George Mylonas, President of Calgary’s Landstar Development Corporation, wanted to do more than participate in Kidney March again this year. He decided to ‘kick it up a notch’ by sponsoring Closing Ceremonies – Kidney March’s marquee event for marchers and their families.
Mylonas became the driving force behind “Team Christina” last year when one of his relatives, Voula Douvis-Tzigalanis, whose daughter has kidney disease, had foot surgery and was unable to participate as she had in the past. “I thought it was a shame our family couldn’t participate in something that meant so much to her, and to our whole family,” he says. “Plus it sounded like fun, so I said, ‘Let’s do it.’”
Last year Mylonas surprised himself by surpassing his fundraising goal of $40,000 by 200%. (He was actually finalizing pledges as he was marching.) This year he’s aiming even higher. He insists it doesn’t matter how much money anyone gives, whether it’s $1 or $10,000, the feeling of doing something good to help your neighbour, and your community, is the same. Click here to read more.
Owners of COBS Bread bakeries in Shawnessy and Okotoks, Lee and Kelly Hodgins have a passion for giving back to the communities where their stores are.
Lee and Kelly have been supporting Kidney March at their Shawnessy store since being approached by Kidney Marcher Heather Dean, a renal nurse and enthusiastic member of the Pee Pee Dancers team. “A good friend of Kelly’s needed a kidney transplant and a family member also has kidney issues, so it made sense for us to help out the cause,” says Lee. (Note to Kidney Marchers: never be afraid to ask!)
COBS has a corporate “Dough Raiser’s Program” that encourages franchisees to donate 5% of sales to a charity. “But Kelly and I wanted to do more,” says Lee, “So anyone who shops at COBS Shawnessy can ask for a portion of their purchase to go toward Kidney March, and we’ll put 15% of the sale toward the Kidney March Dough Raiser’s account. It’s as simple as that.”
The couple has found there are big benefits to getting involved in their community, and with Kidney March. “People get to know your name and face, and they know you are there to give back. It helps us build real relationships with people so they actually become more than customers, and they continue to come back.”
Lee says that giving out baked goods at the Kidney March finish line in 2016 was especially meaningful. “We are involved in close to 30 events over the summer,” he says, “but the Kidney March experience touched me the most. Just seeing the closeness and sharing the powerful feeling of everyone coming together at the finish line – it tugged at our heartstrings.”
Remember that bustling little dining and entertainment tent that has been the hub of Kidney March activity every year? With the help of Strategic Group, that charming tent will be transformed into ‘Strategic Central’ in September 2017.
The Calgary-based company which owns, manages and develops office, retail and apartment properties across Canada, is the latest to step up to support Kidney March and the kidney community to make this transformation happen. Riaz Mamdani, the CEO of Strategic Group, has always placed a high degree of importance on community involvement.
“Businesses don’t operate in a vacuum,” Mr. Mamdani said in a recent interview. “Businesses are part of their community. We have a set of community values (Impact, Pride and Legacy) that are as important to us as our business values.”
Beyond what Mr. Mamdani describes as a social obligation to use our “intellect, muscle and capital to make the world a better place,” he insists on supporting good causes like Kidney March because “being visible in the community helps attract and motivate great people with similar values to work at the company – and that’s really what makes our business succeed.”
Mr. Mamdani is pleased that Kidney March has captured the imagination and passions of people within the organization; several people at Strategic Group have been personally affected by kidney disease and organ donation, including his own family.
Joanne Drodge and Randy Haatvedt personify what Kidney March is all about. Both Kidney March veterans, Joanne and Randy could write the book about going the extra mile – literally and figuratively.
A retired IT Consultant, Randy donated his kidney to his friend Pat in 2012. A long-time client at Pat’s shoe shine business in downtown Calgary, Randy watched his friend of 20 years working hard every day, even though it was clear Pat was getting progressively worse. Randy did some internet research and without a word to Pat, called Pat’s doctor to see how he could help. Randy had hoped to do the transplant work-up anonymously so as not to get Pat’s hopes up if he wasn’t a match – but protocol would not allow that, and once he told Pat of his intentions, the two friends started “knocking over the obstacles one at a time.” “It was an amazing experience,” Randy says, “From the time I made that first call, I had a good feeling – we both did. In fact, if I had another kidney to give, I’d do it all again.”
Joanne Drodge’s story is similarly remarkable. She first learned about kidney disease when her nephew, Bryan, was born with it. Now 21, Bryan has had two transplants, and is on the list for a third in Halifax. Although Joanne is not a match for her nephew, she’s looking into the paired donor exchange program, and has begun kidney donor testing so that she can donate to someone else. “At my young age,” she says, tongue-in-cheek, “time is ticking, so I need to move now if I am going to do this.” Despite her nephew’s experience, Joanne had no idea until she walked in Kidney March 2015 that kidney disease was so prevalent and devastating. “Awareness is critical when it comes to kidney disease – people need to understand, it could easily be them,” she says.
