Scarborough’s Tamil community hosts walk-a-thon to raise funds for Heart & Stroke Foundation

Canadian Tamil Congrees event in Thomson Park on Sunday

                                                         6th Tamil Canadian Walk-a-thon – Fit for Heart

Date:             September 14th, 2014

Time:             9AM (Registration)

Location:      Thomson Memorial Park, 1005 Brimley Rd,

                      Toronto, ON M1P 3E8

Canadian Tamil Congress walkathon

Photo/MANNY RODRIGUES

Hundreds of people took part in last year's Canadian Tamil Congress walk-a-thon in Thomson Park. This year's walk takes place Sunday, Sept. 14, and is a fundraiser for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Scarborough Mirror

Scarborough’s Tamil community is joining together for the sixth annual Tamil Canadian Walk-a-thon on Sunday, Sept. 14 at Thomson Park.

The walk, organized by the Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC), is set to raise funds for the Heart & Stroke Foundation. With a fundraising goal of $50,000, the CTC invites everyone of all ages to participate.

“Every seven minutes, someone in Canada dies of heart disease or stroke,” said David Poopalapillai, national spokesperson for the CTC. “South Asians in particular are at a higher risk, so we thought it’s important to bring awareness and contribute to the foundation.”

In previous years, the walk raised funds for many Canadian charities and organizations like Canadian Cancer Society, Sick Kids Foundation, Amnesty International, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. In five years, the walks have raised $250,000 in funds.

The walk coincides with the Terry Fox Run in Scarborough. But CTC is confident that there won’t be any conflicting issues as the walk and run routes are different.

The Tamil Canadian Walk-a-thon follows a five-kilometre route starting from Thomson Park to north along Brimley Road, east on Ellesmere Avenue., south on McCowan Road and west on Lawrence Avenue back to the park.

“It’s the same route every year,” said Nilani Logeswaran, media liaison for the CTC. “CTC found that holding the walk around this time was ideal; people are more engaged and the weather is great.”

The CTC is a non-profit organization serving the needs of Tamil-Canadians.

It expects the walk to be a “community engagement opportunity.” As the Tamil community in Scarborough is growing in numbers, the CTC believes its community involvement is also growing.

“Canada is a wonderful country,” said Poopalapillai. “We (Tamil-Canadians) have received so much from this country, now we want to give something back.”

Poopalapillai said that social responsibility is an important, fundamental Canadian value and that Tamil-Canadians should do their part to be socially responsible. CTC anticipates the participation of a thousand Tamil-Canadians from Scarborough in the walk.

The walk takes place at Thomson Park on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m and will feature speeches, food and activities for participants. One hundred per cent of proceeds will go to the Heart & Stroke Foundation.

Thomson Park is located at 1005 Brimley Rd.

For more information visit www.tamilcanadianwalk.com