Sudbury teen receives dream computer, thanks to the Sunshine Foundation
It was a magical moment for a special Sudbury teen on Saturday as his 'dream' came true.
Cohen Lawrence lives with severe hearing loss. The 14-year-old now has his own custom gaming computer thanks to the Sunshine Foundation of Canada.
Surprises do not get much bigger than this – when Cohen arrived at the Sudbury Best Buy on Marcus Drive he did not know how this day was going to turnout.
"It's been good - I thought we were just going out to lunch or whatever," said Cohen.
He has been ‘chomping at the bit’ to learn more about coding and custom computer building and both his parents and teachers have encouraged him to pursue his interest.
The day was made even more special because Cohen only celebrated his 14th birthday in the last week or so.
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"When you get to have the kid come in and present them with their dream and you're setting them up for their future and you know it's a positive day,” said Sarah Lashbrook with the Sunshine Foundation. “It's not about disability, it's not about injury, it's not about hospitals, it's just fun and future. It's a fantastic day when that happens."
Jessica Lawrence, Cohen’s mom, said computers are his thing.
“You would think he's born to do this so he ... he started building computers, not building computers but he got into computers really, really young,” said Jessica.
“He's been wanting to have a gaming computer now for the past five years."
This custom computer should also improve his gaming experience.
Cohen told CTV News that his favourite game is Minecraft.
Volunteers with the foundation said it is reactions like this that makes it all worthwhile.
"It's an amazing day, it's an amazing day when you get to deliver a dream – like who gets to deliver a dream? I do and I love that part about it," said Lashbrook.
For more information on the Sunshine Foundation and the work they do, visit their Facebook page.
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