Find your cause: Camp Misquah celebrates Westboro bus crash survivor in first virtual Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend

For the past five years, Camp Misquah, a non-profit summer residential camp experience for adults and youth with developmental disabilities has been rallying groups to participate in Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend. This year was no different as the Camp Misquah team participated in the first-ever virtual edition of Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend, winning first place for the largest average amount raised per fundraiser in the Scotiabank Charity Challenge.

While Camp Misquah participates for the joy of the run, the race weekend also serves as their primary fundraising event and a critical piece in supporting their camp and campers, raising $140+ thousand over the last five years. While this year’s virtual format brought its challenges to their traditional fundraising approach, Camp Misquah still did what they could to make the most of the event. 

“It was tough as we lost the joy of the weekend, but we replaced some of it with a really precious event. Elizabeth Langan, one of our campers, ran her race on her 27th birthday outside her grandmother’s senior home with the Misquah Moose [the camp’s mascot],” says Mark Wigmore, Executive Director of the camp. 

In January 2019, Liz Langan was one of the passengers in the tragic Westboro bus crash that killed three passengers and injured many more. This year, Langan ran the Ottawa 2K, helping raise money for the camp and give camp members something to get excited about, especially since Covid closed down the camp this year. 

“Camp Misquah is an awesome story, but each year there is a super awesome story that motivates us to fundraise. This year, it was Liz Langan. Normally, we see Race Weekend as a great way to rally our donors and to find new ones,” says Wigmore.

While the virtual event meant losing some runners for Camp Misquah, they found a great cause and member of their community to rally behind, helping the camp with their fundraising efforts. 

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