5th Annual Astonished! Walk and Roll Presented by Scotiabank

What do you have when you put together 31 teams (99 participants), over 300 generous donors, one presenting sponsor (Scotiabank), three bronze sponsors (Dusyk and Barlow Insurance, Viva Optical, Uro Medical Supplies), one prize donor (The Owl), one practicum student (Hallie Burke), three A! staff (Bonnie Cummings-Vickaryous, Elisa Wong, Melissa Turbuck), and one volunteer Communications Coordinator (Brenda MacLauchlan)? You have generosity in motion, otherwise known as the 5th Annual Astonished! Walk and Roll Presented by Scotiabank.

In harmony with the UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities Astonished! hosted our 5th Annual Astonished! Walk and Roll Presented by Scotiabank on December 1, 2019, a family-friendly pledge event that was a tremendous success. Funds raised will be used to support the work of Astonished! Thank you to our amazing sponsors, participants, donors, and organizers. Click here to see photos from the event.

A! Spring Gala, March 11th 2017

Champagne, Delicious Appetizers, Entertainment by The Bromantics, Silent Auction, and Raffle Table. Tickets $75, or $450 for a table of six. Email Bonnie Cummings-Vickaryous 

Saturday March 11th, 2017
St. Martin’s Parish Hall
4720 Castle Road, Regina SK

Champagne, Fundraising,
& Entertainment by The Bromantics
6:30 p.m.

Appetizer Service 7:30 p.m.
Cash Bar

For more details……

2017 Royal Road Race

We are delighted that The Jaleta Pacers  have chosen Astonished! as their charitable recipient of the 2017 Royal Regina Road Race. The race will take place on Saturday morning May 13th at the RCMP Depot. The race options are: 10 KM run, 5 KM run, 5 KM wheelchair, 5 KM walk, and the Mini Mountie (10 and under) 1 KM Run. The Royal Road Race is a family event that promotes wellness and the sport of running.

If you love the challenge of a race, have always wanted to run, walk, or wheel parts of the RCMP Depot that are normally closed off to the public, and also want to support Astonished!, check out the registration details here 

When registering participants also have the option to make a donation to Astonished! Individuals who are not participating in the race can pledge a racer who is participating or donate directly to Astonished! Click here for details

If racing is not your thing but you would like to be part of the 2017 Royal Regina Road Race and also support Astonished! you can volunteer directly with the 2017 Royal Regina Road Race by clicking here OR volunteer to be part of the Astonished! crew by e-mailing Katherine Taylor.

This is real, it matters!

“This is real, it matters.” This is what we heard from University of Regina students who participated in the 2nd annual Astonished! Walk and Roll on Saturday December 3rd, 2016. It is a wonderful way to celebrate the United Nations International Day of Persons with DisAbilities. The UN theme for 2016 is Achieving 17 Goals for the Future We Want. One of the 17 goals is laying the foundation for a future of greater inclusion for persons with disAbilities, which is a perfect description of the work of Astonished!

The Walk and Roll originated with students in Dr.Brenda Rossow Kimball’s class Kin 342 (Developmental DisAbility and Well Being) and Astonished! staff. This year A! Student Researchers and Core Members, University of Regina students and faculty in the faculties of Kinesiology and Health Studies, Social Work, Arts, and Nursing, and friends and family members created 18 teams with 73 team members.

Thank you to all the Walk and Roll teams and their many supporters for their great work promoting the creative social inclusion of Astonished! while raising funds to support our ongoing work. Each team applied their own unique approaches; including a three band event at The Owl, maxing social media, door-to-door visits, bake sales, and promotion at sports events. Thank you to our sponsors; The Kinesiology and Health Students Society, The Pump Roadhouse, and The Owl. Together we raised over $20,000 (10% of our annual budget). To see photos of the event……

Rock and Roll at The Owl / Steak Night at The Press Box

There is an abundance of creative ideas and fun things to do at Astonished! On Tuesday November 15th you can Rock and Roll with the bands Majetik, Heart Knives, and Port Noise at The Owl, University of Regina. Kinesiology Walk and Roll Team RR4WR is hosting this Rock and Roll for Walk and Roll event as a way to raise funds and awareness.  Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door (for ages 19 +). All monies go to Astonished! The doors open at 7:00 pm. Tickets available at The Owl or by e-mailing Mica.

On Thursday November 17th Astonished! Student Researcher Kaitlyn Hoar is hosting her third annual Steak Night 5:00pm-9:00pm at the Press Box, 909 Albert Street. Kaitlyn and her team have perfected the art of hosting a fund raising event for Astonished! at this sports bar. Tickets are $30 and include a Beer or Pop/Steak/Fries/Salad. There is also a raffle and 50/50 tickets. Text or phone Kaitlyn at 306-570-7132 or e-mail Bonnie for tickets, advance tickets only.

Halloween Howl October 22, 2016

Looking for an awesome Halloween party to go to? Look no further! Our Annual Halloween Howl will be happening on Saturday, October 22nd! $20/Ticket ($10/Support Ticket). Fun time, ‘Midnight’ style lunch, cash bar.  Contact Katherine for tickets!

Walk and Roll 2016

To mark the the United Nations International Day of Persons with DisAbilities, Astonished! is hosting our second Annual Walk and Roll, December 3rd, 2016. We invite you to form a team or join as an individual and join in this fun day. We make it easy for you to promote your walk and roll with your family and friends through e-mail and social media. Click here for details on how to participate…..

Event Planners

On May 5, 2016, Kennen Dorgan and Silvia Franco, with the help of their families, did a fabulous job as the event planners for the Astonished! Teaching and Learning Centre Cinco de Mayo party. This was part of Kennen’s PATH plans.

Have you ever looked at a job descriptions for an event planner? Here are some of the requirements:

  • Plan, design and produce events while managing all project delivery elements within time limits
  • Organize facilities and manage all event’s details such as decor, catering, entertainment, transportation, location, invitee list, special guests, equipment, promotional material etc
  • Ensure compliance with insurance, legal, health and safety obligations
  • Specify staff requirements and coordinate their activities
  • Cooperate with marketing and PR to promote and publicize event

Kennen and Silvia did all of this and more. They even helped us with our Spanish pronunciations. If you want a taste of the party check out our Cinco de Mayo photos on Face Book.

You might also want to get a look at what we are calling ‘Piñata therapy‘.

Thanks Kennen and Silvia and your team for this fabulous event.

Photo: Silvia, Heather, Kennen, Carmen

Variety – The Spice of Life

The March A! newsletter highlights some of the variety of life at Astonished! We hope you will take a few minutes to enjoy catching up with us. The big question is ‘How did Rhea Boysen and Katherine Taylor look so fabulous at Wings on Our Wheels ~ Astonished! in Flight when they spent the day racing around doing event preparations’? Thanks to everyone who made it such a great night.

Wings on Our Wheels 2016

On March 5, 2016 we celebrated our 4th Annual Fundraising Event, Wings on Our Wheels ~ Astonished! in Flight. To get a sense of this remarkable community and fun event please check out our event page.  Thank  you to everyone who made this wonderful evening possible. This conversation between six year old Mason Lindenbach and his dad Josh will give you a little sense of how much fun we had:

Josh: Mason, this is just like Christmas.

Mason: Dad, this is way funner than Christmas!

Thank you to our event photographer Tanys Rae Photography for sharing her wonderful images of our evening together.