Over $8,500 raised at Fonds des Millepattes’ first Zumbathon
The Fonds des Millepattes organized its first Zumbathon on Sept. 8 and raised over $8,500 for children living with rheumatological and rare diseases.
Over 200 people gathered at the Cité sportive de Pintendre to help the foundation surpass their original goal of $8,000.
Fonds des Millepattes is a non-profit organization that supports families with children affected by rare autoimmune rheumatic disorders. The organization was created after the community organized a successful race in 2012, “Abi et la Course des Millepattes,” which raised funds and brought moral support to Townships teen Abigaël Walker after she was diagnosed with relapsing chronic polychondritis. Abigaël was nine years old when she received the diagnosis. Her autoimmune disease causes severe inflammation in her larynx, trachea, and her bronchi. It is an extremely rare disease, as Abigaël is the only child in the province to be affected.
The organization has expanded across Quebec, as the weekend’s event was organized by Edith Martel and Pierre Savard, parents of Jacob, who suffers from hyperimmunoglobulin D syndrome, an auto-inflammatory disease, with recurrent unexplained inflammation, periodic episodes of fever, joint pain, and arthritis attacks. The Lévis family made the event family friendly with many games, archery duels, and Zumba for toddlers and the entire family. The Lévis firefighters were also present and organized visits of the fire
trucks for children.
“It’s incredible to see that so many people have adopted the cause, including many sponsors,” said Martel in a recent press release. “When we would talk about the Fonds des Millepattes, almost everyone already knew Abi and had seen her on television.”
Stephen Walker, Abigaël’s father and president of the foundation, was also present at the Zumbathon and was moved by the wave of support for the Fonds des Millepattes and the Martelsavard family. “I find this all very touching! Many people expressed their support and courage for my daughter. But to simply see all these people gathered here, it’s crazy to see how this will feed the entire family of Millepattes,” he mentioned, thanking Martel and Savard for their great efforts to organize the Zumbathon.
Based in Sherbrooke, the foundation has announced that the money raised during the Zumbathon will help support at least one other “Millepattes” family in the Québec-lévis area as of 2020. These funds will go towards the many needs of families and children affected by rare diseases, such as high medical expenses, travel, parking and hospitalization costs, loss of revenue for parents having to take leaves of absence from work, and professional help to fight isolation and psychological distress.
Fonds des Millepattes has given back more than $100,000 since 2014 in donations and special projects to dozens of “Millepattes” families as well to the Arthritis Society’s Kids on the Move Camp and the Regroupement Québécois des maladies orphelines (RQMO). Among its many fundraises, the Course des Millepattes attracts hundreds of people every fall. Last year’s edition allowed the foundation to raise over $16,000. This year’s seventh edition of the race will be held on Saturday, Oct. 5 at the University of Sherbrooke, under the honorary presidency of Dr. Sébastien Roulier, high performance athlete and pediatrician at the CIUSSS de l’estrie-chus. The Guinness World Record holder also held a workshop about resilience and self-discovery at the Fondation des Millepattes’ May 25 conference dinner.