Heroes Walk Among Us!


We all have our heroes. There are many celebrities who qualify as such. Often we think of soldiers as heroes or perhaps a sports star. I personally am a fan of either of these but particularly anyone who uses their celebrity for philanthropic purposes. I think of Michael Jackson who donated more to charity than any other celebrity and then also gave 20% of his estate to the causes he believed in. Then there is Superman, Wonderwoman, Batman-all of the superheroes of the comic book variety.

But amongst us, everyday are the regular people, doing heroic things. Those who walk a daily walk with strength and optimism and hope. None are more admirable than parents of special needs children. When Christian Le Blanc posted a note on his facebook looking for donations for his nephew, Ethan's Autism Walk for Hope I was happy to send a little something to help out. I have my regular charities but I always try to keep my eye open for a little extra way to help and Ethan's smiling face caught my attention immediately.

They called the effort Ethan's Big Hug but I think the big hug here should be for his parents, Howard and Anne Dupuis. On a daily basis they live with the challenges that having a child with autism brings to a family. They are involved in the fundraising efforts that will not only help their family but other families facing similar challenges.  They are also involved with all that autism is, the difficult moments but also the joy of the moments when the challenges are met.

If you look at the face above, smiling with joy, his sister Madison beside him, you will see that these heroes are doing great work. They are walking to raise money and awareness and enjoying every moment of it. There are no pictures of the parents. But I can see the lightbeams of love and joy from these children and know that their parents are indeed, not just heroes but superheroes.

I recieved this note of thanks in my email box last night and it certainly made my day.

Thank you for supporting Ethan’s team in the Autism Walk for Hope. We were blown away with the outpouring of support and generosity from our extended family and friends. Ethan’s Big Hug brought in over $3,200 and all teams combined raised over $30,000. That’s a lot of money for our small community and will be put to good use!


Attached is a picture of Ethan and his little sister Madison. They choose to make it the “Ride” for Hope. Thanks again for your help.

The may have made it a "ride" but we know the parents walked and are walking daily on this journey.  I can tell by the beautiful faces in the photos that the kids are in good hands, but it's also important that the heroes of this story, the parents who are pulling that wagon, know that they have people walking  beside them. 

So no capes or tights are evident but a plethora of super powers that include strength, grace, patience, understanding, compassion and hope are obvious and equally as important and in my view, better than leaping tall buildings any day!






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Comments

Karen Mrs. T said…
Thank you for showing your support with Autism. April is the month. I have in the past and am presently working with a student with Autism, they are very special indeed, we can all learn from them.
RNSANE said…
Ths is such a wonderful cause and I am so pleased to see that you support it. Parents of children with autism such as the Dupuis are courageous and make such a difference in the lives of their children - as all parents do - but they have an even harder task than most of us. They must be very proud of Ethan and hi sister.
Anonymous said…
A lovely post and so worthy of our amazing members of society. Thanks for your link.

CJ xx