{"id":39219,"date":"2026-10-29T15:19:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T19:19:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=39219"},"modified":"2026-10-29T15:19:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T19:19:11","slug":"local-dancers-raise-more-than-140000-for-easter-seals-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/local-dancers-raise-more-than-140000-for-easter-seals-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"Local dancers raise more than $140,000 for Easter Seals kids"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Local celebrities hit the dance floor at the Royal Venetian Mansion this month, raising more than $140,000 for Easter Seals kids and their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 11th<\/sup> annual Dancing with the Easter Seals Stars Aurora-Newmarket was another success for Easter Seals Ontario as eight community and business leaders were put through their paces by Anastasia, Kelly, Patrick, and Sarah of Aurora\u2019s Artistica Ballroom Dance Studio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dancers Neysa Abrego, Erin Cartwright, Ed Gundert, Lucy Jackson, Paul LePage, Bianca Rollo, Alison Mumford, and Mike Waddington, began training with the Artistica team in the latter part of the spring, working hard throughout the summer and into the fall to master new moves with their professional partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some came to the dance floor having had a family member as alumni of the Dancing with the Stars program who were able to give them a few tips along the way. Others were going in cold, putting any trepidation aside knowing that it was all for a good cause: helping send kids with disabilities to summer camp, while providing supports for their families along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s honestly been the best experience working with Patrick and the entire team at Artistica. It\u2019s been amazing \u2013 all the other dancers, you truly inspired me,\u201d said Mumford, President & CEO of the Aurora Chamber of Commerce, after her first number. \u201cWatching you guys today was awesome. You guys all killed it. I\u2019m so, so grateful to have met you and seen you dance, but most importantly, the money that we raised for Easter Seals is important.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This support was returned by Patrick who said Mumford came into the studio from the outset with \u201ca super-positive attitude.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LePage was similarly enthusiastic about the event and the cause, adding, \u201cFor me, it\u2019s not being proud of myself, it\u2019s being lucky to be a part of a big experience like this. To be honest, we made such a difference for these kids. The whole community\u2019s gotten together to rally behind this cause, and I\u2019m just grateful to be a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That gratitude was returned, in turn, by 17-year-old Easter Seals Ambassador Miles Checkley who spent the eve of his birthday at the event and was on the receiving end of a rousing rendition of \u201cHappy Birthday To You\u201d sung by the nearly-350 guests in attendance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Checkley lives with cerebral palsy and has a goal of eventually becoming a sports broadcaster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s important that people focus on what someone can do, rather than what he can\u2019t,\u201d he said when appointed Ambassador earlier this year of the importance of these camps and recreational opportunities. \u201cEveryone can participate; some may just do things differently.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the floor of the Royal Venetian, he shared some of his sports credentials, entertaining audiences with stories of his 10-year friendship with former Toronto Blue Jays Manager Buck Martinez, himself a long-time supporter of Easter Seals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank you for being here because your support means everything to an Easter Seals kid,\u201d said Miles. \u201cIt helps with getting funding for home and vehicle modifications and helps kids go to camp, which is the greatest place on earth, I\u2019d say. Your support is truly unforgettable. I can\u2019t thank you more. It\u2019s awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reflecting on the event, Andrea Peterson, Director of Development for Easter Seals Ontario, said it was a \u201cbeautiful evening\u201d that also allowed contestants and Easter Seals alike to pay tribute to people that had an impact on the event in the past \u2013 and those who had an impact on the performances delivered that evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to give a huge congratulations and thank you to Artistica Ballroom Dance Studio because they are an amazing group of people. Without them, this show wouldn\u2019t be what it was. I truly love working with them and working on this event. Each of the dancers dedicated their songs to someone specific in their lives and that person that was being dedicated to didn\u2019t find out until the night of,\u201d she shared. \u201cWhen the dancers came out and they danced for them, it was just really, really lovely and had a huge emotional tie to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe did our opening number dedicated to Sam,\u201d she continued, referencing local restaurateur and past Dancing with the Stars contestant Sam Saberi, who died suddenly earlier this year, sparking a huge community outpouring. \u201cBeing able to recognize Sam from our point of view was an awesome thing because he was so predominant in the community. He didn\u2019t just help Easter Seals. He helped everybody. He was always there, always supportive, and we wanted to take the time to honour him and all he has done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The words offered by Miles, and the lived experiences shared by others, she added, really drove home what continues to drive contestants, Easter Seals Ontario as an organization, each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you see a child in a wheelchair, when you see a family with a child with a disability and they\u2019re using a walker, a cane, a wheelchair, or whatever the case may be, you look at that and sometimes that\u2019s all you really think about; you think about the limitations that must cause or the issues they have. But it\u2019s never just that,\u201d she said. \u201cChances are, there is more than one apparatus that this child uses, and it\u2019s very costly for the families. If a child is unable to walk, they need help getting out of bed, they need help getting into the washroom, they need help going from the washroom, they need help showering, they need help getting dressed \u2013 these are all things that chair lifts, commodes, and shower chairs and lifts, [help with].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe cost that it takes for these families to get their children up and ready for school and out the door for a day in comparison to a family where both children are able-bodied\u2026We talk about bringing independence, dignity and confidence to these children and they need this equipment to be able to just move around and do things like everybody else, like able-bodied people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Local celebrities hit the dance floor at the Royal Venetian Mansion this month, raising more than $140,000 for Easter Seals kids and their families. The 11th annual Dancing with the Easter Seals Stars Aurora-Newmarket was another success for Easter Seals Ontario as eight community and business leaders were put through their paces by Anastasia, Kelly, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":39220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-acz","publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/2026-10-29-07.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39219"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39219\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39221,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39219\/revisions\/39221"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}