Cruisin’ to end MS

Times Reporter   

 

Another Cruisin’ to End MS (Multiple Sclerosis) day at A&W has come and gone. On Aug. 21 A&W locations across the country invited people to come out, get a Teen Burger for lunch and help raise funds for MS at the same time. 

One dollar from every Teen Burger sold went towards MS research, and in addition to that the Strathmore location hosted a 50/50, silent auction, a Baby Burger eating contest and much more. There was also a classic car show, fitting in with the Cruisin’ theme of the day. 

President for Alberta and Northwest Territories Division of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada Neil Pierce also happened to be cruisin’ that day. He made the trek from Edmonton to check out some of the Southern Alberta locations, starting in Strathmore. 

“What’s really neat is in Alberta we raise almost one third of the national total, and a lot of it is raised in rural Alberta,” said Pierce. 

“I think it’s huge, the amount of progress that’s being made now throughout Alberta and Canada. Without the support of A&W, and the communities and all the people out buying Teen Burgers today we wouldn’t be able to provide the services on the ground and the research. Alberta is leading the country in MS research, we’ve got some real good things happening in our own backyard.”

Pierce said approximately 17,000 Albertans are affected by MS and about 100,000 across the country.  There are new treatments coming out that he thinks will really help people. There are now 10 approved treatments and 20 years ago there weren’t any, which goes to show what the support has been doing over the years.  

“There’s lots of hope,” said Pierce.

Mayor Michael Ell was one of the community guests invited to make an appearance at the store and help out for an hour.

“I would be disappointed if I wasn’t asked, this is great,” said Ell.

“It’s great to be able to help the community and to help people in need, and to meet the people that are enthused and also willing to help, to meet the citizens of this town, is a just great opportunity.”

The final tally is not in yet, but A&W Strathmore Manager Jaycee Peters said it’s estimated that over $12,000 was raised at our location alone.