Andrew and The Special Olympics

The other day Andrew went to his first Special Olympics meeting. While attending, he was able to participate in two sports. First, table tennis, and then basketball. I personally have always been a big fan of the special olympics. In my youth my father introduced my brother and I to The Special Olympics. One summer the games where hosted in my hometown, Halifax, Nova Scotia. My Father said there was something he wanted us to see and he took us to a soccer game. Many things that day amazed me, but the one thing that stood out the most was the unbelievable display of sportsmanship from all participants. If a player from one team fell down, his opponent instead of running by and scoring a goal, stopped to help him up. If a player made a bad play his team mates had nothing but encouraging words for him. It was amazing to see. The world of professional sports could surely learn a thing or two from these amazing athletes.

So needless to say when I found out that Andrew was getting involved with The Special Olympics I was happy.

I'll leave you with a quote from The Special Olympics website and their URL.

"Dignity, acceptance, and a chance to reach one's potential - these are human rights worth promoting for everyone. Since 1968, Special Olympics has been bringing one message to the world: people with intellectual disabilities can and will succeed if given the opportunity."

www.specialolympics.org

Chris Thornham

Purpose by Painting With Purpose

At Painting With Purpose we are big believers in helping people find their purpose in life. I don't know how many nights I myself have laid awake wondering what I was truly meant to do. The answer isn't always clear. However, I feel if you make a continuous effort to better yourself, your "purpose" may instead find you. Often times our passions are side tracked by the necessities of life but I encourage you to keep looking towards bettering yourself. A great friend of mine often says, "Good is the enemy of great".


Now don't get me wrong. We can't all become the president of the United States or win a Nobel Prize. Also, we are not failures if our "purpose" seems less important than that of our neighbours. But I truly believe we all have the capacity to be great at something. So be honest with yourself. Are you bettering yourself today? Would you consider yourself happy? Are you doing what you truly feel you are meant to do? If you have answered no to these questions, it may be time to make a change in your life. While the road ahead won't be easy, looking back will undoubtedly make you proud of making a change.


I'll leave you with a video of a commencement speech given to Standford University by Steve Jobs (the CEO of apple). Both Jon and I are big fans of Steve and thought this video was very fitting since we are talking about purpose.

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish (You'll understand why I said this after watching the video),

Chris Thornham

Back Home to Speak About Painting With Purpose

In the past couple weeks I was fortunate enough to be able to travel back home Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. While home I ran into an old teacher of mine who asked what I had been up to. I told her all about Painting With Purpose and she invited me in to speak to the class. I was honored. I spoke to an 11th grade english class at Prince Andrew High School. I incorporated dominion, perserverance and temptation into my own story from when I was back in junior high and made my first visit into the special education classroom, to where I am now. It was great to be able to have the opportunity to give back to the community. Ms. Abbass was a source of stregth for me during high school. Doing the right thing is not always easy. Ms. Abbass always encouraged me to make the right decisions and gave me tough answers others would not. I only hope my words delivered such a positive message to the students I met.

Jon

Article in Kamloops This Week

Mikelle Sasakamoose from Kamloops This Week, wrote a great article about Painting With Purpose. Take a minute to read below or visit their website for the article.

Thanks Mikelle,

Chris

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For kids by kids: Painting With Purpose
By Mikelle Sasakamoose - Kamloops This Week

As mechanical engineers, Jon and Chris Thornham are used to making things move.

But their latest project moves people.

The twin brothers from Dartmouth, N.S., started Painting With Purpose to raise money for charitable organizations that assist children with special needs.

Growing up in the Maritime city, Jon said he remembers being in middle school when he first met children that weren’t like the others.

“When we were younger, in middle school, we had a class in the school with special-needs children and I remember walking by there a few times the first year I was there and was curious,” Jon said.

“So we both ended up going in and then, for every lunch and recess for three years in a row, we ended up going in there and helping.”

Jon said he and his brother were drawn to the honesty and sincerity of the children in that class and found they learned more from them than they did in their regular classroom.

“It was a positive experience to be around,” he said.

