A Van for Zoe

Zoe is an active, funny, loving little girl.  She loves swimming, walking, going to school and playing with her little sister.  Zoe also happens to have chromosome 1p36 deletion syndrome- Zoe is missing a piece of her 1st chromosome.  As a result, Zoe needs a full support walker and a wheelchair.  When Zoe was younger/smaller we were able to fit both of these things in our car.  Zoe is very petite (she does not like it when people call her small!) but as she has grown, her equipment has grown too and we can no longer fit in our current car.  We need to buy an accessible van.


(above) Zoe and her little sister hanging out in the trunk, showing off Zoe's wheelchair and walker.  Ailsa insisted that her bike be included too!
(below) As you can see, once Zoe's wheelchair is folded and put in the trunk there is no more room for her walker, other equipment, food, extra clothes, etc.  Zoe LOVES to walk.  She would walk everywhere if she had the stamina.  When we go to medical appointments, the zoo, Science Centre, etc we have to decide which piece of equipment to bring.  Unfortunately, the walker is often left behind because Zoe can not stay in her walker all day.  It breaks our hearts when we go somewhere and Zoe has to sit in her wheelchair the whole time.



We have been approved for funding to cover some of the van.  The portion that is left uncovered is $27,300.  Anyone who donates $40 or more (and lives in Ontario) will get a ticket for an exclusive Thank You party.  We have an amazing band lined up, your ticket will include awesome door prizes, and there will be lots of food, drinks and dancing.  We are still putting the finishing touches on the plans so more information will follow.  If you do want a ticket for the party, please say so when you make your donation.  I believe there is a comment area.  For now- save the date for September 20th.

If you would like to learn more about Zoe and our family, you can check out her blog at http://zoes1p36blog.blogspot.ca.  There you can get a sense of what Zoe is like and what our life has been like the past couple of years.  Plus the blog has lots of cute pictures!!!  And if we have not pulled on your heart strings yet, you can check out old posts from the past few years when Zoe's dad had a tumour removed from his spinal cord followed by bacterial meningitis...not once but twice!  You can get a sense of why money is a bit tight right now and we are asking for help.   

Thank you for taking the time to check us out.  There are a lot of great causes out there, and many people in need.  Thank you for being the type of person who is looking to help out.  If you aren't able to help us, that is ok.  Thanks for reading!