Dancing into their Future - Jaquilynne and Skylar
Donation protected
Jaquilynne, 13, and Skylar, 11 are both exemplary human beings and hard working ballet dancers! They've been accepted to participate in the Summer Dance Lab intensive at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, and we are raising money to support their tuition, room and board, and travel expenses for this amazing summer opportunity. The Summer Dance Lab at Whitman is a world-renowned summer intensive, well-regarded in the dance community as an excellent place for future professional dancers to learn and hone their skills!
Jaquilynne and Skylar both eat, sleep, and breathe DANCE. They aspire to be principal dancers at national and international dance companies when they grow up. Currently, they study dance 15 hours a week and teach some of the pre-ballet classes at our local dance studio.
They are leaders in their communities, students on the honor roll, exceptional citizens, and amazing big sisters. Our youngest child, Sullivan, 6, has a severe congenital heart defect known as Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, or HLHS. He was born without the left half of his heart - it didn’t form properly and was non-functional. He had open heart surgery at 4 days old, and again at 6 months, and again at 3 and a half years old. Currently, he is stable, but his heart may begin to fail at any point, at which time he could be listed for a transplant if he is a good candidate. Not only have the medical bills ruined our family, financially, but having a medically fragile child and sibling has impacted the overall stress experienced by everyone in our family. Try as we might, as parents, we can only insulate them from so much. Jaquilynne and Skylar both feel the stress, worry, and anxiety that goes along with caring so much for someone who might die. I know it all too well, and I would take it from them if I could.
When I see my daughters dance, I see all the weight of the road they walk as big sisters fall off of them, as if the dance floor and stage is the one true place where their lives can be light, where their lives can be, in that moment, all about them, a chance to shine without the worries of their worlds weighing them down.
It moves me to tears every single time.
I am writing to you to ask if you would consider donating (as you are able) to support their efforts, to honor their strong work, and to help them step closer to achieving their dreams. It would be more meaningful to our family than words can express, and could mean the difference between them being able to go and not.
Jaquilynne and Skylar both eat, sleep, and breathe DANCE. They aspire to be principal dancers at national and international dance companies when they grow up. Currently, they study dance 15 hours a week and teach some of the pre-ballet classes at our local dance studio.
They are leaders in their communities, students on the honor roll, exceptional citizens, and amazing big sisters. Our youngest child, Sullivan, 6, has a severe congenital heart defect known as Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, or HLHS. He was born without the left half of his heart - it didn’t form properly and was non-functional. He had open heart surgery at 4 days old, and again at 6 months, and again at 3 and a half years old. Currently, he is stable, but his heart may begin to fail at any point, at which time he could be listed for a transplant if he is a good candidate. Not only have the medical bills ruined our family, financially, but having a medically fragile child and sibling has impacted the overall stress experienced by everyone in our family. Try as we might, as parents, we can only insulate them from so much. Jaquilynne and Skylar both feel the stress, worry, and anxiety that goes along with caring so much for someone who might die. I know it all too well, and I would take it from them if I could.
When I see my daughters dance, I see all the weight of the road they walk as big sisters fall off of them, as if the dance floor and stage is the one true place where their lives can be light, where their lives can be, in that moment, all about them, a chance to shine without the worries of their worlds weighing them down.
It moves me to tears every single time.
I am writing to you to ask if you would consider donating (as you are able) to support their efforts, to honor their strong work, and to help them step closer to achieving their dreams. It would be more meaningful to our family than words can express, and could mean the difference between them being able to go and not.
Organizer
Tiana Povenmire-Kirk
Organizer
Veneta, OR