Easter Seals has a new home in Sudbury

There was cake and balloons inside the South End office of Easter Seals Sudbury on Tuesday as the not-for-profit marked the grand opening of its new location.

The event, which included a ribbon cutting from the mayor, had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"A space like this gives us a presence in the community so people are free to come in," said M.J. Pappin.

"It's nice that we're in a central location -- it also houses our financial administrator for our provincial office."

Pappin said it says a lot that Easter Seals has been around for 100 years.

"I can speak from my point of view, how engaging, supportive and how the leadership from the top down, the quality of people I work with provincially, it's nice to be part of such a supportive group," she said.

Easter Seals ambassadors Sierra Neville (Sudbury) and Sebastien Parent (Ontario) were also on hand for the celebration.

Both said they're looking forward to getting back to in-person events now that COVID-19 restrictions have started to wind down.

"Yes, we do dancing with the Easter Seals stars and that's one of the (best) events," said Neville, a Grade 7 student.

'My favourite Easter Seals event was probably Conn Smythe last year," said Parent, a Grade 12 student at Bishop Alexander.

"It was so much fun getting to meet so many amazing people. You get to have an amazing experience and get to know everyone."

The event comes about a month ahead of the next big event, the Sudbury Celebrity Hockey Classic, which happens Oct. 20-21.

Fundraising teams will be invited to a draft dinner and tournament-style play alongside real NHL celebrities.

All proceeds will go to helping Ontario children with physical disabilities.