Deadlifts for Dreams brings in over $33,000 in support of 4-year-old Ethan and the Dream Factory

A unique fundraiser on Saturday saw 37 people raise more than $33,000 for children who are living with a life-threatening illness. 

Deadlifts for Dreams took place in St. Malo in support of the Dream Factory and 4-year-old Ethan from Ste. Agathe, who lives with cystic fibrosis. 

Andrew Kussy says this was a very successful fundraiser and it comes at a good time. 

“We have more Dream kids than ever that we’re trying to make dreams come true for,” he says. “So, events like this are crucially important. Even more so when they exceed their fundraising goal like this one has, it allows us to do more for more kids.” 

Deadlifts for Dreams has raised over $100,000 in the past 4 years. 

Kussy admits this event is a unique way to raise money. 

"We’re connecting with a very specific community that is really excited about doing good work in our community,” he says. “And it’s different. It’s different and it’s fun. There’s not a lot of deadlifting fundraisers out there and we’re proud to be part of this one.” 

Dave Beakley says they got off to a slow start this year, but after sending out a few emails, it did not take long for support to come in. 

"People just jumped on board and put up some incredible numbers,” Beakley says. “We had a 13-year-old raise over $1,600. That’s absolutely unheard of, right? And every year, they all do a great job.” 

Beakley notes there were 37 people signed up to collect donations and 33 of them participated in deadlifting. Light lifts were around 300 pounds while some people went up to 730 pounds, he says. 

Four people also hit their personal best. 

“With the right motivation, and something like [Saturday’s event], the energy from the crowd, people always find a way to do a little bit more than they have ever done,” Beakley adds.