ELiHP ventures outside of mental and physical boundaries: Starlight Performance Camp
Emerging Leaders in Health Promotion grant program
A day to shine
You know you’ve hosted a good party when your guests don’t want to leave.
That was the case for third-year medical student Andrée Vincent and Dr. Roxanne Pinson, a pediatric resident at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary, and their 2016-17 Emerging Leaders in Health Promotion grant program project: Starlight Performance Camp.
On a sunny July Saturday, at Edmonton’s Ortona Gymnastics Club, Andrée and Roxanne applied their cheerleading, gymnastics and competitive dance skills and talents with several more medical (and other) students and graduates from the University of Alberta to facilitate a very special day in Edmonton for chronically ill or disabled children.
Under the enthusiastic and caring guidance and instruction of 20 volunteers, the 34 children – ranging from five to 14 years old – ventured outside the mental and physical boundaries of their conditions to explore the world of performing arts through gymnastics, dance, cheerleading and fashion workshops.
“The goal of Starlight Performance Camp was to introduce children living with a chronic illness or disability, to the world of performance and physical activity,” says Andrée. “We believe it’s important to advocate for these children, who often feel restricted by their condition … to make them feel like stars and facilitate the discovery of a passion for dance, cheerleading, gymnastics or fashion.”
Read the full March-April 2018 issue of Alberta Doctors' Digest at ADD.albertadoctors.org.
