About AndrewDunn.org

(Andrew Dunn Foundation Inc.)

Our Big Fundraising Event and Current Projects

AndrewDunn.org’s big annual event is our Andrew Dunn Walk/Run, held each year on the Saturday before Mother’s Day in Oakbank, Manitoba.

We support several mental health educational and awareness events.

The organization also supports and presents annual awards to deserving students: to a student from Springfield Middle School, to a student at Royal Elementary School in Charleswood, Manitoba (a good citizenship award), and to a student upon graduation from Springfield Collegiate Institute in Oakbank, Manitoba, with special consideration given to furthering their education in the area of mental health.

AndrewDunn.org and the Andrew Dunn Walk/Run are named in memory of a precious life that was lost to suicide. The naming of our organization does not in any way honor a death by suicide. Rather our name echoes the permanent sense of loss and the pain that is left behind in the wake of a suicide and inspires our organization members’ efforts to be a part of suicide awareness initiatives.

The Walk/Run History

The Andrew Dunn Walk/Run is a Saturday of the Mother’s Day weekend tradition in Oakbank, Manitoba.

AndrewDunn.org was co-founded in 2007 by Brenda Balinski and Judy Dunn with a St. Patrick’s Day social held to raise money to fund its first walk. That first Andrew Dunn Walk/Run was held on Mother’s Day in 2007 at Bird’s Hill Park, with over 100 people taking part.

By 2010, the run had relocated to the community of Oakbank, Manitoba. The date of the event was moved to the Saturday before Mother’s Day.

By 2019, the walk had raised a total of over $630,000. Over 500 participants now attend the annual event.

In June of 2020, we officially became a foundation, incorporated in Manitoba, Canada under the name of the “Andrew Dunn Foundation Inc.” Our goal is to continue to make a difference in how people perceive mental illness, and to increase public awareness of available resources and effective treatment. In September of 2020, we received notification from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) that the Andrew Dunn Foundation Inc. meets the requirement for tax exempt status as a registered charity under the Income Tax Act. This means that we can now issue our own tax receipts for donations made to us to help support our mission.