News

The Gift: $45,000 and climbing The Cause: The Canadian Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Foundation

The Reason: To finance research into allergies A few months before her 13th birthday, Sophie Nisker decided to embark on a fundraising cause in honour of her bat mitzvah.

She had participated in a few fundraising walks and runs and thought about doing something similar. Because she and her younger brother and sister all have allergies, raising money for allergy research seemed like an appropriate cause.

Together with her parents, Karen and Lawrence, Sophie organized a three-kilometre walk through a ravine near the family's home in Toronto. She called it "The Walk to Axe Anaphylaxis" and scheduled it for her birthday, Oct. 18. She and her parents thought if they were lucky they might raise $7,000.

"It was just something close to me," Sophie said, "and I thought we would just get family and friends."

Instead, about 150 people showed up and the family raised $45,000, which went to a special fund at the Hospital for Sick Children Foundation.

"All of sudden people we didn't even know signed up," she said. "It was crazy. We were overwhelmed."

Her mother said the event seemed to have struck a nerve: "We didn't even realize that what we were doing was filling a need in the community. As people heard about it, it spread like wildfire."

The family was so taken by the response that Sophie plans to hold another walk next year.

This time the money will be donated to the Canadian Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Foundation, which finances research into the causes, prevention and treatment of allergic diseases.

"People were so emotional about it, we feel 'how can we not do it again?' " Karen Lawrence said.

Sophie is already working on next year's walk, which she hopes to hold on the same date.

"A lot of people are suffering [from allergies]," she said. "It's affecting them in their daily lives." pwaldie@globeandmail.com