Easter Seals Telethon partners with Rolling Pictures

Easter Seals has partnered with Rolling Pictures for this year's Easter Seals Telethon, a news release issued today stated. Rolling Pictures will produce the one-hour special set to be shown on Shaw Spotlight from April 11-25. 

This is the first year Rolling Pictures will be involved with the Telethon, however their team is very familiar with the important work that Easter Seals Ontario does in our community, the release stated. 

Full text of the release follows:

This year’s Easter Seals Telethon one-hour special is being produced by Rolling Pictures and will air on Shaw Spotlight from April 11-25 at 7 p.m. when not pre-empted for OHL games. The Telethon will be available to view at www.telethonssm.ca, where the public can also make their donations online.

This is the first year Rolling Pictures will be involved with the Telethon, however their team is very familiar with the important work that Easter Seals Ontario does in our community. “One of our staff members has [cerebral palsy] and attended Easter Seals camps when younger. When he told us about the possibility of the Telethon not being produced this year we wanted to step in and help right away,'' shared Robert Peace, Community Relations Director at Rolling Pictures. “Rolling North Production crew got together and began filming and bringing other pieces of the Telethon together.”

“The Sault Ste. Marie Telethon has traditionally been at the end of March or early April, but because of COVID, OHL games and playoffs were pushed back which affected Shaw’s ability to do a live show,” explained Carolyn O’Connor, Sault Ste. Marie Development Officer for Easter Seals Ontario. “So early on, our best option was to create a pre-produced show. That’s when the miracle happened. For our 100th anniversary, I was reaching out to past Ambassadors for taped messages. Darcy Lavallee, who was our local Ambassador (or “Timmy”) in 1990 with his brother, Derrick, works for Rolling Pictures and advocated with the company to take the Telethon on as their project. Darcy’s passion is infectious, thank goodness! We are really pleased to have Robert Peace and his team’s expertise and energy working on our behalf.”

"It has been such a rewarding experience to witness first-hand those that Easter Seals has helped in our community,” shared Peace. “The dedication I have seen from parents and volunteers has been amazing."

Rolling Pictures opened its doors in early 2020 in Sault Ste Marie. With its headquarters in Toronto, Rolling Pictures was looking to expand. The more competitive commercial real estate prices, access to talent from both Sault College and Algoma University, and the desire to expand the film industry in the North were all behind the growth. Rolling Pictures looked at North Bay and Sudbury, but “fell in love with the Soo, its people and geography.”

“With the high-speed connectivity now available in the North and access to a young skilled workforce, we were able to expand our operations rapidly,” said Peace. “All our future expansion will be done in Sault Ste Marie.”

A trusted partner and champion since 1922, Easter Seals Ontario is proud to be marking 100 years of changing the world for kids with physical disabilities in 2022. Funds generated support essential mobility and accessibility equipment, such as wheelchairs, walkers, ramps and lifts, for kids with physical disabilities, as well as remote camp and fully accessible camp opportunities. Easter Seals is only able to provide its programs with the generous support of its donors and sponsors.

For more information about the Easter Seals Telethon in Sault Ste. Marie, visit www.easterseals.org/sault-ste-marie-telethon/.