Courage Brothers’ 2010 Polar Bear Dip to Benefit World Vision Canada; Solamatrix Sponsors the Event
December 17th, 2009 by Editor
On January 1, 2010 roughly 5000 spectators will watch nearly 500 people take a plunge into the frigid Lake Ontario. This is all part of the annual Courage Brothers’ Polar Bear Dip in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, a charitable event organized by brothers Todd and Trent Courage, owners of Courage Distributing. All net proceeds will be donated to World Vision Canada to help provide a dependable source of clean water for the people of Kahi in the Umutara region of Rwanda.
“Courage Distributing is one of our closest business partners and we are happy to support Todd and Trent along with the many volunteers that work tirelessly to help those in need,” says Angie Howard, Solamatrix marketing communications manager.
With more than $420,000 raised to date, the goal of this year’s event is to raise more than $60,000. The money will be utilized by World Vision Canada to drill new wells and build reservoirs for the people of Kahi, Rwanda. Due to persistent droughts in the Umutara region of Rwanda, the majority of the population has been left without reliable access to safe water. According to a recent survey, two thirds of the population relies on contaminated water collected from shallow hand-dug wells, swamps and ponds. As a result, hundreds of children regularly suffer from recurring water-borne diseases.
This past summer, Todd and Trent Courage had the opportunity to visit Rwanda and see first hand how the money raised from the Polar Bear Dip is impacting so many lives by providing clean, disease-free sources of water for the residents of Kahi.
“In North America, it’s all about convenience, as we can access clean water with ease — a mere turn of a tap or twist of a cap – but in Rwanda, accessing clean water is all about survival,” says Todd Courage. “Everyday, every child devotes large chunks of time walking miles to waterholes (waterholes that are often polluted), because they simply have no other choice. It is good to see that our efforts are making a difference, but so much more needs to be done.”
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