Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Young People’s Theatre (YPT) and Meagan’s Walk are pleased to be working together on a year-long partnership dedicated to helping kids help each other. This unique collaboration is designed to raise awareness of young brain tumour patients amongst their peers in the theatre for young audiences community.
One of the many collaborative activities will involve YPT hosting the kickoff of 2019 Meagan’s Walk on Friday, April 12th. Known as the “Crane Ceremony”, this event invites young people from schools in the GTA and beyond to make paper cranes and shower them on the young heroes in attendance who are facing the challenges of brain tumour treatment. The ceremony is a re-enactment of a gesture by Meagan’s own classmates to lift her spirits while she was undergoing treatment.
“Through its professional productions and extensive drama education activities, YPT embraces the ‘whole child’, fostering children’s social, emotional and intellectual development. The theme for YPT’s 2018/19 Season is the spirited motivation of young people to change the world around them. This aligns well with the mission of Meagan's Walk as it works with students and young leaders, encouraging them to live with compassion, caring for those in their midst who struggle with challenges.” – Allen MacInnis, Artistic Director, YPT
"Meagan's Walk is a community of hope and compassion, supporting children and their families who are facing difficulties, including serious illness. ‘Kids helping kids’ is an important theme for Meagan's Walk. I am pleased to work in partnership with Young People's Theatre as we encourage young people to grow in compassion, to become caring citizens, and to reach their fullest potential." - Denise Bebenek, Founder, Meagan's Walk
About Meagan’s Walk: Meagan’s Walk: Creating a Circle of Hope was founded by Denise Bebenek in 2001, the year she lost her cherished five year-old daughter Meagan to a cancerous brain tumour. Leaving the hospital the last time without Meagan, Denise knew something had to be done and the mission that would become Meagan's Walk began. She channelled the outpouring of support and love received by her family, and her own vision, into what started as a spirited community walk and human hug around The Hospital for Sick Children in 2002. Since then, Meagan’s Walk has become a 365-day initiative dedicated to bringing hope and awareness to this leading cause of cancer-related death in children and young people. Since its inception Meagan’s Walk has raised more than $5 million for ground-breaking research and is having global impact on the care of and outcomes for young brain tumour patients around the world.
About Young People’s Theatre: Young People’s Theatre is the oldest professional theatre company in Toronto and is a national producer and presenter of theatre for young audiences – the first and largest of its kind in Canada. Over the past 53 years YPT has staged many of the most important plays that form the canon of work for youth in our country. The enriched learning experiences of YPT’s Education & Participation Department also provide young people with opportunities to develop their whole being. At Young People’s Theatre we strive for a positive and lasting impact on the emotional, social and intellectual development of young people – giving them the chance to grow into the unique and wonderful people they were born to be.
2018-11-10
Toronto: Young People's Theatre and Meagan's Walk partner for Kids Helping Kids