When Easter Seals ambassador Paxton Cole sets out on her fundraising tour she plans on doing it her way.
Cole, a 10-year-old Queen Elizabeth Elementary School student with cerebral palsy, said she wants others to see what people with challenges can do and not what they can’t.
“See my smile, not my walker,” she said.
Her speech was the centerpiece of the annual Easter Seals campaign kick-off Monday at the Delta Prince Edward in Charlottetown where she got a taste of the instant celebrity that comes with being one of the program’s ambassadors.
Last year the Easter Seals just surpassed its goal of raising $130,000 and the organizers for 2013 are aiming higher with a new target of $140,000.
To reach that goal they’re going to get a lot of help from Cole who will visit each of the Island’s 65 schools as part of the Easter Seals tour and her duties as an ambassador.
Cole’s condition affects her muscles and she has difficulty walking without a walker or crutches.
During her speech at the kick-off luncheon, Cole said she still loves to do what other girls her age do, like horseback riding.
“I can do anything I set my mind to. Sometimes I just need to figure out the Paxton way to do it,” she said.
Cole said she is lucky to live in a great community and with all the support she receives there is nothing she can’t do.
“I hope that with your help all people living with challenges can feel the way I do,” she said.
