FrenchieSkate 2014

FrenchieSkate 2014
Sunday, March 9th at 5:00pm
Yost Ice Arena – Home of Michigan Wolverine Hockey
On Sunday, March 9, 2014 more than 1,000 community members and dozens of immensely talented ice skaters rallied together at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor for the rare and very special event, FrenchieSkate 2014.  The evening highlighted North Star Reach in an effort to raise awareness about the development of camp and the kids it benefits. With the goal of positively impacting the lives of children with serious health challenges, the net proceeds from the event will benefit North Star Reach.

The perfectly choreographed evening was filled with fanfare, immense talent and a reminder of what is truly important – family and fun. The event was inspired by Georgia Glastris, reigning Greek National Figure Skating Champion and Junior at U-M.  Glastris lost her childhood best friend, Francesca “Frenchie” Persico to cancer several years ago and ever since has been committed to sharing her story and helping kids with health challenges. The event was organized by Glastris and U-M student athletes in association with US Figure Skating and the U-M Figure Skating Club. Internet Celebrity Vlogger, Michael Buckley was the emcee of the event, entertaining the audience with humorous commentary and information about the skaters.

With an impressive roster which included US National and Olympian skaters from all around the world, attendees experienced an up-close and personal show.  Several North Star Reach campers and Board Members were also in attendance.

When asked to comment on the event, John VanLoon, NSR Board Member and parent of a camper stated, “We’re thrilled to be involved in FrenchieSkate and to be the beneficiary of all the wonderful things these skaters are doing. We’ve really been looking forward to this family fun event – that’s what this is all about – the importance of family – and that is what camp is about too.” As North Star Reach prepares to break ground this summer, one of the main priorities is to raise awareness. The Camp’s ultimate goal is to give more children with serious health challenges the opportunity to go to Camp – empowering them to truly be kids – and give them the opportunity to have some serious fun.

A few campers in attendance shared their favorite things about FrenchieSkate and Camp. Marie exclaimed, “This event is really cool! My favorite skaters in the first half were the two kids – Jadyn Bortman and Alexei Dewan. They were amazing!” When asked about Camp, she shared, “I’ve been able to go to Camp three times and my favorite thing is meeting new people!” Jenna also shared a few comments, “My favorite thing about tonight is seeing everyone from the community come out and support North Star Reach. That is really cool.” In regards to Camp she said, “The best thing about Camp is that it pushes kids beyond their limits. At Camp there is no such thing as “can’t” – we’re not allowed to say we “can’t” do something. That’s pretty awesome.”

Another camper, Paul, attended the event with his twin sister, and their parents. They unanimously agreed that Elladj Balde, who skated to Michael Jackson was their favorite performance. When asked about what Camp taught him, Paul stated, “Camp taught me to appreciate things. It also gave me the opportunity to try a bunch of new activities.” Paul happily shared that he got to try archery for the first time and that he broke the Camp’s record of hitting the most empty carton targets.

FrenchieSkate left all attendees and skaters with full hearts and a clear reminder that when people come together with a common goal and generous hearts, great things can happen. Sean Bryne, NSR Board Chair, expressed his enthusiasm for the event by saying, “This is hopefully the first of many events going forward. There has been such great support from the community, it has been truly wonderful. I’m consistently blown away by the philanthropy and support in the skating community. They are one of the most generous groups and it is wonderful to have such great participation. Another thing about this event is that it is fun!  It’s amazing that many of these skaters were just at the Olympics and now they are here raising awareness and money for North Star Reach. – It’s just terrific.”

To see more photos of the event: http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2014/03/frenchiskate_2014_brings_toget.html

The roster of performers will include Jeremy Abbott, Jason Brown and Maia & Alex Shibutani all Bronze medal figure skating team winners from the 2014 U.S. Olympic Games; Alissa Czisny, 2-time US Ladies Champion; Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje, who placed 7^th for Canada in the 2014 Olympics; Valentina Marchei skated for Italy in the 2014 Olympics; Alexandra Aldridge and Daniel Eaton, World Junior Ice Dance Bronze medalists; Elladj Balde, Canadian Junior Champion; Reyna Hamui, Mexican Ladies Champion; Alissandra Arnow and Colin Brubaker, US National Champions competitors, Georgia Glastris, 3-time Greek Ladies Champion; Holly Moore and Daniel Klaber, US Junior Champion competitors in ice dance; Ann Arbor Hockettes Synchronized Skating Team and the Harmony Theatre Company.  The show is organized by University of Michigan student athletes in association with US Figure Skating, University of Michigan Figure Skating Club.