Children with disabilities will be getting a lot of help thanks to the people of Windsor-Essex.
The 36th edition of the Southwestern Ontario Easter Seals Telethon was held Sunday at Central Park Athletics in Windsor. The six-hour telethon shattered the goal set beforehand, raising a total of $176,453.
The goal was $145,000. All the money raised will remain in Windsor-Essex to help children with disabilities and their families afford wheelchairs, walkers and communication devices. The money will also be used to help support children by sending them to camp.
Damien Wyatt is one the local ambassadors for Easter Seals this year. He has spina bifida, a condition in which there is an incomplete closure of the backbone and the membranes surrounding the spinal cord. His wish is to be able to attend one of the Easter Seals camps, and will now be able to.
"I am going to go on the zip rope thing that my mom showed me," says Damien.
Damien's mother, Melissa, is also grateful to Easter Seals for providing support that may otherwise be hard to come by. She says she's found a very supportive community of people who are facing the same challenges.
"I'm getting to know a lot of other parents," says Melissa. "I've been talking to a lot of parents who are going through the same thing I'm going through, and actually, mostly with the same disability my son has. So it's helping me and his dad a lot."
The telethon featured media personalities from Windsor media outlets, including MIX 96.7 and BlackburnNewsWindsor.com.
-With files from Adelle Loiselle