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Little artist raises money for Canucks Autism Network

With paint brush in hand and a grin from ear to ear, six-year-old Linden Ford is turning her hobby into an endeavour raising thousands for children living with autism.

With paint brush in hand and a grin from ear to ear, six-year-old Linden Ford is turning her hobby into an endeavour raising thousands for children living with autism.

With a publicity team rallying behind Linden headed by her mother, Jessica Norman, glimpses of Linden’s paintings for a March 27 art auction held at 101-2020 Yukon St. are generating buzz on her Facebook art gallery. Next to artwork sold last year are remnants of a bidding war for abstract and landscape depictions by the cheery artist ranging from $15 to $500.

The efforts earned her the title “Hammer’s Hero,” an initiative supported by Vancouver Canucks defenceman Dan Hamhuis in coordination with the Canucks for Kids Fund, which recognized 41 kids for their community efforts.

“This is all on her, she has a golden heart,” says Norman, who insists the idea for a fundraising auction came from Linden. “She likes seeing people happy. She likes to give… I just made sure it was actually what she wanted to do.”

Last year, Linden began raising money for the Canucks Autism Network (CAN) — an organization that provides sports, recreational and arts programs for children and young adults with autism at an affordable membership fee of $25 per person. It’s a cause that hits close to home for Linden, who was diagnosed with autism when she was five. Her three-year-old brother also has autism. Her fundraising efforts totaled $2,500, which she donated to the network and B.C. Children’s Hospital.

Norman says her daughter has been painting ever since she got her hands on paint as a toddler. Norman can’t pinpoint where her daughter draws her inspiration, neither does Linden let in on the source of her creativity.

But it doesn’t take long before she churns out one of her pieces in under half an hour with titles like “Piggie Land,” “Squiggly Tree” and “Amber Night.”

The network is pitching in with fundraising efforts by hosting a live and online auction at their headquarters starting Friday at 6 p.m. All proceeds go to the organization, which has been vital to Norman’s family, especially since her daughter turned six and provincial funding was reduced to $6,000 from $22,000 a year for children with autism.

The reason, explained Norman, is that the school system is expected to take over the care. With the reduced funds Norman has hired a behaviour interventionist and consultant. “That’s as much as we can get for her for the year.”

“The school systems… don’t have a lot of funding either,” Norman added. “Once [children] turn six and over, the services that they get kind of get less and less and less. The school can’t pay for everything. A lot of times the parents have to pick up the slack.” With CAN, the family frequents swimming programs, sporting and family events with trained staff and other families with similar needs.    

Lindsay Petrie, spokesperson of the network says response to Linden’s efforts has been positive. “Everyone’s been very supportive and we have internal staff, we have volunteers and we have other families who are really excited for Linden and want to come out and support her.”

To see Linden’s art, go to facebook.com/LindenFord.

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