The event is in support of the community social pediatrics movement
Montreal, May 22, 2015 – It is with great enthusiasm and pride that executive management and staff at ACCEO, a Canadian leader in information technology and business solutions for SMBs, are once again joining forces with the community social pediatrics movement and the Fondation du Dr Julien to organize the Course pour les enfants ACCEO (ACCEO Race for the Children), a relay race between Québec and Montreal which is taking place on September 12.
For over three years now, ACCEO has been coordinating a fundraising challenge to promote the cause of community-based social pediatrics and help fledgling social pediatrics centres across the province of Quebec. Three years ago, several volunteers climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds for the centre in Haute-Gaspésie; and for the past two years, an ever-growing group has been participating in a relay race between Québec and Montreal. “Businesses have a duty to be involved in their community,” says Gilles Létourneau, president of ACCEO. “I’ve been taking part in the Guignolée du Dr Julien in a personal capacity for a long time, and it’s a cause which is particularly important to me. The community social pediatrics movement is central to ACCEO’s philanthropic activities; so much so that several members of our executive management team and I will be at the race this year.”
This year, more than 140 runners will be covering different sections along the 200-plus kilometres of the race. Race participants will include not only employees and friends of ACCEO, but also representatives from a dozen or so community social pediatrics centres (CSPCs) throughout Quebec. The objective is to collect at least $100 000, which will largely go toward the development of the Main dans la Main CSPC in Cowansville, which opened its doors in 2014. This will give the area’s neediest children a chance to reach their full potential. “I’m happy to see businesses like ACCEO and its employees mobilize to improve the lot of vulnerable children in Quebec. Thanks to their generosity, the Main dans la Main CSPC will expand, develop its integrated law component, based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and criss-cross the Brome-Missisquoi RCM with its mobile clinic in order to deliver its services directly to the children that need them,” explains Maître Ysabelle Proulx, lawyer, family mediator, and the founder and general director of the CSPC. All participating centres will also receive a portion of the amount collected.
This year’s race will feature an exciting new component. Joan Roch, an ultramarathon runner and ACCEO employee, will be running the entire distance between Québec and Montreal non-stop; this means that he will be running in excess of 200 km in little more than 24 hours – the equivalent of five consecutive marathons. All the participants in the race, which begins at the ACCEO office in Québec and follows Route 138, will finally meet up at Dr Julien’s CSPC in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve for a big celebration at the end of the race. Runners and volunteers interested in joining this very special event can register on the website: course.acceo.com.
About the Fondation du Dr Julien
The Fondation du Dr Julien is a charitable organization which, in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, aims to give all children in vulnerable environments the chance to realize their full potential. Every year, it provides direct services to more than 2000 vulnerable children and their families through its two community social pediatrics centres and its Garage à musique music workshop. It also invests in the dissemination of knowledge among students, professionals in a variety of fields, and the community in order to influence practices in vulnerable populations. It supports community-based social pediatrics in the country and elsewhere in the world.
About ACCEO Solutions Inc.
Leading Canadian IT company ACCEO specializes in the design, implementation, integration, and support of management software; e-business development; and payment, professional, and technical services. ACCEO, which is currently experiencing an active growth phase, boasts nearly 1000 employees, approximately 60 000 clients, and annual revenues exceeding $100 million. For more information, please go to www.acceo.com.
Information:
André Desjardins
Senior Marketing Manager, Shared Services
ACCEO Solutions Inc.
514 288-7161, Ext. 3586
[email protected]
Émilie Russo
Communications Advisor
Fondation du Dr Julien
514-527-3777, Ext. 253
[email protected]