A 12-year-old donated $ 6,500 to the Lévis Social Pediatric Center to help vulnerable young people, an amount obtained by depositing cans.
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“I have an exceptional entourage and I have all the resources I need. But this is not the case for everyone. I wanted to help those who are less fortunate ”, confided to the Newspaper Loïc Mathieu, yesterday morning.
Throughout the year, the 12-year-old has accumulated cans and plastic bottles here and there to “do something concrete.”
The money was given to the Lévis Social Pediatric Center (CPSL) which offers medical and psychosocial services to children from vulnerable backgrounds.
If this amount collected represents a record for Loïc, who had already donated just over $ 4,000 last year, he intends to reach a new high next year.
“I already have restaurants, campsites and businesses that have promised me amounts of money. […] This cause is really close to my heart, ”says the Good Samaritan.
The teenager was one of some 200 volunteers who dispersed to Lévis on the occasion of the 12e Guignolée Dr Julian. Freezing rain showers and wind gusts of 60 km / h did not prevent them from collecting donations from motorists for the benefit of the CPSL.
Needs increased tenfold
A total of $ 44,608 was raised during the day, but the fundraising continues today.
“The needs have been so much greater since the start of the pandemic,” underlines the general director of the CPSL, Maude Julien.
This situation is caused in particular by the increase in waiting lists for doctors, increased violence in certain families and a decrease in stimulation among young people in recent months.
“We really had an increase in requests and problems encountered. The challenges facing vulnerable families have been increased tenfold, ”adds Mr.me Julian.
Canceled in Quebec
On the other side of the river, the Quebec Social Paediatrics Center has preferred to cancel its drive because of the weather. It is believed that the safety of volunteers with motorists has been compromised.
“This announcement represents $ 50,000 that we will not be able to raise in the streets,” the organization said in a press release, inviting people to donate online.
Merchants, however, agreed at the last minute for volunteers to collect donations directly in the entrance of their business, allowing a certain harvest.