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Annleigh Marks-Wallace
Administration
Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto

The Quote: “The kids help me rather than the other way around. They help me be a better person.”

Deep Dive

Annleigh will be jumping on July 18^th just north of Toronto with her wife and three friends. She can’t wait. She’s skydived before. It was, she says, “the most exhilarating and terrifying thing I’ve ever done”. But she’s never jumped in tandem with an experienced skydiver. That means that she’ll be jumping from a much higher altitude … about 8,000 feet … and free-falling a lot longer.

Cue Van Halen.

That said … or screamed … Annleigh will be doing much more than jumping out of a plane. Hers is a leap of faith that her efforts and those of her supporters will raise awareness of the challenges and ignorance faced by people with facial differences: that the world might be a kinder place for them. “We get teased if our names are a little different let alone having a facial difference,” she says. “There’s no difference! The facial difference has nothing to do with the inside. They’re just kids,” she adds.

Annleigh’s team has raised about $1,000 so far, but they’re only just … err … getting off the runway. The team will be holding a Dog Spa fundraiser to raise Leap of Faith pledges. And they’re holding a “Dirty Bingo” night at Slacks on Church Street in Toronto on July 15 to raise pledges. The bar will donate 10% of sales to Leap of Faith … just part of the money that will be raised. Contact Annleigh for more information at annleighwallace@gmail.com

Go Annleigh!

Dr. Lonny Ross MD FRCSC
Director of the Manitoba Centre for Craniofacial Difference
Head, Pediatric Plastic Surgery, Children’s Hospital of Winnipeg
Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, University of Manitoba

The Quote: “My motivation to jump is to increase the funds available to support the much needed non-medical aspects of patient care, and to raise awareness of our Centre’s existence for people with a craniofacial difference”.

Deep Dive

As valuable and important as medical procedures and treatment are for those with facial differences, helping them is about much more, Dr. Ross believes. It’s about the social support needed through the multiple surgeries that are often required through childhood and adolescence. Too, it’s about support for family and friends.

Dr. Ross will be jumping in the Leap of Faith for AboutFace, the second annual sky diving event this July to raise funds in support of sending kids ages 10 to 17 with facial disfigurements to AboutFace’s Camp Trailblazers. Last time we checked he had already raised more than $5,000 in pledges.

Dr. Ross has led the Manitoba Centre for Craniofacial Difference for more than five years. The goal of the Centre: to provide comprehensive services to children and young adults with facial differences. The Centre works regularly with AboutFace to achieve this objective. Two nurse coordinators at the Manitoba Centre for Craniofacial Difference – Cynthia Bonneteau and Cathy Camara – helped organize the Centre’s first family picnic with AboutFace last year. This was a big success. A camp and picnic are among two social events planned for patients and families this year, again with the support of AboutFace.

“I love kids … I’m really excited that AboutFace is helping the kids and families of Manitoba to enjoy these activities and hopefully learn about others with facial difference and maybe even themselves at the same time,” says Dr. Ross.

“I would challenge any one else in the province who has been touched by or knows someone with facial difference to join in the jump or pledge any spare change to my Leap of Faith.”

AboutFace works to provide emotional and social support, resources and education programs to people with facial differences and their family. In addition, Camp Trailblazers provides an environment where they can meet other children with facial differences and is one of the only places where they can gain self-esteem and build a positive self image.

Tracey Sanderson
Marketing Senior Manager
KPMG LLP

The Quote: “Often times it’s not the physical pain that kids with facial differences suffer from, it’s the emotional journey, dealing with indifference of peers, bullies in school and their own lack of self esteem … what appears on the surface is by no means what is in their heart.”

Deep Dive

She’s a KPMG executive, a mother of three boys, a member of the board of AboutFace and committee chair for the Leap of Faith fundraising event. But when all is said and done, Tracey is, like so many other Leap of Faith participants, also very simply someone who cares.

Her primary reason for “taking the Leap” this July is personal …

“Her name is Karley, a very special 15-year-old girl in my life who from birth has had to endure more surgeries than any child should ever have to in order to correct facial abnormalities. I’ve seen first hand the challenges she has faced – the physical and the emotional pain.”

“I’m doing this to raise awareness and money for kids with facial differences and to send them to Camp Trailblazers,” she says.

“Please help me with this important cause by sponsoring my leap of faith to help kids with facial differences go to camp so they can foster life long friendships, share experiences, build their self confidence, and most importantly have fun!”