/R E P E A T -- The 10th Guignolée du Dr Julien, December 15th 2012: a Festive Tradition to Help Vulnerable Kids/

MONTREAL, Dec. 7, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - The 10^th Guignolée du Dr Julien, that will be held next December 15^th 2012, will celebrate a decade of popular support to the mission of the Fondation du Dr Julien. From 9 AM to 5 PM, people will be invited to join the festivities at the Assistance d'enfants en difficulté center, located in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, and give to improve the lives of Québec's vulnerable children and of their families.

"Each day I see young people whose rights are denied, whose parents are excluded and without resources. Public support is essential in order to keep helping these kids. A third of Quebec's children are living in vulnerable situations. This figure goes up to two-thirds of kids in neighbourhoods where our community social pediatrics centers are operating. Let us make this 10^th Guignolée du Dr Julien a success so that our kids have an equal opportunity to succeed and thrive every day of the year", explains Dr Gilles Julien, founder and president of the Fondation du Dr Julien.

"The Guignolée du Dr Julien has become a tradition we all look forward to participating in each year. It is an authentic event where people's hearts are at the center of celebrations. The work of Dr Julien and his teams is essential and we must keep on supporting it", says Christian Bégin, the Guignolée du Dr Julien's spokesperson.

"The Guignolée du Dr Julien's first edition brought some volunteers together on the corner of a Hochelaga-Maisonneuve street. Less than a decade later, 500 volunteers are now appealing to everybody's generosity. This support is very valuable and we are proud of it", says Ève Christian, cofounder and spokesperson of the Guignolée du Dr Julien.

Local Donation for Local Action

December 15th will also mark the Community Social Pediatrics Movement Day in Québec, an initiative supported by Dr Julien. Eleven community social pediatrics centers located elsewhere in Montréal (South-Center, Montréal-North, Saint-Laurent, and Verdun) and in the province (Berthierville, Gatineau, Laval, Lévis, Québec, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Trois-Rivières), will also be holding their annual Guignolée on this date. As those other centers are self-financed, locally collected funds will be used to support activities in their own communities. To find your local collection point, please visit the www.guignoleedrjulien.org.

Smile, it's the Guignolée du Dr Julien!

The Guignolée du Dr Julien will also be a time for celebration in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighbourhood next December 15^th. Families are invited to visit the AED Center located at 1600 Aylwin Street, at the corner of Adam Street, to discover all the services it provides. Various outdoor activities will also be part of the program: upbeat music with percussions and choirs, fire eaters, pony and horse-drawn carriage rides, street hockey games, and face painting for kids. The real Santa Claus will also be there to greet both kids and grown-ups! Another not-to-be-missed event will be the broadcast of "Samedi et Rien d'Autre", a Radio-Canada's Première Chaîne radio show hosted by Joël Le Bigot, live from the site from 7 AM to 11 AM.

Choirs and music will liven things up at Côte-des-Neiges where volunteers, including many Villa Sainte-Marcelline students, will collect donations in front of the Olivieri Bookstore (5219, chemin de la Côte-des-Neiges). Montréal public markets (Jean-Talon, Atwater and Maisonneuve Markets) will get into the Holiday spirit as well with various live musical performances.

To Make a Donation

On December 15th, volunteers will collect donations in Montréal streets and public markets. The Fondation du Dr Julien will also receive donations in kind (preferably new): books, toys, educational toys, art supplies, sporting equipment, clothes, cultural or sporting event tickets, gift-certificates, or musical instruments for the Garage à musique.

People can donate by phone at 1-855-Dr-Julien.

To give online or to see the list of collection points, please visit www.guignoleedrjulien.org.

About the Guignolée du Dr Julien

The Guignolée du Dr Julien collects donations for the Fondation du Dr Julien, a non-profit organization helping more than 2000 kids and their families through its two community social pediatrics centers, the Assistance d'enfants en difficulté (AED) in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and the Centre de services préventifs à l'enfance (CSPE) in Côte-des-Neiges. Services provided include medical, psychosocial, psycho-educational or educational intervention, as well as stimulation workshop for kids, support group meetings for parents, art therapy, ergotherapy, music therapy, and various other sport and cultural activities (summer camps, music courses, theatre, shows, etc.).

SOURCE: FONDATION DU DR JULIEN

Pictures and Interview Requests

Émilie Russo, Communication Agent for the Fondation du Dr Julien and for Ève Christian, Spokesperson for the Guignolée du Dr Julien: 514-528-8488, extension 253 / 514-707-2090.

Stéphanie Di Gregorio, Agence artistique Maxime Vanasse for Christian Bégin, spokesperson for the Guignolée du Dr Julien: 514-277-4842, extension 223.