Market organizer inspired by personal connection: ‘We would have been completely lost without Lansdowne’
Brantford - The Magic of Giving Holiday Market, taking place Nov. 2, will be a chance to deck your halls with creations and specialties from local artists and businesses, while also supporting Lansdowne Children’s Centre. The event is headed by Julie Neal, a local real estate agent and the owner of Style Haven Home Décor.
Neal is also the mom of Tenley, who attends Lansdowne for various therapies and supports. Neal wanted to do something to help support Lansdowne, both financially and by raising the organization’s profile.
“I do think there's so much more awareness that we need to spread in our city, county, area,” she said. “And I get it; if you don't have a special needs child, or a kiddo that needs to go to speech or something like that, then you would have no idea, unless somebody in your circle is involved.”
She said in her opinion, Lansdowne is “such an amazing organization, I feel like so many people would be willing to donate or be involved or volunteer ... to help with our vulnerable population,” if they knew about the work Lansdowne does.
Neal said she was a person who had no idea about Lansdowne until a couple of months after the birth of her daughter, Tenley, who’s turning 10 in January. “She was born with a brain disorder,” Neal said. “The pregnancy was perfectly normal, no issues, and then we gave birth to her naturally, no problems there.”
It wasn’t until Tenley was around two months old that Neal noticed her daughter would always hold her hand in a sort of fist. While she thought it was odd, “I really didn’t worry too much about it.” At four months old, Neal’s sister-in-law, who is a nurse, recommended Tenley get checked out, because she still wasn’t playing with any toys. A family doctor referred Tenley to a pediatrician, who determined she had developmental delays.
“I was like, ‘OK. I don’t really know what that means, but OK.’ Then we were referred to Lansdowne at that point.”
It was during an appointment at Lansdowne that Tenley had her first seizure.
“It was very scary. I didn’t know what the heck was going on, because I had never seen a seizure in my entire life. And obviously when it’s your child, you’re absolutely horrified and terrified,” Neal said.
A long night followed, as Tenley experienced dozens of sequential seizures. She was transferred to McMaster Children's Hospital, and a CT scan was performed on her brain. The family was informed that Tenley was diagnosed with lissencephaly, which means ‘smooth brain,’ because with the condition, a person’s brain doesn’t have the same folds and ridges that one normally sees.
“It's a brain disorder that sometimes we can carry the gene, other times it's a fluke. With her, it was a fluke; we've been tested, and nothing shows there,” Neal said.
Because of her condition, “(Tenley) has global developmental delays; she has seizures, epilepsy.”
At Lansdowne, Neal found support for her family, and received instruction in physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy, to help Tenley develop abilities and realize her potential. Neal expressed her gratitude for the organization and the support it offers.
“They hold a very special place in my heart,” she said. “We would have been completely lost without Lansdowne.”
Besides the therapeutic support Tenley has received, Neal said Lansdowne staff have also helped the family access funding, and offered resources such as the Kids Country Inn, where Tenley gets to spend a fun weekend, and her parents get a respite break.
“They're just amazing; honestly, I can't say enough good things about the organization, which is why I like to be as involved as I am.”
Neal is a member of the Lansdowne Children’s Centre Foundation board of directors, a volunteer group that oversees initiatives to enhance and enrich the lives of the children and families that Lansdowne Children’s Centre serves by raising funds and goodwill throughout the community.
The Magic of Giving Holiday Market is the first time Neal has organized a vendors’ market. “I was trying to think of a third-party event that would be fun and good for the community, because we're supporting local artisans and vendors,” as well as supporting Lansdowne, she said.
Neal has recruited event sponsors that include the venue, Best Western Hotel and Conference Centre, (19 Holiday Drive, Brantford), which drastically discounted the rental fee because it was for an event supporting Lansdowne, and Neal’s Real Estate Broker, Jason Tangorra, who covered that rental fee.
Funds will be raised for Lansdowne through the admission fees ($2 for adults; children are free), vendor table fees and raffles, “So, no money in my pocket,” Neal said.
She noted that there are 50 registered vendors, and their wares vary widely, including but in no way limited to: pottery, greeting cards, wreaths, beaded keychains and wallet holders, personalized ornaments, stuffed animals, book art, kitchen products, chainmail jewelry, freeze dried candy, motorcycle and skull novelty items, and homemade sourdough bread.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever been to a vendor event of this size that has so many different vendors. I think it’s going to be great,” Neal said, adding that with 50 vendors, the show is big enough that people are sure to find some treasures, but not be overwhelmed.
It will also be a good way for shoppers to start getting into the holiday spirit.
“It’s going to be very festive; everyone’s going to have something a little Christmas-y at their table.”
The market runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be swag bags for the first 50 adults who come through. There will also be a kids’ craft area with volunteers, so caregivers will have the option to step away to shop on site for a few minutes on their own.
Neal is asking the community to support the market in a few ways. To start, donations of raffle prizes are still being accepted; email julie@julienealrealestate.com to make arrangements for pick up/ drop off.
Next, the community is being asked to help spread the word about the event, whether by word of mouth or on social media.
“The better word is getting out there, the better the event will be,” Neal said.
Also, if you’re available on Nov. 2, be sure to come out. Not only will that help raise more money for Lansdowne through admission fees, but also, Neal said she hopes to run this market annually, and a big crowd helps to show vendors an event is worth attending, and coming back to year after year.
Finally, if you’re unable to come to the market itself, Neal asks that people do what they can to spread the word about Lansdowne itself and what it does.
“There are over 3,000 kids in our community on the waitlist to get help at Lansdowne, which is why we need all the support we can get,” she said.
“Not all communities have a place like Lansdowne,” Neal added, noting that while it’s been a huge part of her and her family’s life, there are still plenty of people who haven’t heard of it and have no idea about the work it does.
“I feel like if people understood what actually happened there, it would be unstoppable.”
ABOUT LANSDOWNE CHILDREN’S CENTRE
Lansdowne Children's Centre is a highly accredited children's treatment centre (CTC) and SmartStart Hub, connecting caregivers with resources, services and supports for infants, children, and youth with physical, communication, and/or developmental needs. Supporting nearly 4,000 unique children and families annually, Lansdowne works with child and youth clients and their families at centres in Brantford, Caledonia, Dunnville and Simcoe, and in a variety of community settings such as homes, schools, childcares, early learning environments, and camps, as well as through virtual means using streaming video.
Learn more at www.lansdownecentre.ca
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