How do you raise awareness and funds for a great cause? If you are Mario Loranger of RE/MAX Escarpment Realty Inc., you climb stairs. The Wentworth stairs. Fifty times in one day. In the rain.
It took Mario 10 hours and 48 minutes to complete his 25,000 Stair Climb on June 9, 2012, and for his efforts he raised over $1,200 for Beginnings Family Services.
Beginnings Family Services is an agency that offers counseling and support for young women who face an unplanned pregnancy; it also offers adoption services. Mario and his wife Pat became part of the Beginnings family when they adopted two children through the agency. Mario now sits on the Board of the Beginnings Foundation, where his focus is raising funds for the agency to continue its work.
Being on the Board wasn’t enough for Mario – he decided to get more personally involved and raise funds himself by going back to his old fitness routine of 15 years ago – climbing the Wentworth stairs. This time, he trained with one goal in mind: climbing the stairs 50 times in one day to raise awareness of and funds for Beginnings Family Services.
Mario says that the support he received from his office, friends and family while he trained and on climbing day was instrumental to his success in this endeavour. He noted in particular the help he received from Salesperson Christine Crooks – who supplied, free of charge, a protein supplement to keep Mario going during his stair climb – and ongoing support from Broker of Record Conrad Zurini.
Mario is already thinking about what will be his next fundraising event on behalf of Beginnings Family Services. He doesn’t have any details yet, but he’s pretty sure it will still involve climbing those stairs.
Pictured: Mario climbing the Wentworth Steps, courtesy of Beginnings Family Services’ Facebook Page.
