for 2017

March 1, 2017 · 0 Comments

By Bill Rea
A physical disability doesn’t have to slow one down, and Caledon village resident Grace Kennedy is proof of that.
Grace, 15, has been named a 2017 Provincial Easter Seals Ambassador. She’s one of two, and her male counterpart is Ben MacDonald of Sault Ste. Marie.
Grace, a Grade 9 student at Humberview Secondary School in Bolton, lives with her parents Dean and Lesley, and siblings Travis, Leah and Cali.
She said she learned of her selection in December, but it didn’t become official until earlier this month when she attended the Conn Smythe Sports Celebrities Dinner.
One applies to be selected an Ambassador, and Grace said she had tried before. The application process involves talking to people on Skype, as well as writing a letter about themselves, explaining why they think they would make a good Ambassador.
She said she was surprised when she received the news, “and really excited.”
Attending the Smythe Dinner was exciting too, as she got to meet “lots of people from different areas of sports,” like Olympic swimmer Penny Oleksiak, hockey star Eric Lindros, former Toronto Blue Jays’ president Paul Beeston, former Jays’ manager Cito Gaston and curler Rachel Homan, among others.
The event also included Grace delivering a 10-minute address, dealing with how Easter Seals has helped her and her family over the last eight years.
“They’ve helped us as a family a lot,” she commented.
That help included enabling her to go to camp; Camp Merrywood in eastern Ontario, which she attended once, and Camp Woodeden near London, where she’s gone four times.
“I love it and it’s fully accessible,” she commented. “It’s awesome.”
“We got to experience camp like a normal kid and not feel different from anyone else,” she added. “It’s really cool to meet new people at camp and stay in touch with them after camp.”
Grace has done well, considering the rough start she had in life.
She was born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, about 15 weeks premature, weighing one pound 10 ounces.
“Doctors told my parents I would never walk, likely never talk and I’d be blind and-or deaf,” she said.
“They kind of told us the worst-case scenario,” he mother added.
While pregnant, her mother learned Grace had spina bifida. But they were also told there was an experimental surgery being performed in the United States to address that malformation of the spine. They underwent the procedure and she was trying to fly home a week later. “I went into labour in the airport,” she said.
Grace is active in a number of areas, with a passion for arts, science and drama. She said she auditioned recently for a part in an upcoming play in school. She also enjoys reading, drawing, listening to music, swimming, playing board games, cooking and baking.
She wears braces on her lower legs, and uses a wheelchair for long distance trips.
“We are special. but all children are special,” she said. “We are unique and wonderfully made and should be accepted for all that we are, not just what people see.”
“We may look different, but we are no different from any other child, regardless of our disabilities,” she maintained.
Grace will be spending the year representing the Easter Seals at various events around the province.
They will include participating in an Easter Seals Telethon in April, attending the Dancing with Easter Seals Stars – Barrie March 24 and in Vaughan March 31.