TORONTO - Between rock concerts for God and their work in integrating special needs kids with their peers, the members of the Blue Veil ministry have had a busy life the past two years, catching the attention of students and faculty at Ontario Catholic schools from London to Oshawa.
Blue Veil is a non-profit, non-denominational, Toronto-based charity the creation of executive director Cris Smith and half of her eight children: Jeff, 28, Phill, 26, Donny, 24 and now David, 20.
“It’s amazing to see how music is a universal language,” Donny, the band’s lead guitarist, told The Catholic Register during a group interview with the charity. “And Blue Veil has given us an opportunity that even though we wanted to work with the special needs, we’ve also done over 250 performances.”
Before they began touring schools, hosting retreats and performing concerts, their original plan was to simply produce their CD, titled Leap of Faith, and sell it as a fund-raiser for their goal of opening the Sara Elizabeth Centre. The centre, which they continue to seek funding for, would serve as a place to host a day program with a special focus on the arts for youth with physical and developmental disabilities who have graduated from high school. The day program would include games, exercises, improvisation, drama, dance movement, music and vocal work to teach life skills, computer and communication skills, literacy and numeracy development.
The Smiths continue to use their bookings with area schools to help create more awareness about the charity, but also work with thousands of youth, using their polished musical talents to bring important messages on bullying, peace, unity and respect.
Outside of Blue Veil, the Smith brothers have also established themselves as professional musicians in alternative rock performing under another name throughout the Toronto region — with Christian undertones of course. Their experience in music and passion for kids has gained some definite parental approval for Blue Veil.
“Once these kids get out of high school, it’s hard to find them opportunities where they’re not segregated with other special needs people,” said Antonina Barillari, the mother of Sabrina, a 16-year-old with Down Syndrome. “If anything they need more relationships with normal kids — these children learn by imitating their peers.”
Barillari is thrilled with the integration Blue Veil fosters. The band, which has “Dare to Believe” as its theme this year, often provides workshops for special needs students in a school before performing for the rest of the assembly. Sabrina got to perform with Blue Veil on stage at St. Joan of Arc High School where she is a student.
“I believe that it’s a really good thing because (the Smiths) do it from the heart,” Barillari said. “There are a lot of worries that come with having a special needs child but I feel like my daughter listens to them and feels like a normal teenager.”
Jeff, Blue Veil’s lead vocalist, said he developed a personal passion for kids with special needs while still a teenager working as a lifeguard when he worked with a young boy with special needs. He was hesitant but soon discovered joy in his work.
“My heart went out to him — I was really touched,” he said. “And that’s kind of where it all started. It was just funny how certain things fell into place.”
He said the birth of their sister Sara, born with special needs, and her death soon afterwards also had a huge impact on their current ministry.
“There’s a need to work with people with special needs,” Cris added. “We realized that God had a plan and all the pieces of the puzzle were coming together.”
As the mother of the charity, in more than one way, Cris brings a lot of enthusiasm to the group. She said it has reached more than 100,000 students so far.
“We’re connecting with a lot of these kids, so we’ve got to believe that we’re planting seeds.”
Although the struggle to obtain a centre for the special needs day program has not produced enough funds or a location, Cris is hopeful that something will materialize as they become more well-known. Even if they could find a permanent space with two or three rooms to host the Sara Elizabeth Centre programs, that would be a great start, she said.
Blue Veil is named for Jeff’s personal devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Smith brothers say they owe a lot of their formation to their upbringing but also their involvement with the Salesian Family, a spiritual community based on Don Bosco’s mission of outreach to youth.
But Jeff’s passion is one thing that helped draw his siblings into the work with special needs.
Their Blue Veil ministry has expanded much further than they ever expected, Phill said, and there is the opportunity for other bands to get involved.
For information on Blue Veil, contact (416) 747-9796 or visit their web site at www.blueveil.org.
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