A Madelinot is currently completing a bike ride of nearly 2,500 kilometers for the benefit of Opération Enfant Soleil.
Jean-Yves Lebreux of Havre-Aubert, retired ex-clerk of the municipality of Îles-de-la-Madeleine, had initiated his 1G 2P project, or One Guy Two Pedals, last year, in order to realize a dream personal athlete while contributing to the cause of sick children. However, he had to postpone it due to the pandemic.
His journey, which he began on June 2 in Rouyn-Noranda, in Abitibi, and which will end Thursday evening when he arrives in Cap-aux-Meules aboard the ferry, will have allowed him to raise nearly $22,000. . “Operation Enfant Soleil is the largest chain of solidarity in Quebec, argues Mr. Lebreux. And all donations collected are entirely donated to the organization. There are no [management] fees. And I do it with a good heart, to give hope to children.”
Joined Tuesday in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, on one of the three days of rest he has granted himself on a 30-day itinerary, the amateur cyclist said he was very impressed by the generosity of people. “People see us passing with the Opération Enfant Soleil jersey and, as they have heard about us on social media, on the radio, on TVA, they stop us to make donations. The donations have been added every day and that has given us fuel for the road!”
Jean-Yves Lebreux is accompanied by a sidekick, Mario Grondin de Bécancour. While he had already donated the money raised last year, in the amount of $11,000, he donated another portion of $5,500 during the Opération Enfant Soleil Telethon on Sunday, June 5. A ceremony will be organized upon his return to the archipelago, for the presentation of the balance collected.
It should be noted that the 2021 edition of Opération Enfant Soleil notably enabled the Center de santé et de services sociaux des Îles to acquire two pediatric wheelchairs, a helmet adapted to children for electroencephalogram examinations, as well as a phototherapy system for the early treatment of jaundice. The investments resulting from the 2022 edition, which resulted in a harvest of more than $150,415 in the archipelago, will be announced next spring.
