A few residents of the Summerlyn Village subdivision paid a visit to a local family affected by serious illness on Thursday evening to present them with a donation on behalf of the neighbourhood from a street party they hosted two weeks ago.
Bradford teen Daleyn MasIsaac lives in the Summerlyn subdivision and was diagnosed with ANCA vasculitis, a rare autoimmune disease attacking her lungs and kidneys, in the summer of 2019 and was told she would likely need a kidney transplant.
Since then, Daleyn has been diagnosed with Stage 5 Kidney Failure and has been in and out of the hospital. She is hoping to get on a kidney transplant wait list soon, once she passes the necessary tests.
The neighbours who organized the event, also known as the 'Street Party Collective' decided to use it as a platform to help raise funds for Daleyn and her family.
"It breaks my heart when you hear about a kid that can’t just be a kid because of a disease and it's just not fair," said party organizer, Joe Giordano.
Daleyn's mother, Minerva, has a well-known children's entertainment business in town, Minerva's Creations, who stepped up to offer her face-painting and balloon-making services and bubble show for the party.
“What blew me away was we were looking to do someone to help them out - and the first thing she (Minerva) said was 'Amazing idea and this is how I can help and participate','" said Giordano. "I was totally taken aback that she was willing to donate and help out at the street party."
With over 650 attendees at the event, Giordano says many were amazed at Minerva’s work.
"It was so beautiful and special for us to be working so hard for the community and raising funds for Minerva’s daughter and she’s there giving it all to the kids," he said.
Together, the neighbourhood was able to pool together sponsors to offer free pizza, ice cream, cotton candy, popcorn and entertainment. With the leftover funds and donations from residents, they were able to give the MacIsaac family a total of $4,059.
Minerva and her husband Dale answered the door on Thursday to accept the cheque from their neighbours as Daleyn was sleeping upstairs.
"Thank you so much, we really appreciate it, it's a big help," said Minerva.
The idea of the street party came about after two years of Giordano and his friends using his garage as a meeting spot and getting the neighbourhood together during the pandemic.
“We formed a rock band from a bunch of friends that all live on the same street and we started the process of getting everyone together," said Giordano.
Throughout the pandemic, Giordano would keep his garage doors open while the band played for the neighbours for "some much-needed COVID relief and socially distancing human interaction."
The informal gatherings turned into a large street festival-style party on Aug. 13, to encourage community engagement and neighbourly traditions.
The Street Party Collective hopes to bring the party back again next year.
Giordano says he wants to make sure the community doesn't forget about the MacIsaac family and their struggles.
"If this was my child and family, I would hope people don’t forget about us. This poor girl is waiting on a kidney to get better and back to being a kid again," said Giordano.
