An 83 year-old Beachburg man who grew up in the Pontiac is doing his second charity walk this coming weekend. Russell Mackay, who goes by "Papa" to those that know him, is looking to raise money for Hospice Renfrew by walking 33 km over three days in various parts of Renfrew county. His daughter Crystal said that despite his age, and the fact that he’s diabetic and legally blind, Russell walks about 8 km daily and is committed to helping those around him.

Last year, he made headlines by walking from Beachburg to Ottawa to raise money for the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. As Crystal explained, they started out with a goal of raising $25,000 but ended up blowing past that total to finish with more than $120,000 for the children’s hospital:

Crystal said that as soon as Russell finished his walk last year, he was looking for his next project, and landed on an organization a little closer to home:

To make a donation directly to Hospice Renfrew, visit their website hospicerenfrew.ca and check “Papa Walks for Hospice” under the allocation tab.

You can follow along virtually on the Papa Walks for Hospice event page on Facebook, or show up in person to cheer him on.

The full interview with Crystal Mackay is available below: