Robertson Receives Mary Pollock Walk For ALS Award

May 6, 2009 - PRLog -- TORONTO, CANADA.  Lindsay Robertson of Oakville, ON, received the ALS Society of Canada Mary Pollock WALK for ALS Award at an awards ceremony in Toronto on May 2, 2009, in recognition of her volunteer contributions to the ALS community of Canada.

“Lindsay was 15 years old in 2004 when her father was told that he had ALS. This prompted her to begin volunteering for the ALS Society and forming her own walk team, raising over $30,000 in two years. In 2005 she founded and organized the first Halton Walk for ALS. Funds were raised for much-needed medical equipment and research, totaling $46,000 for the first year, $85,000 in 2007, and $83,000 in 2008,” says social worker Maureen Hills of the ALS Clinic at McMaster University Medical Centre.

Robertson has made other contributions to the cause: she has sourced potted cornflowers as a fundraiser and worked at the ALS Clinic at McMaster to help develop a patient database. She has also given media interviews to promote the Walks and raise public awareness about ALS.

The Mary Pollock WALK for ALS Award recognizes an exceptional volunteer and celebrates his or her outstanding contributions in developing the WALK for ALS to its full potential. The award, given through the generous support of the Pollock family, honours Mary Pollock, who died of ALS in 2000.

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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.