The Andy Fund Lives On!!

     “The Andy Fund of Kingston will live on!”, the audience was assured.  It was on April 15, at the group’s last fund-raising event, the Great Furniture Revival.  The Founding President, Ruth George, was telling supporters that The Andy Fund of Kingston Endowment Fund had already been created within the Community Foundation for Kingston & Area.  The well-known volunteer group was retiring after nearly a quarter century of raising funds for cancer-related projects, she explained, but this work would be continued by this donor-designated fund, because the interest would benefit The Children’s Cancer Fund at the Cancer Centre of Eastern Ontario at KGH.
     The Andy Fund had been established back in 1986 when a group of friends rallied around Ruth George to raise money for leukemia research, in memory of the Georges’ son Andy who had died of leukemia in 1983.  It started small but quickly evolved into an energetic and active group with fund-raising efforts that grew in size and success as the years went by.
     The most well-known fund-raising efforts were centred around Christmas.  The first Andy Fund Christmas card in 1986, was designed by a child (as were all the subsequent cards).  Over the years, the organization has sold over 200,000 Christmas cards.  A few years after the first Andy Fund cards went on sale, its Christmas Shop, which would become another Kingston tradition, was established.  At the beginning it lasted for several weeks, but that evolved, too.  The final one was held last Christmas.  It lasted for only one busy day but in that short time netted over $14,000.
     Many other ways of raising funds continued:  tag days, raffles, boat cruises, a performance of the Air Farce at the Grand Theatre and an auction of artist-decorated papier-mâché bowls.  Events were always fun, and volunteers had fun organizing them.   Later a connection with the running world was established with “Team Andy” made up of athletes who competed in running events and triathlons, raising money for the Andy Fund at the same time by soliciting sponsorships.  The ever-generous Davies family donated the proceeds of the horse trials they held for several years at Hawkridge Farm, and Andy Fund members enthusiastically volunteered to do everything from directing parking traffic to acting as judges at the cross-country jumps.
     A signature event was the Great Furniture Revival, culminating in the fourth one, the Andy Fund’s “last triumphant fund-raising event”, which has just taken place.  As always, it was a matter of a big idea, followed by hard work, attention to detail -- and fun.  Volunteers collected old pieces of furniture, solicited by donation or found in yard sales, and some of Kingston’s most talented artists agreed to decorate.  The auction of all these one-of-a-kind items attracted a big crowd, wanting to support The Andy Fund of Kingston as it retired from active fund-raising.
     However, it will still continue to provide help for families affected by cancer.  The Andy Fund has established a donor-designated fund within the Community Foundation for Kingston & Area.  It is called The Andy Fund of Kingston Endowment Fund and the capital in it has already reached $61,185.  The interest will go to The Children’s Cancer Fund at the Cancer Centre for Eastern Ontario at Kingston General Hospital. This fund makes assistance available to families faced with unexpected expenses (medication, travelling, baby-sitting for siblings, etc. ) that occur when a child is diagnosed with cancer.   The retiring Andy Fund volunteers hope that their long-standing supporters will remember this fund when they suggest memorial donations or wish to continue to support the excellent work that The Andy Fund has done in Kingston for nearly a quarter of a century.