Williams Moving And Logistics Team Receives Sidney Valo Exceptional Fundraising Award

May 6, 2009 - PRLog -- TORONTO, CANADA. The Williams Moving and Logistics team of Coquitlam, BC, received the ALS Society of Canada Sidney Valo Exceptional Fundraising Award at an awards ceremony in Toronto on May 2, 2009, in recognition of the team’s volunteer contributions to the ALS community of Canada.

The Williams Moving and Logistics team has come up with numerous creative fundraising events, including an annual golf tournament (which alone generates an average of $60,000 per year), a clothes drive, a hair-a-thon, a work-a-thon and a silent auction. All these efforts contribute to funding the George “Sonny” Williams Memorial Endowment Fund. The fund was established in 2003 to honour George Williams, who died of ALS 13 years ago.

This past year, Jim Williams of the Williams Moving and Logistics team set the goal to grow the family endowment fund to $1,000,000 within five years.  With $165,000 raised to date, the team is well on its way.  

One of the aims of the endowment fund is to support caregivers of people living with ALS. To this end, the fund sponsors annual caregiver days in British Columbia – there are now five annual caregiver days throughout the province. However, the family commitment does not stop there.  The Williams family supports the ALS Society of British Columbia by providing free storage in Vancouver and Victoria, thus reducing the society’s monthly expenses. And when the ALS Society of British Columbia donated 29 pieces of surplus equipment to the ALS Society of New Brunswick, the Williams family undertook to arrange transportation of the equipment across Canada, at no cost.

“Having first-hand information about ALS and knowing how dreadful this disease is, the Williams family works with passion and commitment in every fundraising activity they indulge in. From the president down to the crew, each one shares their skills and takes a role in raising funds,” says Rena Mendoza, manager of administration, finance and donor relations at the ALS Society of BC.

The Sidney Valo Exceptional Fundraising Award recognizes excellence in a fundraising program implemented during 2008 and is given to those who have developed an innovative idea that attains or exceeds a fundraising goal as part of a new or continuing program. The award has been renamed to honour the work and commitment of Sidney Valo, a member of the ALS Canada board, who died of ALS in December 2008.

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About ALS:
ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a rapidly progressive and fatal neuromuscular disorder that causes the degeneration of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. ALS can affect men and women of any ethnic origin at any age. Approximately 2,500 to 3,000 Canadians are living with the disease. And 80 per cent of those affected will die within two to five years of diagnosis.

About the ALS Society of Canada:
The ALS Society of Canada, founded in 1977, is the only national voluntary health organization dedicated solely to the fight against ALS and support for those living with ALS. ALS Canada funds research towards a cure for ALS, supports the provincial ALS societies in the provision of quality care for those living with ALS, and provides information to build public awareness about the disease. The vision of the ALS Society of Canada is to find a cure for ALS.