Compete for a Cause, the charitable talent show that’s benefited youth in need for the past seven years, is extending its reach to a Powell family this year. 

Proceeds from the show will benefit Powell teen Gonzalo Anzurez, who was paralyzed last year after the car he was traveling in collided with a street sweeper.

While doctors initially thought Gonzalo would be a quadriplegic, he has regained some bicep activation in his right arm.

Hunting, gaming, chilling

Following the accident Gonzalo returned to Powell Middle School on the last day of February and was able to complete his eighth grade education. He even participated in the middle school’s annual Civil War reenactment. When he left Powell Middle School, he did so with proficient and advanced scores on his WYTOPP tests, his mom Cindy said. 

While Gonzalo says he’s been “just chilling,” Cindy said he’s actually been quite active. For instance, he shot a turkey.

Cindy and Gonzalo drove to Ten Sleep with Polestar Outdoors, to a rarely hunted ranch, where he shot a “monster turkey,” Cindy recounted. Gonzalo was able to nab his trophy bird by using a gun connected to a “sip and puff” device (a tool operated by either blowing or sucking air), while the rifle was aimed by Polestar President Ron Vining. 

Gonzalo has also learned how to use a remote control car operated by his voice and has been gaming in a sweet man cave thanks to Make a Wish.

When the organization asked him what he wanted, Gonzalo asked for a quad stick, so he could get back online. The device is a mouthpiece with a variety of straws that can be programmable based on the user’s need. While at the children’s hospital in Denver the occupational therapist introduced Gonzalo to a quad stick after seeing a paralyzed streamer, and Guinness World Records holder RockyNoHands use one online.  

On top of that, Gonzalo’s Make a Wish representative is a “self-proclaimed nerd,” Cindy said, so Gonzalo not only got his quad stick but a series of monitors and both Nintendo and Playstation gaming systems sent by the gaming comapanies. The goal was for Gonzalo to have a man cave, to hang out with his buddies and be a teenage boy.

He likes to play “action games where it involves mechanics like shooting or attacking,” Gonzalo said.

“Just don’t get stuck in life,” he said — he and his mom use occasionally getting his chair stuck in the dirt and snow as a metaphor.

If there’s one thing he wants people to know, “Don’t let life knock you down.”

A clear favorite

Gonzalo has been on Compete for a Cause’s radar since the accident, which was just before last year’s show, Cindy said, and people soon began to nominate Gonzalo as a recipient. When nominations officially opened for this year’s show nominations once again began to come in for the Powell teen.

“The first thought that came through my mind is the same thought that goes through Gonzalo’s mind, and that’s, ‘Well there’s someone out there that probably needs this more than us,’” Cindy told Compete for a Cause in a promotional video.

She was surprised they were chosen, she said. Compete for a Cause will be a good opportunity to get Gonzalo things he needs that they have not been able to get through insurance.

Among the items is a monitoring system that will monitor Gonzalo’s oxygen allowing him independence and Cindy “peace of mind.” The device gives reports live to Cindy’s phone, and while Gonzalo is healthy, “all it takes is a mucus plug.” 

The Anzurez’s moved to Cody when Gonzalo was 1 year old, Cindy said, and as former Cody residents (Gonzalo and his family moved to Powell late in his elementary school years) they were aware of Compete for a Cause, the annual talent show for Park County youth that gives its proceeds to a chosen family each year. It’s an honor to be selected, she said.

“I want to thank everyone, the competitors, the children participating in the summer reading program, our community — everyone here,” Cindy said. 

Compete for a Cause was born out of the Park County Libraries’ desire to help Cody youth Silas Johnson’s family procure a vehicle, so the family could make his appointments in Denver — they needed to be able to travel at a moment’s notice. The library was shifting from summer reading programs to kindness projects, said program founder and president Brook Grant, who also owns Midway Auto and RV with her husband. Cody children’s librarian Holly Baker had contacted Grant to inquire about what vehicle would be best for the Johnson family. Grant and her husband wanted to lend a hand so they fundraised T-shirts to help finance the care. 

Baker then asked Grant if she wanted to help the next year as well. Grant said yes, but wanted to develop a framework that could be recreated each year with a different recipient. Summer library readers can earn tickets based on minutes read and choose to donate either to Compete for a Cause or another organization (this year it’s the Park County Animal Shelter.) The kids’ tickets count as votes and money raised from the summer reading program is then divided accordingly, Cindy said.

“It’s been amazing, and an enriching experience for me. I grew up performing in the arts, and know what it takes to, you know, put on a good show,” Grant said. “And then also, I feel like, if you’re a performer, it’s so great to have a stage to perform on, whether you’re a young, budding artist, or you’re an adult, and you feel like, maybe you don’t have a stage anymore, but we have a stage for you.”

The contestants who audition for the talent show use their talents to make a difference, Grant added. They will also be able to meet Gonzalo at the Compete for a Cause clinic and at the show. 

“We’re excited to pull together Cody and Powell, because we do have a great support system here in Cody … I think it will be a good way for us, both our communities, to come together for one common goal — to help him and his family,” Grant said. 

The audition period is closed and this year audiences can expect a lot of talent. There are a variety of performers, Grant said, from musicians and vocalists to monologues. 

“So lots of variety, really great talent and even bigger hearts. It takes a lot to put yourself out there, and you send in your audition, and you know that you might not make it,” Grant said. “And it just amazes me every year, the hearts of the contestants.”

For more information, visit facebook.com/Compete4Cause.