SEE VIDEO http://www.ottawasun.com/news/ottawa/2010/11/15/16156091.html
Generosity took centre stage at the Chateau Laurier Monday night during the 16th Annual Philanthropy Awards.
“This is an opportunity for the Association of Fundraising Professionals here in Ottawa to recognize some outstanding donors in our community,” said committee chair Norma Lamont.
They’re applauding people like 21-year-old Ryan Williams of Winchester, who has raised more than $300, 000 for the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Foundation.
“I first started — I was about 8 years old. I was in public school, and I started sitting outside the hot lunch table collecting change,” he said.
A former patient, Williams said when he was 12 he was upset about having to leave the hospital for a procedure in Boston and decided to raise money for new equipment.
The Ryan Williams Fund was born.
His first event was a charity hockey game in Winchester, where Ottawa Senators alumni played local doctors.
“We raised just over $10, 000 and after that moment I was instantly hooked on the feeling I had from fundraising,” he said.
Fred Bartlett, the president and CEO of the CHEO Foundation is happy to see Williams being honoured.
“Really, somebody like Ryan, we need to clone. He is an incredible young man and great example to all of the people in Ottawa,” Bartlett said. “Even people like myself. I look up to him.”
Other winners include Roger Greenberg; Tereza Top; Maplesoft Group; bitHeads; and Algonquin College Event Management students and faculty.
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Kelly Roche - Storyteller 