Thanks to the amazing support of Mattamy Homes the shower rooms will again be transformed into a spa-like oasis. 

It’s Mattamy’s gift to refresh all marchers and crew at the end of each day.  In addition to the shower rooms, Mattamy is also sponsoring the last Pit Stop of Kidney March at the top of Canada Olympic Park.

Kidney March welcomed Mattamy Homes to the Kidney March family two years ago and we are thrilled they are joining us for 2019. When Mattamy Homes was considering one more charitable opportunity in the Calgary area, Kidney March was just the fit the company was looking for.

Don Barrineau, President of Mattamy Homes’ Calgary division, notes Mattamy has always had a deep interest in supporting the communities it does business in, particularly around health and wellness. “It starts at the top with President Peter Gilgan and spreads throughout the company. Here in Calgary, we want to focus our support on a couple of projects with big impact – projects where we can actually see the difference we are making, and that our people can get involved in,” he says.

Established in 1978, Mattamy Homes is North America’s largest privately owned home builder. The company has built over 90,000 homes in hundreds of neighborhoods across Ontario and Alberta. “We are proud of the high-quality people who work here – people who already have care and concern for their community hardwired in them,” Barrineau says. “And since high quality, integrity, humility, and gratitude is also the culture we want to build, giving back becomes a self-perpetuating thing that just keeps building on itself.” 

When Executive Assistant Colette Showers and the donations committee were looking for a new charitable opportunity to get involved in, kidney patient and long-time Kidney Marcher Trevor Ferguson helped make an introduction to the company – and the rest is history. “As we were considering our options, we found out our Director of Finance has a history of kidney disease in her family, one of our Permits Coordinators has actually participated in a previous Kidney March, and many other staff members identified a connection to kidney disease or organ transplant. We had no idea so many of our people were affected,” Showers says.

Learn more about Mattamy Homes at MattamyHomes.com 

Kidney March is thrilled to have Clauson Cold & Cooler Ltd back as a leading sponsor for their second year in a row.  Not only are they sponsoring our main tent and dining centre at camp, they will also be sponsoring 4 pit stops on route. Catherine Coels, the president at Clauson, has been attending Kidney March events for years, supporting her long-time family friend and 10-time Marcher Janice MacKay, and Janice’s sister-in-law Sandra MacKay, 6-time Marcher.

Marchers and Crew will have an amazing space twice as big as last year to enjoy warm meals and two fun-filled evenings at camp, thanks to Clauson’s generous sponsorship. The Clauson staff were able to join us for Kidney-O-kee last year where they got a real sense of the spirit of our event and how important the main tent is to our Marching community over those three days.

“Clauson has always invested in the community and Catherine has such a generous heart. I am proud to be her friend, and we are so grateful for Clauson’s support,” says Janice.

Clauson Cold & Cooler Ltd has a refrigeration warehouse of 250,000 square feet, providing cold/cooler storage, a focus on excellent customer service, and the highest standards for food safety. It is still a family-run business with Catherine’s son Darcy and Janice’s son Neil playing key roles.

The family business, started by Catherine’s dad Norm Clauson in the 1960’s, is also proudly sponsoring four pit stops along the Kidney March route. The family recognizes that kidney disease affects people at every age, and feels blessed to have happy, healthy children and grandchildren. They are celebrating that by dedicating these pit stops to their grandchildren Olivia and Kieran.

We want to welcome our newest leading sponsor; the Big Hearted Mavericks Foundation. Who are they?

The Mavericks purchased their first chuckwagon at the Calgary Stampede in 1999. In 2000, they were founded as a not for profit society under the name The Mavericks Chuckwagon Society. They are a group of 25 like-minded local businessmen that have been dedicated to two objectives: actively engage in Children’s Charity Fundraising and having fun supporting the great sport of Chuckwagon Racing.
In 2011, the Mavericks established the Big Hearted Mavericks Foundation, a registered charitable foundation. All funds raised by the group are transferred to and donated from the Foundation. They state, “We believe that the best way to give back to our community is by investing in young people.”

