William Goessaert, 20, of Toronto

Young Toronto “Champ” Returns as Junior Counsellor at War Amps 2011 Ontario Seminar

By Guest Column (Bio and Archives)  Wednesday, May 18, 2011 | Print friendly | Subscribe | Email Us

OTTAWA, May 27 - 29, 2011 – William Goessaert, 20, of Toronto, has been invited once again to be a Junior Counsellor and role model at The War Amps annual Ontario Child Amputee (CHAMP) Seminar from May 27th to 29th in Ottawa.

This year is a special one, marking 30 years of CHAMP Seminars.

A left leg amputee, William attended CHAMP seminars while growing up to see the latest developments in artificial limbs, attend informative sessions on dealing with amputation and share concerns with other young amputees.  He applied to be a Junior Counsellor so that he could give back by answering questions and offering advice to younger Champs on subjects like dealing with teasing and staring, body image, learning to drive and employment.

“Junior Counsellors are very important to the success of our seminars,” says CHAMP Director Lucie Waddell.  “The young Champs look up to them, and know that they can understand their concerns like no one else because they have been through the same experiences growing up.”