Easter Seals Regatta day at the Royal Victoria Yacht Club in Victoria, BC, 2009.
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Sarah, my youngest daughter, age 11, is fishing from the yacht club dock for the elusive wharf minnow. Not easy to catch in a
plastic cup – take it from a retired fishing guide and long-time wharf-fishing expert.
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We’re gathered here both to help raise money for the Easter Seals campaign and to enjoy a family outing as guests. It’s our third time.
We get to go out for a ride on the HMCS Oriole, a renowned Canadian navy sail training vessel. She is the oldest working ship in the navy,
and one of a few local vessels large enough to have wheelchairs on her deck (and a crew of strong young backs to get them there).
We also know that the money raised today goes to funding Camp Shawnigan – my oldest daughter Charlotte’s favourite place in the world
and the highlight of her life.
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Charlotte, who is now 14 and has had quadriplegic cerebral palsy since birth, has the joy and privilege of going to Camp Shawnigan
every summer. It’s a place where they know how to care for someone with her level of special needs. But it’s more than that. It’s a place
where “special” becomes “universal,” so for once, she’s not an exception. None of the kids are. For seven heavenly days, she can be 
ust another camper, hanging with her pals in a place that is truly without barriers. Playing mostly outside. Swimming. Singing at the top
of their lungs. Getting dirty. Having water fights. Laughing until they cry. Giving the counsellors a hard time. Telling stories. Pranking each
other. Helping the little ones. Eating things on sticks scorched over a campfire. Kid stuff. Camp stuff. Pure bliss. Please support this
great cause, if you can!
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At the regatta, the kids – those with special needs and those without – love getting out on the water. The young sailors take good care
of us all, and they treat the wheelchair-bound with particular gentleness, as much as they try to disguise it. Sarah and I have already
discussed volunteering to help organize the entertainment for the kids for next year’s event. With two veteran campers in our family
(my partner, Lisa, went to summer camp for years in Ontario), we may be able to contribute some “camp savvy” ideas to this wonderful event.
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Mark Heine