Walking for a cause

Times Reporter   

 

MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Day across Canada this year will be August 22 – every A&W will donate $1 for each Teen Burger sold that day. However, that’s not all Strathmore’s A&W is doing to contribute to a great cause.

“Different stores take different initiatives towards fundraising as well,” said Strathmore A&W Manager Will Whatley. 

The location has been fundraising throughout the year for MS: a penny drive in January, a yard sale in May, the car club meets every other Thursday in the parking lot for $5 teen burgers and floats, and now, an MS Walk on August 10.

“We’re not expecting a great turnout this year by any means, we just kind of want to get it set up, and we want to do it every year as an annual event,” said Whatley.

The pancake breakfast on Walk Day will run from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., for a $5 donation. Registration will be between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. – anyone who registers and raises the minimum $5 through pledges is welcome to join for a free breakfast. The group will walk down to Kinsmen, go around the park for two hours, and then return to A&W for root beer floats. There will also be a yard sale in the restaurant parking lot, and chances for prizes for all participants.

The Camrose A&W location did a similar MS Walk last year, where Whatley borrowed the idea.

“If I make $500 off of the walk this year, I’ll consider that a success,” he said.

Whatley would like to set up a golf tournament for next summer to raise even more money for MS. Last year, in single store totals, Strathmore finished third in the nation for all their event efforts.

Whatley and his team sold close to 700 teen burgers on MS Day in 2012, and are aiming to sell 1200 this year.

“We’ve started talking to some of the businesses in town, we want to get some pre-orders done, and hopefully some of the bigger companies on board,” said Whatley. “I have two people on staff that day, just to deliver.”

Whatley has had two of his previous staff diagnosed with MS, so when A&W paired up with the foundation four years ago, it hit close to home.

“It’s just a horrible disease. We witnessed the first year (A&W) decided to partner with MS, we had a lady on staff that had a very bad case that she’d be off work for two to three weeks. It really impacted the staff a lot,” he said. “So we decided that if we’re going to be involved in a charity, then we’re going to be involved with a charity full-tilt. We’re going to go all in and do what we can for it.”

Pledge forms for the MS Walk on August 10 can be picked up at the restaurant.