Mitch Calvert
The Alpha Upsilon chapter of the local Beta Sigma Phi sorority has stepped to the plate with a $750 donation for a local disabled child in need.
Four-year-old Noah Paleczny suffers from in utero growth retardation, cerebral palsy, global delay, and moderate autism, and requires additional needs to function in daily life, including a specially-designed “pixi stroller.”
When Paleczny’s adopted mother, Beth, first tried to purchase one through the Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities program, she was told specific add-ons for the stroller would not be covered.
“ACSD paid a part for the stroller, but what wasn’t covered by ACSD, Upsilon helped finish off, which was really great,” Paleczny enthused.
“This has been on my plate for a while, and I tried all avenues,” she noted. “My insurance company at the time wouldn’t cover it, Easter Seals wouldn’t, and then you are sort of left without any options.”
That’s when Anne-Marie Armstrong of the Sunset Country Métis Council, who has worked with Beth and Noah for two years as the aboriginal healthy baby/child co-ordinator, stepped in—approaching Alpha Upsilon in hopes of acquiring the additional funding needed to pay off the stroller.
“To be able to access that funding on behalf of families in need is really important,” Armstrong stressed. “There are government programs out there, but they don’t cover everything.
“Volunteer groups like [Alpha Upsilon] should be applauded for helping those families in need, and I know it’s made a difference in Noah’s quality of life,” she added.
Alpha Upsilon donated the funds raised through its annual “Sweetheart Baby Contest,” which is held each February at the The Place Find Foods here.
“We put pictures up at The Place and people put money in to vote for their favourite ‘sweetheart’ baby, and the money was raised entirely through that,” sorority representative Michelle Cain noted.
Armstrong, meanwhile, said she’s seen Noah develop by leaps and bounds over the last two years.
“When he first came here [Métis Council], he could hardly sit up on his own,” she recalled. “But with the help of weekly physio, he went from being immobile to a walker, then to walking on his own, and it’s really wonderful to see because we didn’t know if he ever would be.
“He’s also starting to make himself understood through sign [language], so hopefully bigger and better things are to come for him,” Armstrong enthused.
The Fort Frances Fire Brigade’s annual Christmas tree pick-up initiative also raised funds for Paleczny, allowing the family to purchase a “tomato chair,” which enables Noah to safely float in a pool or lounge comfortably at home.
