LUNENBURG — Richie Taylor’s picture will be in more than 500 Friendly’s restaurants between now and Valentine’s Day.
The sixth-grader, 11, is the face and national spokesperson for Cones for Kids, a donation program that raises money for the Easter Seals organization.
“Friendly’s helps Easter Seals raise money, and people can make $1 donations,” said Taylor, who was born with cerebral palsy. “You get free coupons.”
Having his face plastered on Friendly’s Cones for Kids signs and the buttons the servers wear is “awesome,” the blond, blue-eyed boy exclaimed during an interview in his home.
“And I made a commercial at the (Boston) Bruins hockey rink,” he said. “It’s already on NESN during the Bruins games.”
Taylor met Bruins right winger Brad Boyes when filming the commercial, and now casually refers to him as “Brad.”
He’ll also get a tour of the Friendly’s headquarters in Wilbraham Monday, and plans to sample some ice cream.
Kirk N. Joslin, the president and CEO of Easter Seals Massachusetts, said representatives from the group recommended Taylor to Friendly’s for the title after seeing him at an Easter Seals camp in Maine last summer.
He showed bravery and charisma on the Flying Squirrel, a ride that puts players into a harness and launches them 40 feet into the air, Joslin said.
“Every year, we look for a national spokesperson,” he said. “I was at the camp this summer and I saw Richie do fearless things like that. So we put him forth to Friendly’s.”
Full of confidence
The boy’s mother, Julie Taylor, said the Easter Seals camp brought incredible confidence out in her son. He’s been to the camp twice, she said.
“The first time he went to camp, I called every day,” she said. “Richie never called me back. He loved it there … He’s more willing to try new things now. And if it doesn’t work, he doesn’t panic. He used to do that.”
Taylor, who attends Turkey Hill Middle School, uses a walker to get around at home and a wheelchair in school.
His cerebral palsy causes muscular weakness in his legs, but he does physical therapy.
“My legs aren’t really strong enough to walk,” he said. “I have to get ’em stronger.”
And he’s able to do most things, like get dressed for school, without help, Julie Taylor said.
“(Before going to camp) He wouldn’t try to do a lot, and we had to push him to do anything,” she said. “Richie actually does just about everything by himself.”
The sixth-grader likes to read, play video games and — when at camp — play sports that leave him a little black and blue.
He flipped his wheelchair playing capture the flag and banged his head – which he said was “wicked awesome” — and he learned to play “murderball,” a rugby game for people in wheelchairs.
“If you see pieces flying off your wheelchair, you might want to get out,” he said, before dissolving into giggles.
The Cones for Kids program, which is in its 26th year, raises money through offers in Friendly’s restaurants and has raised more than $23 million for children and adults with disabilities since its start, according to a press release.
Money raised from the campaign stays within local communities, Joslin said.
Easter Seals provides job training, activities and assisting technology for people with disabilities, Joslin said.
The camp Taylor attends has opportunities for employment — he wants to start training to be a counselor there when he turns 14.
“Most teenagers get to work, but a lot of teenagers with disabilities don’t,” Joslin said. “It’s harder for them to find jobs … Parents tend to be overprotective. I think that’s wrong. I think we all learn a lot from our first jobs. It builds self-confidence and self-esteem for them.”
Friendly’s patrons will be asked to donate $1 with their purchases through Feb. 14.
They will receive coupons with their donation, and all proceeds will go to local Easter Seals services.
