Sydney Pearson receives Leader of Tomorrow Award

April 29, 2011 - PRLog -- MARKHAM, ON, April 27, 2011 – Delta, BC resident Sydney Pearson will receive the ALS Society of Canada’s Leader of Tomorrow Award (age 5-13 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.

Sydney, 10, lost her maternal grandmother to ALS at a young age. Since then, she has been actively participating in fundraising and awareness-building projects for ALS along with her family. The youngest member of Team ALS BC & Yukon, Sydney started volunteering with her mother, Donna Bartel, recipient of ALS BC’s Volunteer of the Year Award in 2002, at ALS-fundraising events such as, ‘Run Walk and Roll for ALS,’ as soon as she could walk. On her fifth birthday, she asked her friends to make donations to ALS in memory of her grandmother.

She is involved in all aspects of fundraising from operating a lemonade stand to selling raffle tickets at ALS BC events. In 2010, she actively supported her mother at a triathlon fundraising event, ‘Tri’ing to End ALS’ which raised more than $5,700. She plans to support her father who has entered the triathlon, ‘Tri’ing to End ALS year 2,’ in 2012.

“Understanding the need to support others through sharing time and energy at such a young age makes Sydney one of our best youth ambassadors,” said Karen Brar, volunteer program co-ordinator, ALS Society of BC.

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:

Wendy Toyer
Executive Director
ALS Society of British Columbia & Yukon
Tel: 604-685-0737
wendy@alsbc.ca   

Bobbi Greenberg
Director of Communications
ALS Society of Canada
Tel: 1-800-267-4257 ext. 208
bg@als.ca