Crossing Canada in a 1923 Citroën Cloverleaf to Raise Awareness of Strokes.
Christian Darrosé, President and Founder of the French organization Je roule pour l’AVC (I Drive for Strokes) is on a trans-Canada expedition. Christian, who lost both his mother and his brother to strokes, will drive 8,000 across Canada, from Vancouver, B.C., to Saint John’s, Newfoundland. During his 90-day solo voyage, he will stop in 77 cities across the country to tell as many Canadians as possible about the warning signs of a stroke.
Christian Darrosé poses with his 1923 Citroën Cloverleaf in Paris.
Christian is a road-worthiness inspector and a serious car aficionado. He will do the entire coast-to-coast trek alone in his car, a Citroën Cloverleaf built in 1923.
“This is truly a mechanical, logistical, and human endeavour, but the real challenge is to raise awareness among as many Canadians as possible about the risk of strokes.” Many people know about strokes, but few know what to do when a stroke occurs,” Christian explained. “In Canada, heart disease and stroke are two of the top three leading causes of death. By learning about the warning signs, we can react more quickly and improve these statistics.”
“Heart disease and stroke continue to take a life every seven minutes in Canada,[i] and the repercussions are severe for the lives of the victims and their families,” added Yves Savoie, CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. “We are proud to support Christian in his trans-Canadian journey to raise awareness and promote healthy habits.”
All along the way, Christian will meet with local and regional prevention associations and take part in activities where he will tell his story and help teach people how to recognize the warning signs of stroke. He will meet with families, elected officials, and social and cultural personalities whose lives have been affected by strokes.
Events are planned for the following cities:
| June 8, 2018 | Kickoff: Vancouver, British Columbia |
| June 15, 2018 | Calgary, Alberta |
| June 24, 2018 | Regina, Saskatchewan |
| June 29, 2018 | Winnipeg, Manitoba |
| July 20, 2018 | Montréal, Québec |
| July 21, 2018 | Ottawa, Ontario |
| July 28, 2018 | Québec City, Québec |
| August 24, 2018 | End of Tour: St. John’s, Newfoundland |
All the donations collected during the trip will go to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
You can follow Christian’s cross Canada trek on his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/jeroulepourlavc/.
Update: We know Christian made it to Montreal. This photo was taken on the street there on July 22:
