As 2018 comes to a close, we are taking a look back at a very special year for Defeat Duchenne Canada. Here are just a few of the highlights:
This year marked the 20th anniversary of our founder, John Davidson’s, walk across Canada. John set out on April 10, 1998 from St. John’s, Newfoundland with a goal of crossing the country on foot to raise funds and awareness for Duchenne muscular dystrophy research. John reached Victoria, British Columbia on January 20, 1999 having raised more than $2 million. 20 years later, we celebrated the many accomplishments and advancements in Duchenne research and began to put the pieces in place for the next 20 years.
A new documentary was released about Duchenne muscular dystrophy. This film, produced by Brick House Productions and sponsored by the Sifton Family Foundation and PTC Therapeutics, features memories from 1998 as well as brand new interviews from families facing Duchenne today and researchers who are dedicated to finding treatments and a cure.
We welcomed a new Executive Director, Perry Esler, and a new chair of the board of directors, Dr. Jeff Preston.
The first ever Virtual Walk-Run-Roll launched in February and ran until October. Thanks to everyone who registered, we raised nearly $30,000 and logged more than 50 million strides!
The Walk to Defeat Duchenne was held on May 27 in Springbank Park in London and raised almost $75,000!
We were so fortunate to be the charity partner for the Mawer Country Jamboree for Charity Toronto on October 12. This incredible event raised $100,000!
The many donors, families, volunteers, and community partners who supported us this year helped Defeat Duchenne Canada grant $1.15 million to Duchenne research projects in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
The incredible support shown over the last 20 years brought us to a significant funding milestone – as of 2018, Defeat Duchenne Canada has granted more than $10 million to research!
2018 was a wonderful year for us at Defeat Duchenne Canada and we thank you all so much for your continued support. See you in 2019!