Rachèle Champagne - the Driver behind the Convoy for the Cure - Honoured at
the 3rd Annual Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation - Ontario Region Volunteer
Awards Ceremony

TORONTO, April 18 /CNW/ - Rachèle Champagne is a woman on a mission. Friends say that not a day goes by that the spirited, 5 foot 4 inch, Gatineau-based mother of two teenagers, who drives an 18-wheeler on Interstate 87 between home and North Carolina for a living, is not thinking up new ways to raise awareness of breast cancer and the work being done by the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation - Ontario Region.

That is why she was honoured with the 2010 Outstanding Volunteer Award as part of the 3rd Annual Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation - Ontario Region Volunteer Awards Ceremony that took place today, Sunday, April 18th, in Toronto. This award is given to volunteers who show a tremendous commitment to the Foundation's mission, vision, and values.

Rachèle is the driving force behind Convoy for a Cure, Canada's first all-female fundraising convoy that first hit the road in October 2008 with 29 female drivers in 29 trucks, raising more than $10,000 in support of the Foundation. In just two years, convoys have been launched in New Brunswick, Alberta, and Texas. And word is spreading. According to Rachèle, she's just getting started. This year, she's hoping for "at least 100 trucks."

The Foundation was started in 1986 by a group of volunteers and it remains a volunteer-led organization. The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure, the Foundation's signature event, is the largest, single-day, volunteer-led event in support of breast cancer in Canada, uniting more than 70,000 participants and 6,000 volunteers in Ontario alone.

"This disease touches thousands of women and their families every year," says Sandra Palmaro, CEO of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation - Ontario Region. "The depth and breadth of our volunteer commitment demonstrates the importance and pervasiveness of the cause."

The Volunteer Awards Ceremony is held in recognition of National Volunteer Week, but the success of Foundation volunteers is evident year round. Because of the contribution of time and skill of these individuals and the dedication to the cause they inspire in others, incredible advances in breast cancer research are being made possible.

"Progress in our lifetime is more than possible - it's proven," adds Palmaro. "Real change is happening - change that is saving and improving lives. This is the day we thank our volunteers and acknowledge their extraordinary contributions to our goal of creating a future without breast cancer. We can't thank them enough."

The Foundation's Ontario Region was proud to recognize these distinguished volunteers as winners at the 3rd Annual Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation - Ontario Region Volunteer Awards Ceremony. Thanks to their efforts and those of others like them, the Foundation can continue to work towards creating a future without breast cancer.

The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation was founded in 1986 as the first organization in the country devoted exclusively to the funding of breast cancer research, education and awareness initiatives. The Foundation continues to blaze new trails in breast cancer and breast health by directing donor dollars to world-class researchers and clinicians who are contributing to groundbreaking progress in breast cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care. Since 2000, the Foundation has directed more than $68 million to the cause in Ontario alone as a result of fundraising initiatives like our signature event the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure, hundreds of thousands of donors and the efforts of a committed volunteer network numbering in the thousands.

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