Tanae Houston of
White Lake Township celebrated her 11th with the surprise of her
life.
When her
mother, Malissa Shaw, presented Tanae tickets before her birthday on Sunday to
the Justin Bieber concert in front of the Joe Louis in Detroit, Tanae
cried.
Tanae,
who uses a wheelchair, was one of eight
girls with disabilities, all diehard Bieber fans, who received tickets donated by AON Insurance to Macomb-Oakland Regional Center
for a suite at the sold-out Bieber concert.
Shaw,
like several other mothers of daughters with disabilities who received tickets,
kept the tickets a secret until they got to downtown Detroit.
"If
I told Tanae that we received tickets she would have been imploding and exploding
for days," said Shaw. “She would not be able to contain her excitement.”
Shaw would have purchased tickets but like many
families with children with disabilities served by MORC she could not afford
them. So when the concert was announced in March, Shaw tried desperately to win
tickets.
"I
was on two phones in both hands all the time trying to win some contest,"
said Shaw.
"Our
people often don't have the same opportunities for things in life that others
do," said Gerald Provencal, executive director of MORC, which serves 5,000
people with disabilities in Oakland and Macomb counties. "We are thankful
that businesses and people in the community have joined with us to help our
people with the economic challenges of disability by providing food, clothes,
and furniture and by providing meaningful opportunities, this time, Bieber
tickets."
One
challenge for the Shaw family was to find a way to get to the concert. They no
longer have a car so Malissa Shaw spent three days trying to find a ride.
Eventually, a neighbor let them borrow a car. In the meantime, the Shaw family
is organizing fundraisers for Aug. 21 with Applebee's in White Lake Township
and possibly Buffalo Wild Wings to help them purchase a van with a wheelchair lift.
Shaw and
other parents of children who received tickets said the event was a big
emotional boost for the children
Another
child with a disability, Anna Perantoni, 14, of Royal Oak, recently had an injury
that prevented her from attending a much anticipated therapeutic horseback
riding week at Camp Fowler in Mayville. She would be unable to attend another
one until next year.
"Before
Anna had a chance to become really disappointed our MORC social worker brought
us Bieber tickets," said mom Jackie Perantoni. "It was a blessing and
made her so happy.”
Jerry Wolffe is the Writer in Residence &
Advocate at Large at MORC. He can be reached at 586 263 8950.
