A time to be heroes


[PDF]A time to be heroes - Rackcdn.come77bd49f653db6ad9e17-19694b1854669f7243566e73c5de800e.r42.cf2.rackcdn.co...

6 downloads 260 Views 2MB Size

Winter Park / Maitland Observer

Lifestyles Artist Sandy Bonus and cancer support group BASE Camp team up to lift spirits ISAAC BABCOCK Observer Staff

John Sanchez saved a village Friday night. So did his sister Natasha. As small drops of rain filtered down through arching oak leaves above a tiny wooden stage at Sandy Bonus Fine Arts, children in war paint waited in the wings, ready to be heroes. The onstage skirmish only lasted for a few moments. Wooden daggers rose and fell. The tiny African tribe fought off oppressors draped in black. And then they danced. For kids like 10-year-old John, the little guy with the sheepish smile, life has been a much longer battle, played out in doctor’s offices and hospital beds. The good guys are all around them. The bad guy is To learn how to the life-threatencontribute or volunteer ing disease they for BASE Camp, visit can’t see. Nobody basecamp.org. In knows how the September there will be plot will end, but a BASE Camp charity they play on. event held to auction off The cast list of the art created during the play “Roots Bonus’ camp. We’ll post of Rhythm” only the event information had a few waron wpmobserver.com riors, but all of the as soon as it becomes players have had available. to fight. John and Natasha, 13, the heroes, have sickle cell disease. Thirteenyear-old Danny, the surly hunter, had a brain tumor removed. Jordan, playing the proud father, has Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Tytianna, dancing and smiling behind vibrant pink streaks of war paint, has fought two forms of leukemia. Alec wasn’t feeling well, so his sisters Jamie and Cady attended for him. “They’re amazing,” volunteer Meghan Moon said. “They’re going through so much.” The 19-year-old volunteer has been with BASE Camp for four years. The Orlandobased children’s cancer support network helps kids find new friends with a similar bond, while supporting families through years of uncertainty. Then there’s the one week a year that

Page 9

Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012

A time to be heroes

PHOTO BY ISAAC BABCOCK — THE OBSERVER

John Sanchez, top left, and sister Natasha, right, act in “The Roots of Rhythm” that capped off a week of artistic escape from dealing with cancer and other serious illnesses. Sandy Bonus Fine Arts sponsored the eighth annual event that helps benefit the children’s cancer support group BASE Camp. Local volunteers helped teach painting and acting.

they look forward to, when the Bonus studio doors open up, and the kids swoop in. That’s when the transformation begins, as newcomers and veterans pour through the doorway of Sandy Bonus’ Maitland studio and into a chaotic floor-to-ceiling palette of dreams. “This lets them just be normal kids,” Moon said. “They love coming to this camp.” It’s the camp for kids just like them, BASE Camp coordinator Cindy Whitaker said. The kids who miss school for weeks at a time. The kids who never have time to go to parties with their friends. The kids who want to be kids. “If kids come in here and their hair is gone, no one asks,” Whitaker said. “It’s their uniqueness, to understand other kids and not judge them. They just treat them like everybody else.” Brushes fed by inspiration sweep color

across canvas, led by tiny hands for the first time. Shaky feet dance across the stage as painted faces beam and arms flail wildly in character. Then they get lost in the world they create, Bonus said. The one where there is no cancer. No cold hospital beds. No chemotherapy. “It’s one of the healthiest of all escapes,” Bonus said. “They’re escaping with this art.”

The ones who went away

“At the end of this week they always want to come back,” Bonus said. She pauses. “It’s always a victory when they come back.” Whitaker knew the odds when her son, Danny, went in for the operation to remove his brain tumor. Doctors said he had only a 20 percent chance of survival if they didn’t remove it. He’s still here.

“He’s my walking, breathing miracle,” she said. As the camp enters its eighth year, old friends say hi to new ones, sometimes comparing haircuts or who grew taller this year. They see paintings on the walls from years before. Sometimes they’re little reminders of someone they don’t see. There’s a painting of a giant house, finished a year ago today. On it, scrawled in shaky brush strokes, an 8-year-old’s signature finished off a masterpiece. Someday Marlie’s family was going to live in her dream house. In the last photophraph of her, in a colorful pink-and-gray hat with a flower on top, she’s still smiling. “All we can do is move forward and celebrate the ones we’ve lost,” Whitaker said.

Choosing to fight

There were four new patients at Ar-

n Please see BASE on page page 10

SECURE YOUR FUTURE, DEFINE YOUR RETIREMENT [ On YOUR terms ]

The Mayflower. Smart. Secure. And Spectacular. Imagine a time in your life when you have the freedom to do exactly as you please. Relax...revitalize...reinvent...renew. And, then imagine a place where you can do all that on your terms – and still have the complete peace of mind that comes only with the guarantee of comprehensive continuing care. That place...is The Mayflower – the gold standard for retirement communities in Central Florida.