The Mavericks and the Big Hearted Mavericks Foundation were approached by Kip Reghenas, a member of this year’s Kidney March Sponsorship Committee and first time Crew Member. The Mavericks knew instantly that the Kidney March was going to be a great fit.

Kip, one of the original founders of the Mavericks, is thrilled to join the Mavericks family with his new Kidney March family. “Ken Malvin, also an original Founder, Darren Exner, Marty Collins and I can’t wait to celebrate with Marchers when they complete their 100 KM goals on September 8th,” says Kip.

Their sponsorship covers multiple Kidney March event needs as well as purchasing medical equipment to support families with newborns suffering from kidney disease for The Kidney Foundation of Canada. We can’t say too much about exactly what they will be sponsoring for Kidney March because we don’t want to spoil the surprise. So, keep an eye out for their western hospitality on day three of Kidney March!

Thank you again to these truly Big Hearted Calgarians, we can’t wait to meet all of you!

“Fun, friendship and making a difference.” This is what it means to be a Big Hearted Maverick.

Second time sponsor returns to nourish Kidney Marchers and Crew, and staff join Garrett Ganden by participating as a team.

Canada’s largest independent dealer of agriculture equipment, Rocky Mountain Equipment (RME), has joined the Kidney March family again for 2019. They have signed on as a champion of Day Two by sponsoring lunch in K-Country, and a pit stop along the early part of the route. RME staff volunteers will be fueling hungry Marchers and Crew as they take on the mountain terrain of the beautiful Rockies. But that’s not all; RME will also be walking, crewing, and fundraising right beside us.

Their team, “RME Kidney Krusaders” is made up of several RME staff and are supported by family and friends, some of whom have also registered as Marchers and Crew, as well as second time marcher Garrett Ganden, RME President & CEO.

“Kidney Disease is something which affects so many people around us and RME wanted to join the fight for awareness of this great cause,” said Ganden. “The people involved—from the event staff, to the participants, and especially the medics—have all made us feel welcome at the Kidney March. We knew coming back this year was a must, and that we had to be an even bigger part of the family.”

Garrett is thrilled for the challenge again this year. “We’re excited to do our part to keep everyone strong and energized during the March but also put our feet to the ground and make a big impact,” said Ganden. “I now know what it takes to do this walk, it is no small feat. I am proud to be a part of it and to give our support.”

RME heard about Kidney March two years ago from James Maxim, a trailblazer marching for his fourth time this year and a member of our sponsorship committee. “This is a great match between Kidney March and RME,” said Maxim. “RME has always invested in the communities it serves and will be a powerful ally in helping us spread the word about kidney disease. Garrett showed true leadership to his team when he walked his first 100 kilometres with us in 2018 and I’m proud to see him back.”

Follow their team’s Kidney March journey on Facebook and Twitter, and cheer for them and fellow Marchers along the three-day journey from Calgary to the Foothills of the Rockies and back. Last year, they put together an amazing video of their 2018 journey. You can view it, and their current blog page here.

Meet our dynamite Kidney March Sponsorship Committee!

This dedicated team is doing fantastic work connecting us with community sponsors. Thank you to these Kidney Marchers and Crew for stepping up to help raise the most money possible for kidney disease and organ donation. 

Do you know anyone who could sponsor Kidney March? Give us a call at 1.866.956.2724

From top left: Kip Reghenas, Laura Fleming, Shane MacKay, Trevor Ferguson, Dale Parker, Jack Collier
From bottom left: James Maxim, Joanne Drodge, Sam Ferguson, Sloan Pipella-Clark, Susan Reghenas.
Missing from the picture: Donna Gilbert, Bhavini Ruparell, George Mylonas, Heather Dean, Scott Lazenby, Stu Sinclair