CALEB NICKERSON
CLARENDON May 24, 2020
Despite the distancing measures put in place over the past few months, one charitable group from the area managed to hold the second iteration of their fundraiser for the Kidney Foundation of Canada.
Sand Bay resident Randy Russell, who spearheaded the region’s . . .
first walk last May along with his fellow Rotary Club members, said that they had to cancel their plans for a big gathering at the Shawville Fairgrounds.
“We had a big event last year. On that day, I announced that the second walk would be on Sunday May 24 at the Shawville Fairgrounds,” he explained. “We had the whole organization committee going, we were well underway when the virus appeared on the horizon. It all came to a screaming halt when public events had to be cancelled.”
Despite having to hold the walk mostly virtually, donations have still been pouring in from those that previously participated.
The group has already surpassed their $10,000 goal by more than $1,000 and donations are still welcome (details at the end of the article).
Russell said that they hosted a small five kilometre walk along Sand Bay Road on the date they had originally planned for the event, with three teams participating, and others walking in their own communities.
“Small teams of four or five could walk, as long as they respected the distancing requirements,” he said.
Out of 22 teams across Quebec, Russell said that the Pontiac walk was the first to reach its goal, and has raised the third largest amount of money in the province, behind only the events in Quebec City and Montreal.
“If you compare populations, that’s not a level playing field,” he said. “I’m so proud of the group … People in the Pontiac just never fail to amaze.”
All of this happened, he said, despite next to no advertising or promotion.
Russell said that he hopes the restrictions on public events are eased before the end of the year, so they can host a barbecue or some other kind of closing celebration.
Donations can be made for the remainder of the year, either online through the Kidney Foundation’s website, or cheques made out to the Kidney Foundation of Canada can be mailed c/o Randy Russell 349 Sand Bay Road, Clarendon QC. J0X 2Y0.
