March of Dimes in Stittsville this month

Posted Jan 12, 2012 By John Curry

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EMC News - They're marching in Stittsville this month. Marching by knocking on doors and contacting neighbours as volunteer canvassers take part in the annual March of Dimes fundraising campaign.

Yes, January is March of Dimes month and for the 61st straight year in Ontario, volunteers are canvassing to raise funds for programs and services provided by the March of Dimes such as its assistive devices program.

"Our goal is to raise over $34,000 in Kanata and Stittsville," says Mary Lynne Stewart, director of fund development and communications for March of Dimes Canada.

"With such a supportive community, I know that everyone will do what they can so we can exceed our goal," she adds.

One of those who is volunteering again this year to help make this happen is Carole Ryan of Stittsville who has been canvassing for the March of Dimes on her Amberwood street for the past eight or nine years. A former Cancer Society canvasser, she initially got involved simply because she wanted to help support the March of Dimes and its work.

She now collects about $300 each year from just her own street.

"Every little bit helps. So we just keep going," she says about her canvassing efforts.

Originally she went door to door on the street but she found this was a chilly way of doing it. In addition, she found that some of her neighbours had their own favourite charities which they preferred to support and the door to door canvassing put them in an uncomfortable spot.

That when Carole, with the help of her husband Bill, developed a different way of canvassing her neighbours, through the use of the group mailboxes on the street. She writes a letter about the March of Dimes campaign and then attaches a donation envelop which the recipient can return to her with a donation if so desired. She then provides the donor with a tax receipt along with a thank you note.

She has found that this system works well.

"I know my neighbours are really giving and kind," she says, noting that someone just has to do the legwork to give them the opportunity to donate. She thinks that one of the reasons for the March of Dimes successful annual fundraising campaign is because it is the first one of the new year.

It may also help in that Carole is well known in her immediate community, serving as secretary of the local condominium corporation. In addition, she helps organize luncheon get togethers for the ladies of the area.

Carole has just started with this year's canvas, having just received her March of Dimes forms, and will be finished before the end of the month.

The March of Dimes started in 1949 when mothers across Canada joined a North America-wide fundraising effort to find a cure and protect their children from polio which was then a rampant disease in society. The fundraising involved going door to door in neighbourhoods collecting dimes.

Eddie Cantor, a well known entertainer of that time, suggested the name "March of Dimes" based on the song "Brother, can you spare a dime" that was a hit in the Depression years. This name has stuck with the campaign ever since.

By 1951, the Canadian Foundation for Poliomyelitis (i.e. polio or infantile paralysis) was established and was granted the use of the name "Ontario March of Dimes."

After an effective polio vaccine was developed in 1955 by Dr. Jonas Salk and the threat of polio was greatly diminished, the March of Dimes began funding centres for people who had already contacted the disease, with programs focused mostly on rehabilitation and job training.

In the early 1960's, the March of Dimes organization shifted its focus to serve the broader needs of all adults with physical disabilities. In Ontario, the legal name of the organization became the Rehabilitation Foundation for the Disabled.

Nowadays, the March of Dimes is dedicated to helping physically disabled children and adults across Canada lead more independent lives. March of Dimes Canada is one of the largest community based service providers for people with physical disabilities in the country, offering a wide range of programs and services to maximize the independence and community participation of people with physical disabilities.

March of Dimes programs are available to any person with a physical disability who can benefit.

This includes not only those born with physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy but also those who develop a disability later in life such as multiple sclerosis or Parkinson's disease and also those who are disabled through injury or accident.

Roughly one in eight Canadians suffer from a physical disability.

The March of Dimes assistive devices program provides assistance to people with disabilities for the purchase and maintenance of equipment such as manual and motorized wheelchairs, bath aids, seating inserts, wheelchair cushions, canes, crutches and walkers.

The March of Dimes provides programs and services to almost 40,000 people annually in communities across Ontario.

Those interested in donating to this year's campaign can visit the website at www.mymod.ca/doortodoor , or can call 1-800-263-3463, ext. 7705.

john.curry@metroland.com




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