What’s your plan for the future? Call today, and let’s talk about it: 407.672.1620.

WINNER: ICAA INDUSTRY INNOVATOR AWARD For The Mayflower/Rollins College Lifelong Learning Program

MAY 862 Proctor Ad WPO.indd 1

Winter Park's Distinctive Retirement Community

www.themayflower.com 1620 Mayflower Court Winter Park, FL 32792

88141 PRAD WPO 8/2012

Here, you have the freedom and flexibility to customize your home and your retirement lifestyle to make them uniquely yours. And while you’re doing that, you’ll also have the guarantee of pre-funded long-term care in our Gold Seal Health Center. That’s what prompted residents like Dick Proctor to plan ahead and proactively make the move . . . because they wanted to, not because they needed to. How about you?

6/28/12 4:16 PM

Page 10

Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012

Family Calendar AUGUST Peak Season Pops is hosting a month long fundraiser — 25 percent of sales from all pupsicles in August will benefit WinterParkLostPets.com’s The Lost Pets Foundation. Pupsicles are available at The Winter Park Farmers Market, Maitland Farmers Market and the Winter Park Food Truck Stop.

AUG. 9 Enzian’s popcorn flicks in Central Park will feature “Babe” at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 9. Gather friends, grab a blanket and enjoy classic family films once a month under the stars in Winter Park’s Central Park. Films and popcorn are free compliments of Enzian. Visit Enzian.org or call 407-6291088 for more information.

AUG. 17 Movies in the Park featuring “Cars” is 6:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 17, on the Village Center Green (in front of Barnie’s) in Baldwin Park. Family activities will begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by entertainment and announcements at 7:30 p.m. Bring lawn chairs and blankets. Seating is limited, so arrive early!

AUG. 18 Come celebrate family fun days at the Maitland Art Center on select dates. On Aug. 18, learn about calling cards, the social network of the past, at the A&H’s Waterhouse Residence Museum. On Sept. 15, make sound waves and string telephones at the A&H’s Telephone Museum. For more information, call 407-539-2181 or visit ArtandHistory.org

Winter Park / Maitland Observer

BASE | Children find happiness and escape with art, despite suffering from cancer n CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

nold Palmer Hospital last week, Whitaker said. All of them learning about the battle they’re about to begin. “What happens to us and the way we respond to what happens to us is what gives us our power,” Bonus said. “There’s a little gap in between what happens to you and how you respond when you have to make a choice.” She calls them little adults — the kids who keep fighting. “I just think they’re amazing,” Bonus said. “I think they’re like heroes in my mind.” And so Friday evening, as a passing storm refused to go away, budding stars nervously hid faces behind scary masks and intimidating paint, waiting for the spotlight.

A few hours before the show started, Natasha found out her blood sugar was above 300 milligrams per deciliter, more than triple the normal range. On top of her sickle cell disease, the perfectly healthy-looking teen had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes the day before. She squeezed her new “diabetes bear,” Rufus, and gave herself a shot so the show could go on. “He was in the audience cheering me on,” Natasha said of her bear. “I’m glad I have him because he knows what I’m going through.” But Natasha didn’t need much encouragement. Though she hides a bit behind a shy smile, she said she always wanted to be a singer or an actor. This was her time to shine. When it was finally showtime,

A Gift For Teaching

Filling backpacks with supplies

Find I LUV Winter Park merchandise and local art at ILUVParkAvenue.com 407-539-3977

SEPT. 3 The kids are off school on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 3.

SEPT. 10

At 10:30 a.m. each Tuesday, the Maitland Public Library hosts preschool story and craft time. At 10:30 a.m. each Thursday, it hosts baby time stories and activities. At 4 p.m. each Thursday, it hosts Reading Buddies for kindergarten through fifth grade. Call 407-647-7700. Send submissions to jandreasson@ turnstilemediagroup.com

A Gift For Teaching’s annual back-toschool PUSH (for kids) campaign runs through September. It’s a communitywide engagement effort to generate the supplies and resources students need for the school year. This year’s goal is to raise $140,000 and 1.4 million school supplies. And the organization has the power to leverage your $1 gift into $10 worth of supplies for a child. To make a contribution, visit www.agiftforteaching.org and click on “Donate Now.” Checks can also be mailed to: A Gift For Teaching, 6501 Magic Way, Bldg. #400C, Orlando, FL 32809. Visit these retailers, which are offering special promotions and deals to benefit A Gift For Teaching: • Every Friday in August / Food Truck Fridays at RDV Sportsplex: Come from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and a portion of proceeds will benefit A Gift For Teaching. • Aug. 12 / Fashion Square Mall: Bring brand new school supplies and help see how many supplies it takes to fill up the interior of a 2013 Ford Escape. First 100 patrons receive a voucher for a free Yum Yum cupcake. • Aug. 28 / 4Rivers: Dine at the Winter Park 4Rivers location and mention A Gift For Teaching, where 10 percent of your total will be donated to A Gift For Teach-

