Concordia pedals for Montreal Children's Hospital
The atmosphere could best be described as buoyant as a team of spirited Concordia volunteers hopped aboard the bicycle built for 30 on June 12 and pedalled from the Montreal Children’s Hospital through the streets of downtown Montreal, escorted by squad of Montreal police officers.
“Riding through the streets of Montreal, with spectators cheering on the sidelines, exhilarating music and a crew of Concordia volunteers sporting water pistols, is a grand finale to a very successful fundraising campaign,” exclaimed Ida Giannelli, employment assistant at the Concordia Human Resources Department and organizer of the university’s event for the fourth consecutive year.
This year, the Concordia team surpassed last year’s efforts by almost $3,000. “With the Concordia counter at $15,834.80 at the time of the ride on June 12 and funds still coming in, we expect to surpass $16,000,” says Eva Ferrara, department coordinator for the John Molson School of Business and co-organizer of the event. “We are proud to have been one of five top teams to be published on the Pedal for Kids website for almost all of the last two weeks of the campaign, making it to the fourth position at the time of the ride.”
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Fundraising efforts included a bake sale, organized by Ferrara and Giannelli, which netted a total of $709, as well as other departmental fundraising activities and a good deal of online donations.
Concordia was well represented on the Mighty Bike, including managers and staff from Human Resources and the John Molson School of Business, as well as representatives from other Faculties and departments.
“It is clear that Montreal relishes in this kind of uplifting event because people’s smiles and applause were so readily available! It was great seeing us, Concordians, extend ourselves towards the community. There is no bigger privilege than making people happy and all for such a worthwhile cause,” says Maria-Teresa Zenteno, advisor at the Access Centre for Students with Disabilities.
Pedal for Kids is celebrating its 21st anniversary and has grown into one of hospitals’ most important fundraising activities, raising more than $9 million since 1992. The hope this year is to surpass the $10-million mark by the end of the campaign by raising $750,000. To date, they have reached just over 35 per cent of their goal. It is not too late to contribute to this worthwhile cause and keep Concordia in the top five Pedal for Kid teams.
Related links:
• Pedal.com (Concordia team)
• "Take a ride on the Mighty Bike" — NOW, April 17, 2012