Christian Vachon will race around Lake Memphremagog
(MAGOG) To give children a hand, athlete Christian Vachon is ready for anything. He indeed intends to repeat his feat of 2006 and race around Lake Memphremagog on September 27th. A loop of 123 kilometers to cover, nothing less!
Although he has aged a few years, this ultramarathoner will face an even longer course this year. The new loop he will tackle is 17 kilometers longer than the one in 2006, but that doesn't seem to make him very nervous.
Christian Vachon has decided to inflict this ordeal on himself for a second and last time in order to help the Foundation he started to launch a new sponsorship program that will benefit families in need.
Thanks to the new program of the Christian Vachon Foundation, people who want to can decide to sponsor a child attending a school in the region. The Sommets, Eastern Townships and Hauts-Cantons school boards are associated with the project.
Sponsors will give amounts of $600, 250 or $150, depending on the type of sponsorship chosen. In each case, a child will be financially supported for one year. Clothing and school materials will be given to all students selected, but extras will be added for some entitled to a more complete sponsorship.
"I had this project in mind for years, said Christian Vachon yesterday. This is the foundation's biggest project since the creation of the Relais du lac Memphrémagog.”
When announcing the program yesterday, the athlete became emotional when talking about the situation sometimes faced by children from less affluent families. “Many children do not have enough to eat at the start of the school year,” he said, his throat choked with emotion.
Principal of the Passerelle school in Asbestos, Chantal Landry praises the work of the Christian Vachon Foundation. “She is always available when we have needs,” she says. What we also like is that we are consulted when we need to prioritize children to help.”