The Oscar-Goes! Benefit was just over a week ago. We are deeply humbled by the community that supports Oscar both locally and from afar. We feel emotionally and physiologically changed from absorbing the tremendous love surrounding this event and the journey toward getting Oscar a van. Not only was the event successful in terms of reinvigorating our sense of community, but it was also successful in terms of enabling us to meet our goal of raising enough money to get a van. We are graciously astonished to report that the benefit raised over $31,000!
We’d like to especially thank the group of people known as the Oscar Ensemble who planned and organized this event: Tate DeCaro, Heidi Katz, Donna Kowal, Tom Kowal, Sara Oliveiri, and Garrett Rubin. We’d also like to thank the following people from NTID who made the use of the Dyer Arts Center possible at no cost to us: Bob Baker, David Edborg, Gerard Buckley, and Pat & Jim DeCaro. Huge gratitude for Small World Bakery & Java’s for providing food, and for the Margaret Explosion who provided music, and to Heather Kerstetter who provided a poem! This event also couldn’t have happened without the amazing individuals who volunteered at the event and all of the individuals and businesses who made donations of goods or services. Please see the Sponsors page for a complete list.
Oscar had an incredible time at his “van party” playing in the Kids’ Zone and zooming the long hallway at NTID with his friends (we were able to bring his power chair thanks to a surprise loan/rental of an accessible van). What a thrill it was for us to watch Oscar playing independently. There were several times during the evening that we asked one another, “Where’s Oscar?” and the response was, “I don’t know.” This made our hearts sing because this was the first time Oscar has been able to really just be a kid with other kids, “running,” hiding, disappearing, without some adult assistance. Just the way a typical 4-year old plays. Oscar’s unbridled joy was the ultimate success and we look forward to similar experiences once we get a van of our own!
So now the research begins in earnest. We need to figure out which van will best suit our needs. Most likely this will be a standard mini-van, which will then need to be converted, which is a time-consuming process in and of itself. We will certainly keep you updated on the progress we make toward getting a van. Thanks to you, and your incredible generosity, we are now in a position to make this a reality. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
A few photos from the event…
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