Midnight In Chicago Makes the Newspapers Again

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http://www.mykawartha.com/news/article/31418#

borough This Week

One very big heart behind artful fundraiser

Date: 2008-07-22 By Rellinger

If borough's giving spirit could don a helmet, shoulder pads and spikes, and take to the football field, Elyse Bruce would be right there, the quarterback in a starring role.

Since turning her thoughts into action three years ago, Bruce has been a one woman tour de force on several levels but most notably in the area of raising awareness of, and dollars for, autism and Asperger Syndrome, an offshoot of the neurological developmental disability that is her son's cross to bear alongside Myasthenia Gravis, a form of muscular dystrophy.

It would be easy for this mom to despair.

It would simple for her to lament the cards life has dealt her and her boy.

It would be understandable if she, just once even, on any level, expressed her anger.

But then Bruce meets with people like Jon and Mouncey and infects them with her contagious enthusiasm; with her deep-rooted belief that there's good in all of us. And then the magic happens.

Since co-creating, with artist D. , the Midnight In Chicago initiative some three years back, Bruce, a singer/songwriter in her other life, has rallied countless others around her mission to fight autism in all its forms. It's a formidable foe, affecting one in 166 children -- way more than cystic fibrosis and juvenile diabetes -- but grossly underfunded in terms of research and support dollars.

, the affable owner of Mexicali 's on Water Street, is a convert to the cause, providing restaurant space and resources for the annual Midnight In Chicago visual art competition which sees patrons vote, for $5, on their favourite piece. Last year, the number of submissions doubled from the year previous and it was held in more cities, both north and south of the border.

Now, with a huge helping hand from Mouncey, the owner of The Spaghetti House, Bruce is pairing up artists with non-artists (Bruce kindly invited my participation but I can't even "draw" water from a well) and having them create joint works of art July 26 at the Clonsilla Avenue eatery, On that day and during the week following, Art From The Heart will again see votes cost $5 each. Half of the total proceeds go to the Autism Society of Ontario and the other half to a charity of the winning pair's choice.

"There's a finite number of dollars out there but I believe you will always attract the people you need to attract if you're fun and creative," says Bruce, whose brain is in constant overdrive when it comes to thinking up creative ways to aid the autism cause.

"I just have an intrinsic belief in the good of people," adds the woman who could easily be the poster child for that trait.

Whether Art From The Heart raises thousands of dollars or a few bucks, one gets the impression it doesn't matter to Bruce. Make no mistake, the former would be most desirable but success rests in the attempt.

Back on the football field, the quarterback consoles the place kicker, whose field goal attempt has just sailed wide.

"No worries," she offers. "We'll get 'em next time. I know it."

You can reach Rellinger at prellinger@... or visit his blog Bloginger at www.mykawartha.com