Brenda Lavergne hosted her annual golf tournament on Saturday, June 11, 2011 at the Hammond Golf & Country Club, in support of Parkinson Society Ottawa. Brenda and her team work very hard organizing this fun, best ball golf tournament to raise funds & awareness of Parkinson’s disease. The event includes dinner and an action as well and this year Brenda and her team raised over $3000 for Parkinson Society Ottawa – thank you so much!

Dan Ducharme is a local country music musician who was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2001, and he is a man on a mission to raise funds for people living with Parkinson’s. He recruited a wonderful team of volunteers and together they organized the Dan Ducharme Jamboree for Parkinson’s that was held on May 1, 2011 at the Montgomery Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion.

PSO Director of Resource Development, Hilary Evans stopped by and had this to say about Dan and his fantastic event. “There was an amazing spirit of camaraderie, kinship and HOPE. People were really enjoying the music and were up dancing the day away. Dan has obviously touched the lives of many as he has a wonderful network of family, friends and supporters. Parkinson Society Ottawa is very honoured when people choose us to benefit from their hard work putting on events like this, and we are so lucky Dan came to us with his idea. Thank you to everyone who helped to make this a success – Dan, the entertainers, volunteers, donors and of course, the attendees… together the Dan Ducharme Jamboree raised over $4,300 for Parkinson Society Ottawa”.

Kili Conquerors for Parkinson's – Local registered nurse and wellness expert, Reta Currie, and her team of 5 will be off to conquer Mt. Kilimanjaro in February, 2011. This team also includes Sandy Bookalam, a Medical Laboratory Technologist at the Ottawa Hospital and 3 others from around the country including a friend with Parkinson’s from Barrie, Ontario. Click here to read more of their stories and to support these courageous climbers.

This group heads off this February for the challenge of a lifetime – to climb Kilimanjaro. Together they have accomplished a tremendous goal and raised over $30,000 for Societies across Canada, more than $15,000 for Parkinson Society Ottawa. From everyone here at Parkinson Society Ottawa, thank you all for your hard work and dedication and we’ll be with you in spirit as you reach your goal!

Dedicated Parkinson Society Ottawa volunteer Alice Templin and her friend Claire Veenstra have completed their journey of a lifetime hiking the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain. They decided to use this journey as an opportunity to raise funds for Parkinson Society Ottawa. We are very proud to announce that Alice and Claire raised over $13,000 for Parkinson Society Ottawa programs and services. Thank you both choosing us to benefit from this amazing journey of a lifetime – you are amazing.

Marlayne Hardy, a Stamping Up! Demonstrator hosted her first fundraising stamping party for Parkinson Society Ottawa in April in memory of her grandmother. The event was a huge success and Marlayne plans on doing it again next year. Thank you Marlayne!

Parkinson Society Ottawa is very grateful to the following people for choosing our cause to benefit from their special events again this year.

Emily Leger – once again collected funds for PSO instead of Birthday gifts for in March 2010 – Amazing for an 11 year old – thank you Emily.

Jeff Kaluski’s Annual Birthday Party – Jeff asks friends and family to donate to Parkinson Society Ottawa in lieu of gifts, which is very commendable.