Fundraiser Russell Mackay hoofing it to the Shawville Fair
Glen Hartle
Pontiac August 27, 2023
Russell Mackay is on the move once again.The 85-year-old first envisioned raising funds for CHEO when he found himself in a hospital waiting room a few years back.He saw an orderly carrying a young boy. “I want to go home, daddy,” the boy said to his father. “We can’t go home today, son” came the father’s reply.The moment made an indelible emotional imprint on Mackay who immediately said to those around him that he wanted to raise funds for CHEO.Mackay, who is completely blind in one eye, has limited sight in the other and is living through diabetes, made his first foray into fundraising in 2020. He walked some 125 kms from his home in Beachburg to Ottawa and raised more than $120,000.His ambitions this year are just as high, if not higher, as he aims to walk some 50 kms through various points throughout the area which hold significance to his own life story, starting in Portage du Fort on August 27 and arriving in Shawville on the evening of August 31 where he will be piped into the opening ceremonies of Shawville Fair. If you would like to cheer on Mackay during his walk, you can find his route on Facebook via Papa Walks 4 Kids, where you will also find links to the CHEO donation portal.Cash donations while he is walking are also welcome, and there will be a special auction on opening night at the Shawville Fair raising funds in his name.
