About the Andrew Dunn Foundation (AndrewDunn.org)

Our Big Fundraising Event and Current Projects

The Andrew Dunn Foundation’s big annual event has been the Andrew Dunn Walk/Run, held each year on the Saturday before Mother’s Day in Oakbank, Manitoba.

We support several mental health educational and awareness events.

The organization also supports and presents annual awards to deserving students graduating from six Manitoba high schools in the Sunrise School Division and the Whiteshell School District. Academic standing is important. Special consideration is given to students planning to further their education in the area of mental health.

The Andrew Dunn Foundation, AndrewDunn.org and the Andrew Dunn Walk/Run are named in memory of a precious life that was lost to suicide. The naming of our organization does not in any way honor a death by suicide. Rather our name echoes the permanent sense of loss and the pain that is left behind in the wake of a suicide and inspires our organization members’ efforts to be a part of suicide awareness initiatives.

Our history

The Andrew Dunn Walk/Run has been a Mother’s Day weekend tradition in Oakbank, Manitoba.

Andrew Dunn of Cooks Creek, Manitoba, died by suicide on December 12, 2006.

AndrewDunn.org was co-founded in 2007 by Brenda Balinski and Judy Dunn. They put on a St. Patrick’s Day social held to raise money to fund the first walk/run (and bike ride, rollerblade and horse ride). That first Andrew Dunn Walk/Run was held on Mother’s Day in 2007 at Bird’s Hill Park, with over 100 people (and a few horses and a few dogs) taking part.

In 2010, the walk/run relocated to the community of Oakbank, Manitoba. The date of the event was changed to the Saturday before Mother’s Day.

By 2019, the walk had raised a total of over $630,000. Over 500 participants typically attended the annual event, with a peak of about 1,500. The global COVID-19 pandemic impacted our ability to hold the event for a few years. We held the event ‘virtually’ for a couple of years with limited success. In 2024 we held the 14th Walk/Run and raised over $23,000 bringing our total since inception to over $650,000.

In June of 2020, we officially became a foundation, incorporated in Manitoba, Canada under the name of the “Andrew Dunn Foundation Inc.” Our goal is to continue to make a difference in how people perceive mental illness, and to increase public awareness of available resources and effective treatment. In September of 2020, we received notification from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) that the Andrew Dunn Foundation Inc. meets the requirement for tax exempt status as a registered charity under the Income Tax Act. This means that we can now issue our own tax receipts for donations made to us to help support our mission.