Students, young and old, help those near and far

By SUSAN SCHWARTZ

Five children’s choirs came together on April 9 for a Junior
Choir Festival concert that raised $2,362.63 for the Japanese
Disaster Relief Fund of the Canadian Red Cross. The benefit concert
was held at Mountainside United Church in Westmount.

Participating choirs were the English Montreal School Board
Junior Chorale, directed by Patricia Abbott; the McGill
Conservatory Children’s Choir, conducted by Lisa Perusse; the
Montreal Chinese Children’s Choir, under the direction of Pitling
Lau; the Choeur des enfants de Montréal Junior Choir, directed by
Amy Henderson and the South Shore Children’s Chorus Junior Choir
conducted by Betty Jo Christiani.

The Montreal Association for the Blind-Mackay Rehabilitation
Centre recognized the tremendous contributions of its volunteers
with its annual Volunteer Appreciation Event held March 23. More
than 100 volunteers and staff members attended and travel mugs and
recognition certificates were distributed to the volunteers. For
those who had reached their 10-year, 15-year or 20-year milestones,
there were special gifts.

In 2010, more than 400 volunteers gave more than 20,345 hours to
the centre, helping clients and assisting in various programs and
services.

The centre has about 5,000 clients, among them children and
adolescents with motor or language impairments, and people of all
ages who are deaf or hard of hearing or who are visually impaired.
For more about the centre, visit www. mabmackay.ca.

About $45,000 was raised recently to support people living with
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) as well as much-needed research
into the disease. The fundraising event was a Texas Hold ’em
fundraising poker tournament held March 25, hosted by Vincent
Damphousse, spokesman for the ALS Society of Quebec and former
captain of the Montreal Canadiens and held in collaboration with
the Montreal Casino. About 85 poker enthusiasts played alongside
celebrities from the sports and entertainment world, including
World Series poker champion Jonathan Duhamel, whose uncle was
recently diagnosed with the condition. ALS, known also as Lou
Gehrig’s disease, is a fatal motor neuron disease.

Concordia’s 5 Days for the Homeless 2011 campaign, held March 13
to 18, raised $37,648 – well in excess of the $35,000 goal set.

The total topped that of the 21 other Canadian universities
participating in the event, in which students from across the
country spend five days living as if they were homeless. They do it
to collect money for charities in their local communities;
Concordia chose Dans la rue, an organization that helps young
people who live on the street.