A special fundraiser dinner will take place later this month to help support a local hairdresser living with a life-altering illness.
Friends of Megan Finlayson will be hosting a special fundraiser dinner at the Sunset Country Metis Community Centre on Saturday, October 18, 2025, beginning at 5 p.m. Finlayson, a local hairdresser, was diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 2024, the effects of which have impacted her ability to continue working and support herself, as well as added the financial burdens of assistive equipment to allow her to continue to remain as independent as possible for as long as possible.
Eleanor Barron and Linda Chepil are the co-organizers spearheading the dinner for Finlayson, who is a friend that Barron said they visit on a regular basis.
“We love her,” Barron said.
“Linda and I visit with her every couple of weeks on a regular basis, because I asked if would be helpful if someone came just to visit and bring a meal and chat about whatever, so we did, and as we got to know her in a deeper way, we wanted to help more.”
The idea for the dinner, then, came to them around June when Barron and Chepil began to plan in earnest. Neither had organized a dinner like this before, so they game themselves plenty of time in order to make sure all the details could be ironed out as stress-free as possible. However, they also wanted to retain the element of surprise, keeping it from Finlayson, for as long as they could, thus adding onto the perils of planning.
“We made ourselves this timeline, mentally, about what we could do before we had to tell Megan,” Barron explained.
“Things that we could prepare in advance, and [planned out] when we actually needed to tell her.”
“We also didn’t want to tell her before we knew it was actually going to work out,” Chepil added.
“To rent a hall would have been $400. We had to go through, okay, who do we ask and how do we, so we had to go through all that. Then we went to the Metis Council and they came back and they were willing to donate the hall, so things have really fallen into place for us for the most part, and we credit all that to God. As soon as we start getting a little bit worried about something, something just shows up.”
The fundraiser dinner will feature a spaghetti supper with caesar salad, but also additional fun through a penny table and special draw prizes. In organizing the dinner, Barron and Chepil have approached local businesses and individuals for donations, and the reception has been very strong, even if those donating have no real connection to Finlayson.
“A lot of businesses and individuals have come forward with some really nice things,” Chepil said.
“And some people who don’t even know Megan, just because they’re familiar with someone with ALS,” Barron added.
“I asked somebody who didn’t know you [for a donation] and he got tears in his eyes when he heard, and they donated a really big prize.”
The goal with the dinner is, of course, to raise funds, and the money will be going towards helping Finlayson afford some of the adaptive or supportive equipment that allow her to maintain her independence, or assist her in living her life as it is now.
ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is a progressive neurological disorder that leads to muscle weakness and paralysis throughout the body as nerve cells in the brain and spinal column degenerate, affecting their ability to communicate. Finlayson said that while she was officially diagnosed in February 2024, she believes symptoms were beginning to affect her well before that time, even as far back as the COVID-19 pandemic, as she began to experience loss of balance and muscle weakness. Finlayson had a spinal fusion in October 2022, and after a return visit to her doctor to ask about weakness in her legs, a neurologist confirmed the diagnosis of ALS in February 2024.
“We figure now looking back that I probably started having the symptoms for sure by 2021, which would mean I went three years undiagnosed and it would’ve been earlier on when I was still able to be active, but was having falls or I was working and would be falling at work or while doing hair,” Finlayson said.
“I wish I was diagnosed sooner to be able to enjoy more of the time I would’ve had to be able to travel. It’s very difficult to do things now and with the amount of support and I would need proper equipment.”
Finlayson has been the beneficiary of previous fundraisers as well, and all those funds have helped her in affording a powered chair for travel, as well as equipment for her home. She and her partner have also purchased an accessible van, and there are additional pieces of equipment she is researching that could help improve her day to day life as the disease continues to progress.
“My family’s life looks very different now,” she said.
“I can’t just get up and go somewhere. I need someone to physically get me ready and take me there and pick me up. And then if there’s food or drinks, I’ll need help again. It’s like I’m a child, depending on everyone.”
The new equipment can also help offset her reliance on a personal support worker, who she said comes in once a week for an hour to assist her, a side effect of the shortage of those qualified professionals in our area.
While Finlayson said that, in the past, she was not the type to enjoy being in the public eye, her time with the disease has led her to become an advocate for ALS, as well as encouraging everyone to become familiar with the disease and its symptoms in an effort to help catch diagnoses early. Finlayson mentioned another local resident recently diagnosed with ALS caught it early thanks to conversations they had, which can’t prevent the disease from progressing, but at least allows someone the chance to do the things they want to do before they’re no longer able to.
“Write down your symptoms, keep track of your symptoms, and go to the doctor,” Finlayson said.
“I think back now, and there’s probably so many things that I probably could have went [to the doctor] a lot sooner.”
Some of the symptoms of ALS include:
- feeling weak
- fatigue
- muscle twitching or cramping
- loss of balance and fine motor skills
- slurred or thick speech
- shortness of breath
- uncontrollable periods of laughing or crying
Tickets for the fundraiser dinner for Megan Finlayson are $20 and available at Northwoods, or by calling Chepil at 276-4040, or Barron at 276-1528. The take out portion of the dinner will be available from 4 – 4:30 p.m., and the sit down dinner begins at 5 p.m.
There is also an account set up for those who can’t attend the dinner but still wish to make a donation to support Finlayson, and can be contributed to by e-transfer at megansalsfight@gmail.com.
