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Awesome Carleton cycling team raised $1600 for Parkinson’s research!

Friday, June 6, 2014

A team of Carleton cyclists and volunteers took part in the “Lap the Gats” event to raise money for Parkinson’s research on May 31st, and the team Lesioned Amygdalas raised $1600 before they fearlessly climbed those Gatineau hills! A big thanks goes out to everyone involved:

Cyclists: Kyla Vanderzwet (2 medals), Andrew DeChamplain (1 medal), Arielle Weir, Annie Jones, and Olivier Gilbert. All the Cyclists were from various departments around Carleton.

Volunteers: Co-chairs + Ulrich Makanda (Undergraduate Student in Neuroscience), Faisal Al-Yawer (Master of Neuroscience Graduate, Future Clinical Psychologist), Melissa and Larissa Gois Ardovini (Melissa is an Enrichment Mini-Course student who was very keen to become involved with neuroscience, mental health, and health promotion. Both Larissa and Marisa are keen to come to Carleton in the future). The Raven’s Rhythm Cheerleading Team also came to the event which was a highlight for everyone involved.

Fundraising: All cyclists conducted personal fundraising, however two events took place in areas outside Ottawa, through Fitness Corner and Fitness Corner South who donated proceedings from their event to our fundraising, located in Port Elgin. Additionally, another Pub Crawl event donated their proceeds to our team (both arranged by Kyla Vanderzwet).

Community Support: Parachute Canada donated materials toward our Concussion Awareness, and the Parkinson Society of Eastern Ontario donated materials toward Parkinson Awareness. Three of the volunteers also came with specialized knowledge to talk about (1) Optimal Diet and Sport Performance (Ulrich Makanda) (2) Benefits of Stress and Exercise (Faisal Al-Yawer)  (3) Parkinson’s disease  research  at Carleton University (Nazneen Rustom).

Last but not least, the Department of Neuroscience at Carleton. Neuroscience is very much at the forefront of amazing innovation for people affected by mental health and neurological conditions. There is an incredible amount of talent amongst the faculty and students within the Department.

To learn more about Lap the Gats, visit their website.