Our story.
Founded in 1997 in honour of a dear friend, Andy Collins for Kids (ACK) is the largest community-based fundraiser for the Montreal Children’s Hospital, donating $5M+ so far to help improve the lives of sick children.
Through our hugely successful annual FUNDAY golf tournament and gala, Shave to Raise, and other events, we have built a legacy of giving which celebrates the importance of people coming together – and keeps the “FUN” in fundraising.
Mission & values
We help improve the lives of sick children through a lasting commitment to giving, celebrating community, and keeping the “FUN” in fundraising.
Our values inform every decision we make, big and small:
FUN – spark joy
COMMUNITY – bring people together
IMPACT – make a difference
ACCESSIBLE – no donation is too small
LONGEVITY – a legacy of giving
Legacy
Andy Collins
Andy Collins was a good person. Funny, caring, (a little reckless!), and a great storyteller. A bon vivant with a huge circle of friends, Andy was forever organizing get-togethers and people could never pass up the opportunity to party with him. People simply loved being with him.
Andy’s passing at such a young age was a great loss for his friends, who looked for a way to keep his memory alive and carry on his spirit of bringing people together. Both for his friends and all the people who could get to know Andy through the good deeds done in his name.
After many drinks at the wake, Andy Collins for Kids was born – a party that raises money for a good cause. And the choice of beneficiary was a no-brainer. Andy did not have any children of his own but was very close to those of his friends – an “Uncle Buck” figure you could say (which is why our community of supporters today are called “Bucksters”). The 15 original Directors agreed that all funds raised would benefit children, and what better recipient than the Montreal Children’s Hospital.
Andy was the link that formed the chain both in life and legacy, and ACK continues to honour his memory by having fun while making a difference.
Andy’s Duck
In the early days of ACK, the Directors wanted to create a brand image that would best reflect Andy, be fun, upbeat and embraced by children. The task was assigned to original board members Robert and Ted (who passed in 2016).
Robert remembers, “Ted and I got to our assignment very quickly in his studio. We promptly eliminated any ideas related to corporate/business and focused on developing a fun image that would delight anyone who saw it. It all boiled down to a long evening, night and early dawn, and the consumption of drinks and other things when we finally arrived at the duck, after having eliminated many other images. Later, I recall Ted leaving the studio and returning with a little rubber duck that kids play with while in the bath. That was it.”
An art director friend of ACK, Frank, brought the duck to life and came up with its goofy, fun appearance.
Andy’s duck has had many glow ups over the years, as it is restyled to match the FUNDAY theme year on year - from samba dancer in 2010 to cowboy in 2015 and donning a tiara for its silver jubilee in 2022. The beloved duck also took on a new, sleeker look in Spring 2023 as ACK evolved its branding and launched a new website. Look closely though, and you will still see the same cheeky and fun duck that resonates so well with the buckster community.
Bruce Charron
One of the original co-founders of ACK and our former Chairperson, Bruce was a friend to all who knew him and took immense pride in putting the “fun” into fundraising. He had a way of drawing people into the action both during events and in the planning of them and was undoubtedly the very heart of ACK.
Bruce died in a ski accident at Jay Peak in 2019. He has left with us a legacy of giving back and mentoring, as we all learned from Bruce just by watching him.
And the fun will continue because, as Bruce would say, “By now, you know the drill.”
Programs we Support
100% of donations directly reach the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation and ACK works closely with the team to select specific beneficiary programs.