P.E.I. Easter Seals ambassador greeted to cheers after school tour

P.E.I.'s Easter Seals ambassador arrived home to a hero's welcome Wednesday after visiting about 60 schools in six days as part of a tour for the charity.

Students cheered, danced and waved pom-poms when 10-year-old Tyra Mackeeman returned to Vernon River Consolidated.

"I'm blown away right now, like I thought it would be like something really small," she said. " I didn't know it was going to be pom-poms."

• Tyra Mackeeman named 2016 Easter Seals ambassador

Vernon River presented one of the largest donations-$2,000 - for Easter Seals. Principal Dave Wood said Tyra is the ideal ambassador.

"She exemplifies everything that Easter Seals is about taking care of everybody, taking care of the community and helping out," he said.

Tyra, who is in Grade 5, has Neurofibromatosis, or NF1. It causes the growth of non-cancerous tumours on nerve tissue, which produces skin and bone abnormalities. But it doesn't dampen her cheerful spirit. In fact, her motto is "go for it, make someone smile today."

"These ambassadors, although they have challenges, they don't let these challenges affect their everyday life and they're just like you and I," saidJanice Blacquiere, who has coordinated the Easter Seals ambassador tour for 25 years. "The tour is very heartwarming."

Though the tour is over, the Easter Seals campaign will continue until mid-June. Organizers hope to raise $160,000 to help people with disabilities.

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