Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Fundraising

Photo: Bruce Hallihan/The Daily Gleaner

Wendell Betts of Fredericton raised $5,000 for the New Brunswick Lung Association with his First Annual Walk The Bridges event on Sunday, May 21, 2017.

Walk The Bridges is a new DIY fundraiser for NB Lung. Third party fundraising is an activity organized by an individual, company or community group for a charity’s benefit. When you organize a diy event, you’re not only raising money to support NB Lung and our mission and giving us more time to devote to our work for lung health, but also raising awareness about us and the important work that we do for lung health and better breathing in New Brunswick.

Wendell, 63, is one of more than a million Canadians dealing with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) which affects about 57,000 New Brunswickers. Four years ago, Wendell would never have dreamed of completing the nearly 6 km walk across both the Bill Thorpe Walking Bridge and the Westmorland Bridge in the hour and 15 minutes it took him on May 21.

In 2013, Wendell’s lung capacity was at only 23 per cent. He describes the sensation as trying to breathe through a coffee stir stick. He was on oxygen 24 hours a day, and his pulmonary doctor warned that his next illness could leave him on a breathing machine for the rest of his life, or dead.

Four years later, through diet and exercise, Wendell has increased his lung capacity to 40 per cent. That’s an impressive feat – it’s why we call him our COPD Warrior – but for Wendell, and for all COPD sufferers, breathing still does not come easy.

“Wendell is an inspiration to us all,” NB Lung CEO Barb MacKinnon said. “It’s very important to give hope to people who have COPD.”

Wendell trained on a treadmill all winter in order to join 45 other fundraisers on his Walk The Bridges event. It’s something Wendell plans to do every Victoria Day Weekend from now on, and it means so much to us.

Download our DIY fundraiser toolkit for information on planning your own diy fundraiser, and join the ranks of people like Wendell Betts, making a difference for lung health in New Brunswick!