Lindsay Robertson receives Leader of Tomorrow Award

April 29, 2011 - PRLog -- MARKHAM, ON, April 27, 2011 – Oakville resident Lindsay Robertson will receive the ALS Society of Canada’s Leader of Tomorrow Award (age 18-25 category) in recognition of her outstanding efforts to raise awareness and funds for ALS, during an awards ceremony to be held at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel, Toronto, on April 30.

An inspirational youth icon, Robertson is a graduate of the University of Ottawa and is now studying to be a paramedic. She participated in the annual WALK for ALS the very same year her father was diagnosed with ALS in 2004. The next year she created her own Walk, the Halton WALK for ALS, and has been organizing it for the past six years along with her friend, Andrea Rende, who lost her father to ALS. The Halton Walk has raised $300,000 in the past six years for ALS support and research.
“Lindsay has not only dealt with her father’s diagnosis with great strength and dignity, but has tremendous passion and energy in supporting others,” said Jane Allan, ALS clinic co-ordinator, McMaster University Hospital. “She has been successfully organizing her own annual Walk in Halton for the past six years while attending university full time and working three part-time jobs.”
In addition, Robertson mentors young people dealing with family members with ALS and actively volunteers with her family at many ALS events such as, Tee off 4ALS, Blue Jays events and Raptors 50/50 draw. Robertson also received the ALS Canada’s Mary Pollock WALK for ALS Award in 2009.

The Leader of Tomorrow Award recognizes youth and young adults who individually or as part of a group are making a difference in the lives of those living with ALS through their volunteer efforts.

ALS, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a rapidly progressive and fatal neuromuscular disease that causes the degeneration of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. As the nerve cells die, people with ALS lose control of their muscles, which makes breathing, eating and even smiling almost impossible. Eighty per cent of those diagnosed will die within two to five years.

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. The Society funds research towards a cure for ALS, supports provincial partners in the provision of quality care for those living with ALS, and provides information to build awareness about the disease. The vision of the ALS Society of Canada is to find a cure for ALS.

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For more information, please contact:

Maureen Sheahan
President & CEO                     
ALS Society of Ontario                  
Tel: 905-248-2101 ext. 216                  
Maureen@alsont.ca   

Bobbi Greenberg
Director of Communications
ALS Society of Canada
Tel: 905-248-2055 ext. 208
bg@als.ca