CRS home >> Scotiabank Vancouver Half
NEWS RELEASE — August 8, 2007
Father of two-year-old with juvenile arthritis raises more than $36,900 for The Arthritis Society through the Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon & 5k
Event's Top Individual Fundraiser donates $2,000 prize to create Cassie and Friends Fund
VANCOUVER, August 8, 2007 — Scotiabank recently announced that a record-breaking total of $216,764 was raised by more than 4,600 participants at the Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon & 5k on June 24, 2007. Runners and walkers could earn a free entry by fundraising for one of the event's six charitable partners and Vancouver resident David Porte was a key contributor to the event's success. Porte, 39, raised $36,932 in support of The Arthritis Society, B.C. & Yukon Division, and was the event's top fundraiser.
Porte's young daughter Cassandra was recently diagnosed with juvenile arthritis. "We were so shocked," says Porte, recalling his and his wife's reaction. "We never knew that kids this young could get arthritis."
Juvenile arthritis is a painful auto-immune disease that affects one in 1,000 children, making it one of the most common chronic childhood diseases. It affects more girls than boys, and can occur anytime, even during infancy.
None of the anti-inflammatories prescribed for Cassandra reduced the swelling in her joints. Eight months after her diagnosis, she's now on methotrexate, a disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug and steroids were injected into her visibly swollen knee to reduce the inflammation before it could permanently damage her joint.
"She's doing better and gaining some weight, but she's still not able to do what most other toddlers her age are doing," Porte explains. "The most difficult part for us is not knowing where this disease will go, and when – or if – it will ever end."
To help his daughter and the hundreds of children with arthritis in B.C., Porte signed up for the Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon & 5k. This year's event featured the inaugural Scotiabank Group Charity Challenge, an exciting development to raise awareness and funds for The Arthritis Society and five other local healthcare related charities. To encourage participation and support for the charities, Scotiabank waived the entry fee of all participants who fundraised a minimum of $50 for the 5k or minimum of $100 for the half-marathon.
Porte has used his prize money to get a jump start on next year's event. He has donated the $2,000 prize to The Arthritis Society to start the Cassie and Friends Fund for Juvenile Arthritis. Porte hopes others will join him next year and run or walk in support of Cassie and The Arthritis Society. The 10th Annual Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon & 5k will take place Sunday, June 22, 2008 and registration is open at www.canadarunningseries.com/svhm.
- 30 -
For more information contact:
Pamela Clark, Vice-President of Fund Development, The Arthritis Society, B.C. & Yukon Division, (604) 714.5559, pclarke@bc.arthritis.ca
Kim Struthers, Scotiabank Public Affairs
(778) 327-5451, kim.struthers@scotiabank.com