Members of a local church group are looking to raise awareness and funds to help children with disabilities.
After attending a local screening of Soul Surfer, a movie about a young surfer Bethany Hamilton, who lost her arm in a shark attack, Delaney Jones, 12, along with others members of the J12 pre-teen group at Sunshine Hills Church in North Delta, took the cause to heart and began to discuss ways they could help local kids with similar challenges.
“I thought it was really cool that Bethany used prayer to help stay calm” said Delaney, “and they felt that’s what helped save her life.”
Through a friend of her mother, Delaney was able to meet a young girl from Edmonton dealing with amputations of her own.
At 11 months old, Kammy Bond was admitted to hospital in Grand Prairie Alberta with what at first was thought to be a severe cold. That cold quickly progressed to pneumonia, strep throat and eventually Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), a common cold or flu-like virus that can be very serious for babies.
Kammy’s body began to shut down, causing her extremities to lose blood supply. During her five months in hospital, Kammy had both her legs and one of her arms amputated, with the disease also severely disfiguring her other arm.
The emotional and financial cost this has placed on her family has been extremely difficult.
Soon after watching the Soul Surfer movie, the J12 group decided to help raise funds for the War Amps of Canada, a charity that supports child amputees and their families by offering, programs, peer support and financial assistance to pay for artificial limbs.
Artificial limbs can cost between $10,000 to $50,000 each.
So the church is inviting the community to come out and watch the movie Soul Surfer and donate cash to the cause.
One hundred per cent of the money raised from the movie night, along with funds from a silent auction, will be going to the War Amps.
“Bethany had a real faith message about how her beliefs got her through the tough ordeal,” said Sunshine Hills Church Senior Pastor Tom Gardner of the film that inspired the church group.
“It was a real message of hope.”
The event starts at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22 at the Strawberry Hills Cineplex Theatre, 12161 71 Ave.
For more information, call 604-594-0810.