FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 25, 2012

Step by Step. Stride by Stride.
Walk with the Dragon returns to Stanley Park

Vancouver, BC – One of the most popular and enduring fundraising events held in scenic Stanley Park returns for its 27th year.  The 2012 S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Walk with the Dragon, taking helm by returning Co-Chairs, Sing Lim Yeo and Julie Liu, returns to Lumbermen’s Arch, Stanley Park on Sunday, July 15, 2012. 

Organized by S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Foundation, the fundraising arm of S.U.C.C.E.S.S., Walk with the Dragon in its 26 year history has been visited by over half a million people and raised closed to $10 million for social services. The 100-foot-long S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Dragon is poised again to lead individual walkers and teams on a 7-km journey around the famed Stanley Park seawall with one purpose in mind; and that is to raise funds for S.U.C.C.E.S.S. programs and services that lack sufficient government funding. 

In 2011, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. provided over 180,000 client-services in the Metro Vancouver communities.  Approximately 70% of the S.U.C.C.E.S.S. annual operating budget derives from various levels of government funding and the remaining 30% relies on the Foundation’s annual fundraising events, such as the Bridge to S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Gala, Walk with the Dragon, and Charity Golf Tournament; and S.U.C.C.E.S.S. program revenue and donations

“This should be a particularly promising year for Walk with the Dragon because this is also the Year of the Dragon for the Lunar New Year Zodiac.  This happens only once every 12 years.  The double dragon is a happy omen for Walk 2012,” said Maggie Ip, Chair of S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Foundation. 

“Through sponsorships and pledge collection, we have set our fundraising goal at $450,000.  The proceeds will pave way for and enhance on S.U.C.C.E.S.S. services and programs that otherwise would not be possible for those in need in the Metro Vancouver communities.  Programs such as the Youth Leadership Millennium and the Chinese Help Lines are fine examples and successes,” said Yeo and Liu.

Each year, parents bring their kids in tow to Lumbermen’s Arch to enjoy a day of outing and activities.  With this mind, a new element was added to this year’s Walk.  “Since children’s imagination is boundless.  We thought what a good idea it would be to organize a children’s drawing contest with Walk with the Dragon as the theme,” said Fannie Mao Guterres, Chair of the Walk with the Dragon Children’s Drawing Contest. The contest will be held on June 17 and the award ceremony will take place at the Walk. One of the winning drawings has the opportunity to be used as the t-shirt design for the 2013 S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Walk with the Dragon. 

Ms. Jane Peverett, Vice Chair of the United Way of the Lower Mainland lauded Walk with the Dragon’s enduring impact on the Metro Vancouver communities and the longstanding partnership United Way of the Lower Mainland has with S.U.C.C.E.S.S.

Major sponsors of the Walk including Official T-shirt Sponsor, HSBC; Starting Line Sponsor, BMO Bank of Montreal; Water Stations Sponsor, Vancity; and Official Airline Sponsor, Air Canada, appeal to the community to give generously to the Walk via donations or pledges and to join them for the festivities on July 15.

Because of YOU, WE can….. Making a pledge or donating to the Walk is a simple process that can be done at www.successfoundation.ca/walk2011/.  Pledge forms are also available at all S.U.C.C.E.S.S. offices and selected branches of major financial institutions, including BMO Bank of Montreal, CIBC, HSBC Bank Canada, RBC Royal Bank, Scotiabank, TD Canada Trust and Vancity.

About S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Foundation
S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Foundation, incorporated in December 2001, is a charitable foundation responsible for raising funds for S.U.C.C.E.S.S. and its affiliated organizations to support their mandates for the betterment of the community. For more details, please visit: http://www.successfoundation.ca/.

About S.U.C.C.E.S.S.
Established in 1973, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. is one of the largest social service agencies in British Columbia. It is a charitable organization providing services in settlement, language training, employment, family and youth counselling, business and economic development, health care, housing and community development. For more details, please visit: http://www.success.bc.ca/

Your support gives
Youths a chance to make a difference in the future,
Seniors a sense of belonging and love,
Women a sense of accomplishment and independence,
Families a sense of happiness and support.

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