Stepping up for little Lincoln and the Tiers (photo)

NEWS RELEASE

EQUIPMENT WORLD

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Lincoln Tier and the 401 Project fundraiser

Equipment World BBQ’s to help one of their own!

On June 7 Equipment World will host a charity BBQ fundraiser to support the “The 401 Project.”

This charity is raising funds to conduct research to reverse the MeCP2 duplication syndrome, which is affecting the three-year-old son of an Equipment World employee.

From 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 7 at each branch location of Equipment World (988 Alloy Drive, Thunder Bay; 235 Drive-In Road, Sault Ste. Marie and 1130 Lorne Street, Sudbury), the Equipment World crew will be raising funds at their BBQ to support Lincoln Tier of Sault Ste. Marie. 

Lincoln is the son of employee Nick Tier and his wife Brookes [photo] at their Sault Ste. Marie division. 

For the past three years, Nick’s family has struggled to help their son, Lincoln, stay healthy as he has had multiple bouts of pneumonia and other illnesses and they have had to travel numerous times to visit the Sick Children’s Hospital in Toronto for treatment. 

Lincoln is unable to speak or walk, so his parents have learned to communicate with him in other ways and have special devices so he can have mobility and yet he still smiles and seems like a happy child.

According to the 401 Project website, “MeCP2 duplication syndrome is an extremely rare condition that occurs almost exclusively in males and is characterized by moderate to severe intellectual disability. Most people with this condition also have weak muscle tone in infancy, feeding difficulties, poor or absent speech, seizures that may not improve with treatment, or muscle stiffness (spasticity). Individuals with MECP2 duplication syndrome have delayed development of motor skills such as sitting and walking. Approximately one third of people with this condition cannot walk without assistance. Many individuals with MECP2 duplication syndrome have recurrent respiratory tract infections. These respiratory infections are a major cause of death in affected individuals, with almost half succumbing by age 25.”

The Tier family is rallying for financial support to help find a cure for this disorder.  

In January 2012, 200 families affected by the MeCP2 Duplication Syndrome brought together via the Internet, united to launch a global campaign to save their children. 

They called the initiative “The 401 Project” where $401 for each child affected, was to be raised by April 1, 2012, to help find a cure. 

The group succeeded with their first goal and has done a tremendous job creating awareness, offering support to others with the disorder and raising funds to get the initial studies underway. 

They are now looking for an additional $200,000 by April 2013 to complete the research so they can launch a drug initiative to help reverse the disease in those affected.

Funds are being raised to go towards a potentially life-changing experiment underway at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX headed by Dr. Huda Zoghbi.

With funding in place, the experiment aims to reverse this syndrome in the lab. 

Proceeds are going to the Rett Syndrome Research Trust (RSRT), a supporting organization on related MeCP2 disorder research. 

When this experiment is successful it means that children, like Lincoln, will have a better quality of life and should be able to live longer, less stressful lives.

It is the hope of the Tier family to spread the word about MeCP2 disease so that others do not have to suffer alone and to one day soon know that there will be a cure to help Lincoln enjoy many more birthdays! 

It is the goal of Equipment World Inc. to be able to raise enough funds in 2012 at all three of their branch locations so that the research and testing in Lincoln can happen soon and Nick and his family can have a more enjoyable life together.

For more details about the disorder and for a BBQ pre-order form visit here.

About Equipment World

Equipment World Inc. provides customers across Northern Ontario with turn-key solutions to their material handling and storage needs. 

We offer equipment sales, leasing, rentals and parts, technical design, installations and inspections, mobile mechanical service and equipment operator safety training.

Headquartered in Thunder Bay, Ontario, with branch offices in Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie, Equipment World is always sourcing new products that can create effective workplace solutions for industrial, commercial and institutional applications.

Equipment World is proud to support local charities and has a strong network of employees who volunteer in our communities for various organizations.

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