Just some additional notes about the 2010 Barrhaven Run for Roger's House:
- Approximately 11,000 participants entered the 2.5, 5, and 10k races.
- Over $17,000 was raised for Roger's House.
As well, in the following video, event organizer Rob Raistrick mentioned the story of the Ottos and their daughter Maddy.
Here is their story, which ran in the Feb. 25 edition of the Barrhaven-Ottawa South This Week:
Maddy may
be gone but her family is doing anything they can to preserve her memory.
Barrhaven
residents Jeanine and Dean Otto hosted the third annual Maddy’s Gala at the
Crowne Plaza Hotel on Feb. 13 to remember the life of their five-year-old daughter
Madison, who died suddenly in July 2007 from an inoperable brain tumour.
“After she
died, I had so many friends come to me,” Jeanine said. “That’s when we just
really decided to give back and try to keep her memory alive and her spirit
alive.”
Maddy’s
Gala has been growing steadily since.
When the
event first started in 2008, nearly 100 people attended with approximately
$10,000 worth of prized auditioned off to the crowd. All proceeds have gone to
Roger’s House – the care centre where Madison
died.
This year,
numbers grew to almost 140 and $30,000 respectively, mostly through word of
mouth and cold calling sponsors.
The 2010
event marked the first time the family coordinated their efforts through the
Sens Foundation, with $25,000 being raised to support Roger’s House.
“I think
honestly if we raised $2 every year, I would still do it because it’s just
keeping her name alive,” Jeanine said.
“The night
went off without a hitch,” Dean added. “Everybody we talked too, they all had a
great time and said they would attend again next year.”
The most
touching moment of the night was the kick off.
The Otto’s
other daughter Hannah, 9, made a speech to the crowd, thanking them for coming.
“It was the
first year we introduced Hannah to the gala,” Dean said. “We will definitely
keep bringing her every year because we want to get her used to it so she’ll
take over.”
For event
organizer Laurie Waara, having the event is important not only to respect
Maddy, but to help out a worthy cause – one she knew little about before Maddy
got sick.
“I’m glad
that I know what Roger’s House is,” Waara said. “I’m just sad that I had to
know the way I did. Now we just want more people to know what it is without
needing it.
“A lot of
people were touched by the Otto family and their huge circle of friends and the
amount of people that care and love and are sad to have lost Maddy,” Waara said.
As a former
neighbour of the Otto family in Blackburn Hamlet, Waara is one of those people.
While out
for a walk one day nearly seven years ago, when the Otto’s first moved to the
area, she noticed Maddy outside with Jeanine. Because her daughter Madisyn was
born just two months before Maddy, the families became “instant friends” – a
relationship that has only grown stronger.
“When
something like this happens, you become bonded forever,” Waara said. “We’re
more like sisters, I would say, than friends.”
Now that
this year’s gala has wrapped up, the Waara is excited to get going for 2011.
“It was so
bittersweet that the day had come for the gala,” she said. “When it’s over you
just want to start again. It’s a very rewarding process when you see it all
come together.”
Through the
gala and a garden that was planted at Jockvale Elementary School,
where she went, Maddy continues to live on.
“She was a
vibrant, crazy, little five-year-old,” Jeanine said. “Everybody that met her
remembered her, but now she’s more alive than ever. To think what we’re doing
in her memory is just unbelievable.”
daniel.bowman@metroland.com