Raising money for autism awareness was at the heart of this family's 'Feud' strategy
Twin TikTok stars and their family are playing for brother and autism support.
One Amherstburg, Ont., family has made it onto Family Feud Canada and has the chance to win big money for a local charity that's close to their hearts.
Playing with a purpose
The Miceli's 25-year-old son, Giaci, has autism, and they are planning to donate a portion of their winnings to Autism Ontario.
The family's twins, Carolina and Maria, are involved in their brother's life, and started creating TikTok videos with him early last spring. Their videos were a hit and their account has already gained more than 500,000 followers and 13 million video views. Their goal is to help normalize autism by using social media platforms such as TikTok to reach millions around the world.
"We have a son with autism who is the centre of our world. He motivates us to do better, be better and we have been fundraising for this charity for over 20 years," says Rita.
In 2020, when COVID-19 forced the world to put everything on pause, fundraising events for many charities such as Autism Ontario had to be modified or outright cancelled — creating devastating hits to funding. The pandemic has shed light on the growing need for additional support across many different communities in Canada, and across the globe.
"Because of COVID-19, fundraising for this cause is more important than ever," says Carolina. "Families in our community need additional support due to cuts that have been made during the pandemic."
Reframing the narrative
To combat negative and wrong assumptions about autism and other disabilities, the Miceli twins use TikTok to share daily life with their brother. "Giaci brings us so much joy and teaches us so much every day," says Carolina. "The world needs more Giaci in their lives!"
"One thing most people misunderstand about our son is that he isn't able to do what everyone else can do. He can do anything when taught in a specific way that he needs. He always impresses us and shows us how to live with simplicity, kindness, honesty and happiness," says Rita.
"Giaci loves TV, so when he saw us on TV, his eyes lit up! He started saying all of our names as he saw us," says eldest sister Lauren.
"Because of his cognitive ability, he didn't fully grasp what was going on, but once he saw us on tv, calling him out, he smiled and truly enjoyed the acknowledgement," says Rita. "It was clear from his reaction that he thought it was so cool."
Once-in-a-lifetime experience
The Micelis got to live out their dream and play Family Feud Canada against the two-day champs: the Layne family.
"It was honestly a complete, once-in-a-lifetime experience! How many people can say they've been on one of the most iconic game shows on national television," says Carolina. "The entire process was so fast and dreamlike."
"What surprised me the most was the huge variety of questions you experience, there's really no way you can prepare for the most common answer," says John.
This is also mother Rita's life-long goal. She had been dreaming of this moment since she was a kid when she saw her godparents compete on the American version of Feud, then hosted by Richard Dawson.
In an exciting, last-minute chance to steal, the Miceli family got the opportunity to beat the Layne family and go on for their chance to win $10,000 in Fast Money. All they needed to do was name an activity that is more enjoyable when done to music. Team captain John answered "working out" on behalf of his family.
"All I was thinking was, 'this answer has to be up there'," says Maria. "I always listen to music when working out."
To their relief, John was correct and both he and Carolina went on to play the Fast Money round.
But that wasn't the only tense moment of the night. The father-daughter duo managed to score 192 points, and with one question left, the Micelis were eight points away from winning the ten grand. Luckily for them, the final question was, "Name one of the Beatles." John answered Paul McCartney.
"I can smell the money, Gerry!" John exclaimed before the answer was revealed. And after what must have felt like the longest second of their lives, the game board displayed that 25 people agreed with John. They won!
Now, they get a second chance to win another $10,000 — but they'll have to beat the Smith family first. Tune in to CBC on Tuesday, March 2 at 7:30 p.m. (8 NT) to find out if the Miceli family can extend their luck.