Some 800 cyclists raise $400,000 in support of Quebec's sickest babies

MONTREAL, June 15, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - You may have seen them riding a 30-seat-bike in downtown Montreal, adorned with smiling faces and equipped with water guns. Some 800 participants of Pedal for Kids ? a major fundraising event benefitting the Montreal Children's Hospital ? were celebrating their respective fundraising efforts, which collectively raised $400,000.

Throughout the week, 26 teams ? mostly from the corporate sector ? took to the streets of downtown Montreal to raise funds for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The NICU, which accounts for a third of the Children's beds, is home to the tiniest and sickest babies in Quebec, like Milo, who was born premature and spent one-third of his first year in the NICU. 

Parents of Milo and their first premature child Zayn, who also benefited from expert treatment at the NICU at the Children's in 2016, Anissa and her husband Muqueet were the Pedal for Kids spokesfamily for the second time around this year. "Being at Pedal for Kids made us feel like we were not alone. There were so many people helping and supporting us. It felt like a whole community had our backs," explains Muqeet, Zayn's father. "The participants have no idea how much their support meant to us."

When Anissa remembers how hard her son fought to stay live, she becomes emotional: "When you see your baby turn blue because his heart rate drops, those few minutes of trying to bring him back feels like a lifetime. You feel totally useless as the room fills up with professionals trying to save your baby."

Thank you to our 2018 teams

"Pedal for Kids is meant to bring together hundreds of individuals, businesses and community groups for an exciting and lively tour around downtown Montreal, all with the common goal of helping sick children," says Renée Vézina, President of the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation who took part in Milo's Ride with City Councillor Peter Mcqueen of the Côte-des-Neiges/NDG borough. "We thank the participating teams of this 27^th edition of Pedal: Air Canada Vacations, Aviron Technical Institute of Montreal, CGI, Colliers and friends, Deloitte, Ernst & Young?Wheels of Steel, Filo Imports, Harrison's Ride, MCH?Children's Champs, Jarislowsky Fraser, Jean Fortin and associates, M.I.I.P.E., McCarthy Tétrault, Morgan Stanley, Osler, WADA-Play True for Kids, Research In Action, RBC, Rio Tinto, Stikeman Elliot, TELUS Health, TECSYS, Wells Fargo. A huge thank you!"

About Pedal for Kids

Pedal for Kids took shape in 1992 when Sylvie Lalumière and Michael Conway decided to start raising funds in memory of their daughter Meagan, who received treatment at the Montreal Children's Hospital.  Twenty-seven years later, some 200 000 cyclists and 166 participating teams have allowed for the purchase of over 90 life-saving pieces of medical equipment and instruments. These funds have proven essential to the improvement of pediatric care, and equally to the innovation of several treatment centres, including the wake-up centre, the Family Resource Centre, the Psychiatry Department, and the Adolescent Clinic.

Visit our website: Pedal for Kids

Video capsule on the spokesfamily

https://www.facebook.com/Pedalez/videos/10156687044213072/

ABOUT THE MONTREAL CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

The Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation endeavours to inspire and mobilize the Montreal community, in order to support relentless innovation in research, teaching, and care at the Montreal Children's Hospital. The MCH is an internationally renowned pediatric center providing highly specialized healthcare. Since its inception, the Foundation has raised over 428.5 million dollars, an amount that has allowed us to transform the lives of sick children through research and teaching at the cutting-edge of science and high quality care. To find out more, visit https://fondationduchildren.com/en/. 

SOURCE The Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation