The Gleaner

An auction brings in $16 000 for the Betty Riel Foundation

le vendredi 29 décembre 2017
Modifié à 10 h 30 min le 29 décembre 2017
Par Mario Pitre

mpitre@gravitemedia.com

The first auction organized for the Betty Riel Foundation on December 17 in Huntingdon raised the tidy sum of $16 000. "It was a huge success," recounted Betty Riel, who launched her foundation in 2005. "I would like to thank all the people who participated and who were so generous. It is one of the biggest events we have organized and the money raised will help us provide transportation to Montreal hospitals to more people with cancer." Supervised by Randall Finnegan, the auction had a good number of articles provided free-of-charge by generous donators, including Canadiens' hockey tickets, a hockey stick signed by Maurice Richard, a limited edition lithograph by artist Tex Lecor, furniture, antiques and more. Many people responded to the call, which meant that the Foundation experienced an unexpected success with this event. Every year, the Betty Riel Foundation also holds two main fund raising events. A walkathon which brought together 75 walkers and raised $5000 in June, as well as a triathlon, launched on Saturday, August 26 from the Chateauguay Valley Regional High school in Ormstown, which raised over $8000. Furthermore, on April 25 in Quebec City, Betty Riel received an award under the Hommage Bénévolat-Québec Awards for her work from François Blais, Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity. (Translated by Cathleen Johnston)