Glen Haven Memorial Park 2300 Temple Drive • Winter Park

For a COMPLIMENTARY TOUR OR INFORMATION, call (877) 531-6257 or visit BaldwinFairchildCremationInfo.com. TOBF_WtParkMaitlandObserv_3colx5.indd 1

Children’s Home Society of Florida The Children’s Home Society of Florida, Central Florida Division is hosting a backto-school drive. They are accepting donations at the following drop-off locations: • Jersey Mike’s at 4004 N. Goldenrod Road, Winter Park • Seacoast National Bank at 541 S. Orlando Ave., Maitland • Seacoast National Bank at 2101 W. State Road 434, Longwood • The Central Florida Division’s development main office at 1375 S. Semoran Blvd., Winter Park Call 321-397-3004 to schedule deliveries. Visit http://chsfl.org/bts

Donate last year’s clothes to Goodwill

Cremation with remembrance...what a beautiful idea.

Offering the Simplicity Plan®

Summer of Dreams Fifth Third Bank is accepting donations for school supplies and financial contributions for the Summer of Dreams through August. To donate or learn more, visit www.TheSummerofDreams.com or www. agiftforteaching.org

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Orlando’s two ReStore locations received a huge donation of brand new school supplies and is selling them at 30 to 60 percent off retail prices. That includes pens, highlighters, notebooks, glue, etc. The store is on Colonial Drive just East of Lake Baldwin Lane, 4835 E. Colonial Drive, Orlando.

Introducing the newest Tranquil Oaks® Cremation Garden at Baldwin-Fairchild Glen Haven — a breathtaking garden filled with beautiful and lasting options for families and individuals choosing cremation.

Oaklawn Park Cemetery 5000 County Road 46A • Sanford

ing. • Sept. 8 / Camp Gladiator at Blue Jacket Park: Meet at 9 a.m. for a fitness boot camp. Cost is $10 and all proceeds will benefit A Gift For Teaching. For more information, visit www.agiftforteaching.com or call 407-318-3123.

School supplies on sale

“Give them a place to leave flowers.”

Orange County students get back in the swing of things on Monday, Aug. 20, the first day of the 2012-2013 school year.

ONGOING

“But when they’re having fun, it doesn’t hurt as bad.” So Tytianna danced happily across the stage. Danny and Jordan stood proud and strong. And John and Natasha were heroes.

Here’s a listing of back-to-school drives and events to help you and the community prepare for the new school year, which starts Aug. 20 in Orange County and Aug. 13 in Seminole County

AUG. 20

The Art and History Museums – Maitland presents classes and workshops for children and adults beginning on Sept. 10, including painting, drawing, stained glass, jewelry and pottery. Register at ArtandHistory.org, by phone at 407-539-2181, ext. 265, or in person at 231 W. Packwood Ave.

after a week of preparing for their breakout roles, the kids and their brave faces came out — the ones they’ve been showing their whole lives. “They’re hurting,” Bonus said.

Be back-to-school ready

Crealdé School of Art culminates its popular summer ArtCamp program with a youth art exhibition featuring works of the next generation of talented artists from Aug. 18 – Sept. 8 in the Showalter Hughes Community gallery on Crealdé’s campus, with almost 300 pieces of artwork on display. Light refreshments are served. Contact 407671-1886 or visit crealde.org Track Shack’s 21st Annual Celebration of Running 5k will be on Saturday, Aug. 18, at the Orlando Science Center Loch Haven Park, 777 E. Princeton St. The 5k will begin at 7:30 a.m. At 8:45 a.m., the Healthy 100 Kids’ Run will begin, and awards will be given out at 9 a.m. This is the first of six premier Orlando running and walking races. For more information, visit trackshack.com

PHOTO BY ISAAC BABCOCK — THE OBSERVER

Sandy Bonus Fine Arts’ Claire Komujuni coaches sisters Jamie, center, and Cady, left, before they act in a play in honor of their brother, Alec, who wasn’t able to play his part.

©2012 STEI

7/17/12 3:31 PM

Donate last year’s wardrobe to Goodwill Industries of Central Florida before buying new school clothes this year… As our children prepare to go back to school, parents have the opportunity to teach them a valuable life lesson: what to do with the things they no longer need. Before purchasing those much-needed sneakers, clothes and supplies, parents can take the time with their kids to sift through the things they’ve outgrown and decide whether they can be donated to Goodwill. Not only is donating to and shopping at Goodwill good for people, it’s great for the planet because it diverts items from landfills. The store is at 750 N. Orange Ave. in Winter Park. To help kids calculate the positive impact of their Goodwill donations, visit the Donation Impact Calculator (patent pending) at donate.goodwill.org