Re: If not for yourself, exercise for others, June 3.
The Kielburger brothers recently offered many valid points in regard to the personal benefits of volunteering in their opinion piece, but I was struck by one sentence: “An act of selflessness might just be good for our health.”
I attended the annual memorial service hosted by the University of Ottawa Medical School, to which families of individuals who donated his/her body at death are thanked for the generosity of loved ones. My father, Frank Gagnon, died from ALS in May 1984 and this service had special significance. Over and over, medical school students eloquently thanked those who, in death became the first patients for young doctors; a brave and selfless act which helped future patients.
Saturday’s Ottawa Walk for ALS is the major fundraiser for the Ottawa ALS community, raising funds for research, and helping fund an equipment cupboard that is actively used by ALS clients and families — an excellent example of physical activity in support of a very worthwhile cause.
Fran Kelly, Manotick
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