“Some of the other kids at the school were always involved in bad things. There was always trouble if you went other places and I felt like if you went there you were in the right direction.”

Beyond middle school, the brothers’ compass eventually pointed to studies in engineering at the University of New Brunswick and, later, jobs in Las Vegas.

Although as young people the brothers were constantly involved with special-needs children — which they were recognized for with Youth Volunteer of the Year awards in their hometown — it was later in life they met a young friend who inspired them as adults.

Andrew is the 12-year-old son of a friend the brothers bunked with when they first moved to Sin City and their accommodations agreement fell through.

He was born with cerebral palsy and, right from the beginning, was the only one of his family who could tell the identical twins apart.

Six years later, Andrew’s like their little brother — the one who loves chicken fingers and ranch sauce, Whoopi Goldberg and, especially, painting.

In fact, it’s a red, blue, yellow and green depiction of a few of Andrew’s favourite things that has launched the Thornham brother’s latest efforts to help children with special needs.

Painting With Purpose is a philanthropic organization that offers an incentive approach to generating money for a variety of charities.

Digital copies of paintings created by children with special needs — including Andrew — are sold online, with half the proceeds going to the charity each child represents and for customer incentive, while the remaining revenue is used to fund organizational growth.

With what the brothers call “win, win, win philanthropy,” not only do they get to help raise funds for charity, but they get to continue to facilitate the program and give back to customers, too.

“Most businesses give money away as a tax write-off,” Jon said.

“For us, it’s not about that. We turn around and try and spread a good message . . . and we hope that people who win the cash prizes will use that money to come up with their own creative ways to spread their message or be involved charitably.”

Back on the topic of Andrew, Jon said since the little boy painted the website’s inaugural picture, he’s gone on to bigger and better things.

Andrew recently participated in a five-kilometre run with the brothers, one of many things — along with painting — doctors predicted he would never do when he was born.

“They said he’d only be a lump in the corner. He’d never talk, he’d never move but, with patient parents and after years of therapy, he’s amounted to what he is today,” Jon said.

“He’s a regular little boy with a few setbacks, but it doesn’t stop him and he has a great life.”

In addition to helping charities fund research to improve therapies and possibly find cures for some diseases affecting children with special needs, Jon said he and his brother hope to inspire others as Andrew has inspired them.

“Sometimes kids with special needs are looked at as though they’re always going to struggle in life,” he said.

“What we want to do is show them that even a simple painting, something they created themselves, can help spread a great message and that they can do amazing things by being involved.”

Original artwork by children with special needs in both Canada and the U.S. is accepted on an ongoing basis.

Each artist will be allowed to choose the charity that will benefit from the sales of his or her paintings.

For more information or to buy a painting, visit paintingwithpurpose.com.

Team Hoyt

As usual the holidays were busy. Jon and I had a wonderful visit from our parents over the holidays and got to spend 2 great weeks together. It's been a few weeks since we posted a blog article so we thought we'd come back with a great story.

This story is about Dick and Rick Hoyt. Rick was born as a spastic quadriplegic, cerebral palsy, non-speaking person. However, Rick's mind and person have always been strong. Doctors told Rick's parents that he should be put away and would never amount to anything. Dick (Rick's Father) had other plans. Rick's parents brought him home and treated him like their other children. Today, among many other achievements, Rick is a graduate of Boston University.

When Rick was in grade school, he heard of a running race that was acting as a fund raiser for a lacrosse player who had become paralyzed. Rick was determined to help raise money and he told his father he wanted to join the race. Dick agreed to push his son. After the race Rick told his father that when he was racing he didn't feel handicapped. That comment lite a spark inside of Dick and the couple haven't stopped since. To date Dick and Rick have competed in 984 events ranging from 5K running races to Ironman triathlons (2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking, and 26.2 miles of running all in one day).

In short, Dick and Rick are truly incredible people. This is a story about true love and proof that ANYONE can do something if they put their mind to it. I think their story should be a lesson to us all.

Please watch the video above and visit the Team Hoyt website to learn more about Dick and Rick.

Thank you Dick and Rick for being such and incredible inspiration to all of us.

Chris Thornham