Local residents can soon enjoy a dozen donuts guilt-free as Calories for a Cause returns this month.
The Georgetown-based I Have Resolve Foundation, which promotes awareness and inclusion support for individuals with disabilities, is currently selling 250 boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts to support its work, with pick up and delivery set for Feb. 11.
The foundation was founded by Jennine Germond-Ditz and her husband John Ditz in honour of their son Jason Dupont, who died in 2013 from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare disorder consisting of debilitating muscle degeneration.
There is no cure. Those who suffer from it experience rapid loss of mobility, eventually ending up in a wheelchair like Dupont.
“He definitely felt isolation and ended up saying to my husband and I, ‘Will you guys just be my friends?’” Germond-Ditz recalled.
There were plenty of signs in the first years of then-little Jason’s life that something was wrong. He was falling over a lot and had trouble with dexterity. He had issues keeping up with many of his peers during physical activities.
Shock, grief and research followed an initial feeling of confusion when the doctor told Germond-Ditz and her ex-husband, Jason’s father, the diagnosis. By the age of 12, their son couldn’t walk anymore and was having trouble breathing, the latter of which eventually took his life.
Germond-Ditz remembers a deeply intellectual and analytical child who inquired about everything and “challenged people in their thinking.”
He was a joker, often putting his sarcasm on full display. Above all else, she remembers a child who entered manhood, brief as it was, with bottomless resolve.
This trait became the inspiration behind the name of the I Have Resolve Foundation.
After Jason passed, the couple began doing fundraisers informally around town. In 2020, they incorporated their charity and solidified their philanthropy in the community.
Calories for a Cause soon followed. Those who would like to snatch up a box of a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts are asked to email their order to [email protected] and etransfer $16 by Feb. 5.
Once reserved, residents can pick up their donuts at Norval United Church (14015 Danby Rd.) on Feb. 11 between 4 and 7:30 p.m. Deliveries are available in Georgetown and Acton, as well as cash payment in some instances.
Proceeds will support a variety of initiatives, including supplying gaming consoles for children with disabilities, new learning programs for dyslexia and social integration, transportation and events to aid connections for those living with disabilities.
Germond-Ditz thanked the community for its support over the years.
For more information about the I Have Resolve Foundation, visit IHaveResolve.com.