A&W Food Services announced that its Burgers to Beat MS campaign with the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada raised a record-breaking $1.75 million. Now in its eighth year, the campaign has raised close to $10 million, bringing Canada closer to a cure for this disease.
The campaign culminated on August 25 when $1 from every Teen Burger sold across the country was donated to help Canadians affected by multiple sclerosis (MS).
Canada has the highest rate of MS in the world, making it Canada’s disease. Funds raised by A&W’s operators, staff and guests support world-class MS research that is bringing us closer to a cure, and programs and services that help Canadians with MS live better lives until a cure is found.
“Burgers to Beat MS began as a small idea from a group of A&W operators who wanted to make a difference,” says Paul Hollands, chairman and CEO, A&W Food Services of Canada Inc.
“The campaign has been a remarkable success, year after year after year. To us, it’s about making a real difference, both in terms of research and therapies to find a cure and to help make life better for people who live with MS. I want to congratulate and thank everyone who helped make the 2016 Burgers to Beat MS campaign the most successful yet.”
Uniting Canadians from coast to coast in support of a great cause, all 861 A&W restaurants across the country hosted Burgers to Beat MS fundraising activities — many featuring A&W Root Beer float stands, music, and games.
In addition to buying Teen Burgers, supporters donated through rounding up their bill at the register, purchasing $2 paper cutouts, and giving through in-store donation mugs —all of which went towards supporting people touched by MS. A&W also donated $20,000 to the MS Society for the 20,000 shares on Facebook that the Burgers to Beat MS online video, featuring A&W spokesperson Allen, received.
For a fourth year in a row, a Grande Prairie A&W restaurant was the top fundraising restaurant in Canada, raising more than $44,000 in 2016.
Canadians also showed their support online using #BurgersToBeatMS on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and using A&W’s national Snapchat filter, which was available to all Canadians on August 25.
“Our partnership with A&W, its employees, and its guests, have enabled the MS Society to make an impact in the lives of people affected by MS,” said Yves Savoie, president and CEO, MS Society of Canada. “These efforts make possible the crucial information people seek when they are diagnosed, the support and services in communities from coast to coast, and the research that is fueling life-changing treatments, and will ultimately lead to a cure.”
“I could not be prouder of Burgers to Beat MS, a campaign that unites the country and raises important funds as we work to end Canada’s disease.”
MS is one of the most common neurological diseases among young adults, attacking the central nervous system, and affecting vision, memory, balance and mobility. Most commonly diagnosed in individuals aged 15 – 40, early in the disease, people often experience temporary episodes of worsening symptoms accompanied by active inflammation in the brain (called relapses), whereas later on, disease progression is inevitable.
