Leon's is sponsoring the red lighting of the Saamis Tepee this month to raise awareness and money for Multiple Sclerosis.--SUBMITTED PHOTO
ktaniguchi@medicinehatnews.com@@kellentaniguchi
The Saamis Tepee has been projecting the colour red in the Medicine Hat skyline this month as Leon’s is sponsoring its lighting in support of Multiple Sclerosis.
May is MS awareness month and in Canada red is the colour people wear to raise awareness for the central nervous system disease.
Leon’s has been a sponsor for the MS walk for years and since the walk is taking place virtually for the second year in a row, the company decided to help out by lighting the teepee – a vision that Beth Patton Collier of the MS society of Canada’s southeastern Alberta chapter had, says Trina Towner, Leon’s general manager.
“We’ve been part of the MS walk for quite a few years now. I’ve volunteered for the last three or four years and we’ve been putting in a team to walk in the MS walk for the last few years as well,” said Towner. “MS is near and dear to my heart, I have some really good friends who have MS and we’ve also had some past staff members that have MS, so it’s kind of an important cause in our hearts.”
Towner says she just wants people to be aware of MS because there’s more people living with the disease than we realize. She adds the lighting of the teepee will hopefully bring more awareness to the walk this year which raises funds for the MS Society of Canada.
People drive by the Saamis Tepee daily and it’s a significant landmark for the Hat, says Towner, which is why having it turn red can reach a lot of people.
“I just want people to be aware of MS and the impact it has on people’s lives and how we can support such a great cause in our community and we just like to give back, that’s important to us at Leon’s to give back to the community in one way or another,” she said.
With the MS walk taking place virtually this year, participants can walk whenever they have time and Towner says the Leon’s team will be doing its five kilometre walk on Saturday night.
Towner says you can still register for this year’s walk by searching MS walk 2021 on Google. She adds you can register and donate online to support people with MS.
“The money stays local when you donate here and it’s really important because there’s people here who need it, people with MS, that need support in different things like aids of daily living and different things that they may need,” said Towner.
