HOLIDAY CHRISTMAS CONCERT CELEBRATES A CHILD’S COURAGE
It was cold outside Thursday night, but inside the Embrun Community Centre the atmosphere was warm and caring, as an audience of several hundred celebrated the courage of one Russell Township child.
“I am still getting messages from people who were blown away by the concert,” said Tara Shannon, event organizer, during a Sunday phone interview. “The most universal comment is how we all felt Jonny’s presence that night, and how he would have loved it. He loved to sing.”
Singers and musicians, both local and from the Ottawa-Orléans area, came together to offer their songs and talents for the December 12 Holiday Benefit Concert, in Memory of Butterfly Child Ambassador Jonathan Pitre. Shannon, a Russell Township resident who has become an award-winning member of Canada’s music community, organized the event in recognition of young Jonathan Pitre, a local child who suffered from epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a rare genetic disorder that left his skin super-sensitive to touch.
Pitre and others like him endure painful bruising and blistering of the skin from even the slightest excessive contact. They are often left wheelchair-bound because they cannot walk without agonizing pain from the pressure put on the soles of their feet.
Young Jonathan Pitre died in April 2018, as a result of complications, which arose during a stem cell treatment procedure to deal with his condition.
During his short life, he became the public face for other EB sufferers in Canada and around the world, and was the ambassador for DEBRA Canada, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising public awareness about the condition, research funding support for treatment programs, and an eventual cure for the disease.
About $10,000 was raised from the Thursday night event ticket sales, and other fundraising activities that took place during the evening. Shannon confirmed that plans are underway already for another memorial concert in December 2020.