Time to get your burger fix for a good cause, Canada, because A&W’s annual Burgers to Beat MS Day is returning for its 15th year. On August 17, A&W will donate $2 from every Teen Burger sold across the country to MS Canada to directly and positively impact Canadians living with multiple sclerosis (MS). Since its inception, Burgers to Beat MS has raised more than $19M, and to commemorate 15 years of the fundraiser, A&W is calling on all Canadians to help reach its 2023 goal of $2M.
Donations to MS Canada through Burgers to Beat MS can be made starting today. Visit BurgersToBeatMS.ca to donate and/or round up any purchase made at your local A&W restaurant.
Power Play to a World Free of MS
Canada has one of the highest rates of MS in the world, with over 90,000 Canadians living with this complex and unpredictable disease. One of them is Amber Brodie, wife of Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman, TJ Brodie, who was diagnosed with MS in 2016, after experiencing optic neuritis and losing feeling from her waist down.
“What first came as a shock is now a way of life; learning to live with this condition and how to find resilience and strength in conquering each day ahead. MS doesn’t define me, but it has changed my life,” says Amber.
“Since Amber’s diagnosis, we understand the toll MS can have on an individual and their family—we live it every day. In the past, we have partnered with MS Canada to help further its incredible research and are thrilled to now support one of its biggest fundraisers,” says TJ. “We invite all Canadians to enjoy a Teen Burger on Burgers to Beat MS Day and know that with every bite, you will help shape a world free of MS.”
On average 12 Canadians are diagnosed every day. MS alters the central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms of this often-debilitating disease include impaired sensation, vision loss and fatigue. The cause is not known and there is currently no cure, but each day, researchers working with MS Canada are learning more about the causes and zeroing in on prevention and management.
“The journey to a world free of MS wouldn’t be possible without our incredible partners. This year, we commemorate 15 years of the A&W Burgers to Beat MS fundraiser, which has proudly become our largest corporate fundraiser,” says Dr. Pamela Valentine, president and CEO of MS Canada. “The $19M in funds raised to date have supported world-class research programs, including advancing treatment and care, enhancing wellbeing, understanding and halting disease progression, and prevention. We continue to call on Canadians to help us on this journey.”
15 Years of Fundraising
The partnership between A&W Canada and MS Canada began in 2008 and its first pilot in Saskatchewan raised more than $40,000. It soon expanded nationally and in 2016, formally launched under the Burgers to Beat MS name. Throughout the years, the campaign has introduced new ways to donate as the awareness and participation has grown. Not even the Pandemic could stop Canadians from fundraising, as 2020 and 2021’s campaign encouraged consumers to Take-out Burgers to Beat MS.
Each year A&W franchisees go above and beyond to support Burgers to Beat MS Day with many locations continuing fundraising traditions like raffles, car shows and dunk tanks that have been in place since year one.
“In 15 years, what started out as a small idea has blossomed into a formidable movement, where every A&W restaurant, and Canadians from across the country, donate valuable funds, come together and have fun in an effort to see a future free of MS,” says Susan Senecal, president and CEO of A&W Canada. “Whether you’ve joined us for 15 years, or it’s your first time participating, we are encouraging more Canadians than ever to celebrate this year’s Burgers to Beat MS Day to help us reach, and surpass, our $2 million goal.”