Capes for Kids swoops in to fundraise
Hospital hopeful of doubling what was raised last year to $525,000 this time around
Abby Dangerfield says her favourite classmate is Tyler and that she likes swimming — to get these messages across to a Star reporter, however, she dials in a response with a computerlike communication device that has several picture-buttons on it.
The 6-year-old has a form of speech apraxia, a condition she has struggled with from young age after suffering cardiac arrest roughly 40 hours after she was born, which affected her brain.
Abby can talk, but answers to questions are quite limited without the device nearby, which helps augment her speech.
“I don’t know!” she said, when asked for the name of her teacher.
“Yes, you do, Abby,” said her mom, Beth Dangerfield, gesturing towards the device. “You know everything.”
Abby is one of five ambassadors for “Capes for Kids,” run by the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. The initiative raises awareness and funds for children and youth struggling with disabilities, and the ambassadors, or the Superhero Five, share their lived experiences with their health complications, along with how the hospital has helped them thrive.
Participants of the campaign don capes — capes to school, the grocery store — to bring visibility of children who sometimes fall off the radar, said Julia Hanigsberg, president and CEO of the hospital, adding that it’s a conversation starter.
“When we launched it last year, we really wanted something that everybody could participate in,” she said, noting that $390,000 was raised last season, exceeding its original goal by $90,000.
This year, the hospital is hoping to raise $525,000.
Already, Hanigsberg said, more than 500 people have signed up to fundraise for the campaign, which runs through Sunday. The CN Tower will light up red to mark the first day of the initiative, she added.
The hospital serves 7,500 children and youth every year from across Ontario and the country with a broad range of challenges such as autism, cerebral palsy and epilepsy. Sharing the grounds with Holland Bloorview, Bloorview School Authority serves patients and others from the community.
Abby, an outpatient, has been part of this educational program for three years.
“We have a real whole child perspective to our services,” Hanigsberg said.
“While we are a hospital, and we have all those typical medical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, we also have a range of programs that encourage full participation and inclusion of children with disabilities, whether that’s art, drama or our readiness to work programs for some of our older (patients).”
Beth, Abby’s mom, said she’s seen her daughter progress in ways “that we didn’t think were going to happen.”
“Right now, her words are limited to, say, two or three syllables,” Beth said.
“Her communication and her speech have developed significantly.
“She’s been given the opportunity to communicate,” she continued, referring to the therapy and device that Abby was provided.
“It’s helped her become a regular kid. She is a regular kid, but she was isolated because of all of these challenges.
They put a system in place so she can be included,” noting that Abby has been able to better connect with other children at the park, for example.
Beth said the hospital has built her daughter’s confidence.
“Kids who come here are empowered,” she said.
Next year, Abby will take a big step: there are plans in place for her to attend a community elementary school. Therapy will continue, Beth said. “You look at Abby and you wouldn’t know anything was going on,” she said. “I think it’s a really important thing that her disability is invisible. That’s why we wanted to get involved (with the campaign) because disability comes in all shapes and sizes.”