The smile on Faith Andrew's face lit up her neighbourhood Friday as the Sunshine Foundation of Canada presented the 23-year-old Cambridge resident with a dream package that included a personalized online greeting from American singer-songwriters Sara Bareilles and live chat with Mary Lambert.
“This is why we do what we do,” said Sunshine Foundation of Canada CEO, Nancy Sutherland, as Andrew took in the moment for all to see on the front lawn of her Preston home.
Andrew, an aspiring singer-songwriter herself, lives with a complex disease called hyper-mobility Ehler’s-Danlos Syndrome, a condition that weakens the body's connective tissues.
Living with hEDS presents occasional mobility and medical challenges and is often accompanied by fatigue, anxiety, and depression.
“She has pretty severe challenges," Sutherland said. "These are these invisible disabilities people have.
"That’s why we’re trying to wrap some things around her to keep her feeling positive."
Sunshine Foundation of Canada makes about 50 dreams come true each year for children and youth who live with severe physical disabilities or life-threatening illnesses.
But COVID-19 has limited the number of in-person presentations the organizations is able to schedule.
“This is one of the few during COVID that we’ve been able to organize and be outside for,” Sutherland said. “So it’s very special we’ve been able to work this out with Faith and her family.”
The anticipation of Friday's presentation gave Andrew something to hope for during an isolating year, she said.
Still in awe after speaking with Mary Lambert, who appeared projected on a screen in an online chatroom, and hearing a pre-recorded greeting from Sara Bareilles, Andrew said having two of her biggest influences talking to her directly was “like a fever dream.”
“These are my absolute favourite songwriters and probably the people who inspired me the most to continue writing," she said.
"I’ve always looked up to them and find their music so honest and beautiful and I really try to channel that.”
Part of Andrew's Dream Package is a master class with Lambert, an American singer, songwriter, and poet who is outspoken on body positivity, being queer and advocating for the LGBTQ2S+ community.
Lambert will work with Andrew in four online sessions on songwriting next month.
Since coming out herself, and experiencing the highs and lows of bipolar disorder, Andrew says Lambert's music and poetry has been an inspiring influence for her own journey as an artist.
“In my teen years I just remember finding so much comfort in her music and ever since then I’ve been following her and hearing her music and her music has influenced mine.”
“Everything about her, her openness and her self love journey is something that I’ve followed and been inspired by forever.”
“I have no words,” she laughed. “I’m just so over the moon.”
Another surprise came when a personalized video greeting from American musician Sara Bareilles appeared on the screen.
Bareilles, who's single Love Song reached No. 4 on the Billboard charts and wrote the music for the Broadway musical Waitress, is particularly special to Andrew who is taking theatre studies at York University.
Live theatre is a big part of Andrew's life.
One of the gifts presented to her was a print of the most recent Stratford production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, her favourite play.
Her smile widened as she opened her dream package to discover the fairy wings worn on stage and two tickets to a Stratford production of her choice.
Although theatre is one of her main loves, Andrew says her goal is to become known as a disabled artist and to continue creating in whatever medium she's inspired to work in.
So far she has a YouTube channel and an Instagram account where people can check out her music and poetry.
She hopes to have a Spotify page soon since she’s been getting more into the production side of things.
It was one of the silver linings in the pandemic year, she said, with "so much time and nowhere to go."
Writing music has always been a place of comfort during difficult times, she said.
“I’m still learning as I go, but songwriting for me has always been to cope with life. It’s not necessarily a want but like a need, so I’ve always just kind of followed that.
“As someone who is disabled and a woman of colour and queer it’s really important to me that I tell the stories I didn’t grow up seeing," she said. "So I definitely want to make it as a disabled artist and be known for that."
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