Created in collaboration with Énergie Cardio in 2006, Opération Enfant Soleil’s Fonds Josée Lavigueur aims to promote kid’s physical and mental health through exercise.
Josée Lavigueur and Alex Sandrine Côté-Pedneault, Enfant Soleil from Capitale-Nationale (2015), touring Énergie Cardio fitness centres during the 2017 edition of the Défi Cardio 25 heures.
Énergie Cardio has worked with Opération Enfant Soleil since 1999, and in that time, it has raised over $4,5 million for the organization, thanks to the participation of its 1,600 employees and the generosity of its 100,000 members.
During the Défi Cardio 25 heures, participants have the option of joining a Dépassement team and doing 25 hours of cardiovascular exercise in relay format, or of taking part in group classes for five consecutive hours.
Défi Cardio 25 heures was born in 2010 out of an Énergie Cardio initiative to hold a major, province-wide fundraising event to celebrate its 25th anniversary. The money it raises every year never ceases to amaze. Since its inception six years ago, hundreds of participants and donors have worked together for the cause and raised over $3.3 million.
391
That’s the number of projects across the province that were made possible thanks to your generosity and the money raised by Opération Enfant Soleil’s Fonds Josée Lavigueur. Here are just a few :
In Montréal, the grants given to the Association québécoise de sports pour paralytiques cérébraux, Défi sportif AlterGo and Hockey Québec have been used to purchase adapted equipment for disabled children, enabling them to maximize their autonomy and their participation in their communities.
Several organizations, including Maternaide du Québec (Trois-Rivières), Patro Laval (Québec) and the CPE La Boîte à Bizous (Sainte-Catherine), were able to equip rooms and play areas with materials designed to stimulate and develop the psychomotor skills of children 5 and under.
This equipment helps disabled children develop their tactile and sensory tolerance, as well as their independence. “This has taught Joanie to accept touch from others and to hold a glass in her hands, so she can drink from it herself.” —Marie-Claude Senécal, mother of Joanie Prévost, Montréal’s Enfant Soleil.
This grant went toward purchasing equipment to make the small gym safer, more stimulating and more suitable for multiple purposes. The new set-up is used for rehabilitation and development activities for children with motor impairments or communication disorders.
“I use it all the time with the more mobile kids. I love the incline ramp, swing and beam, which I use to help the kids work on their balance and control. Having access to a table means I can plan a combined occupational, speech and physical therapy session. Thank you!” —Megan, physiotherapist, Motor Development Disorders Program.
Thank you to Énergie Cardio, its employees and all the Défi Cardio 25 heures sponsors, participants and donors!