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RICHARD MUIR: Businessman donated up to $20,0000 to charity, at first anonymously. VILLAGEMNT 5 SA ---‘ .- SE NTRA 2.0 THE zoos NISSAN 4" Waste-WM M23 2003 4000 Hwy. 7, Markham (.05) 47773337 WWw.villagentuan.com The Concord business- man says he wanted to help the Jennifer Ashleigh Chil- dren’s Charity, an organiza-v tion with roots in Stouflville, anonymously when he pledged to match up to $20,000 in donations in the month ahead. But the charity asked Mr. Muir, owner of Muir's Cart- age, to reveal his name in order to give the campaign a ,But it’s worth giving up his anonymity to raise money for a charity he thinks is inrpor- tant, because it helps children when the system can't and whose parents are unable to, Muir added. That is the mission at len- nifer Ashleigh, to help par- ents pay for illness-related expenses when they have no other way to do so. The decision to match BY any cmssnn Staff Writer When it comes to his sup; port of charity, Richard Muir would rather you not even know his name. ' Kjg§yillb¢nefit from $20,000 challenge ,But it’s worth giving up his anonymity to raise money for a charity he thinks is inipor- tant, because it helps children when the system can’t and whose parents are unable to. Muir added. higher profile “It took a lot of soul- searching to be OK with that.” ,the Uxbridge resident said.ng he’saprivate pardon. “Oh average, assistance to The'plfta worked. “ 20chfldrenisdclayedevery “'I‘hlswthefirstnmeever month because IACC cur- Eat it malSAnannounced 31; d 'tha th funds WW0 ’thaveeno “may oesn W e mopey,” Muir explamed' . mum The idea took shape for Mr. Muir in May While attending the Jennifer Ash- leigh annual auction and dancein Markham. wherehe heard about how the charity faces financial shortfalls. Stoufiville's Sandy Schell hope to help these children in time, but more often than not it takes several months. We, know timing is critical for the children to receive the assistance, and it breaks our heart to delay it, but there is Kennedy, a senior foundation just not enough money to go volunteer, broke the news, around." The idea took shape for Mr. Muir in May while attending the Jennifer Ash- leigh annual auction and dancein Markham, wherehe heard about how the charity faces financial shortfalls. donations was a “from-the- heart kind of Scenario.” he SHIFT. That’s why he is willing to go so far to inspire others to pull out their cheque books. He'll match all donations made in this challenge, up to CALL 1-877-516-3715 for infonnation about a program near you mwmmmuamymmmemTM “So whenâ€"the; child out- grows the suit, what do the parents do?" Mr. Muir asked. In another example, he spoke of a young bum victim who required a bum suit, but the hospita] was only able to one per year. She turned to Jennifer Ashleigh for help to renovate their house to make it more accessible. “Ifwe could do something to help them, we should be stepping up to the plate and helping them," he said. “MILES ASSISTED Giving some examples of cases that touched his heart, Mr. Muir said he heard one women speak of how she was helped by Jennifer Ashleigh. She had multiple sclerosis and had adopted children with the same con- dition. Mr. Muir wants t6 prevent situations like this. She gave an example of a familyin need of$l,200 to pay for a child's therapy, but only $800 could be granted. The gap between availâ€" able money and applications means the charity has to “thin out our assistance to every family,” Ms Sleep said. The charity now has 53 families on their waiting list and is at least $20,000 short, on average, per month, she lane Sleep, Jennifer Ash- leigh’s executive director, explained the shortfall is due to sevetal factoxs, including increased awaieness of the charity, and rising demand from families needing assis- tance for treatment for autis- tic children Join us at the ABC All Babies Count Prenatal Nutrition Program to meet the demand." the for- mer Whitchurch-Stoufl’ville citing) of the year said. - Prepare 8. eat a healthy meal 0 Learn about healthy eating for yourself your baby 0 Meet other prenatal women in a supportive relaxed environment Are you having a baby? That's also the place you can find a lot more informa- tion about the charity and the people it helps. You can also donate through the chan'ty’s website at IgnniferAshlejgh.org If you want to donate ,you can mail contribu- tions to 10800 Concession 5, Uxbridge, Ontario, L9P 1R1. Indicate the donation is in response to Richard Muir’s Challenge. Mr. Muir’s challenge “is absolutely wonderful. It’s very heart-warming. It's very encouraging. It keeps us all hopeful”, Ms Sleep said. “Through IACC, almost all of the money goes to the kids and the number of vol- unteers (who work with the charity) is incredible. It’s A, a wonderful place and B, there are a lot of kids out there that just need the help." $29,990, before July 31. His own kindness to others range from assisting street childten in sponsoring dmg and alcohol rehabilita- tion progams, to his annual Stoufiville Christmas dinner for the community The mission of the Jennifer Ashleigr Children's Charity is to improve the quality of life for seriously ill children and their families “when love is not enough.” Stoufiville Country Market owner Norm Clements estatr lished the charity in 1990 in memory of his granddaughter, Jennifer Ashleigh Clements. The Stoufiville gn died at age six months from a degenera- tive, muscular disease. Her younger sister, Danica, died in infancy of the same illness two years later. Mr. Clements created his first sporting goods company in 1968 working from the trunk of his car. That oom- parry evolved into 18 National Sports stores across southern Ontario. In January 2005, National Sports was sold to Forzani Group ltd. Charity comes honestly to the Uxbridge resident His brothers and sister served as mis- sionaries in Africa and South doafllloadto chaflty'sblrm jenniferashleighfoundation.ca Source