Gatineau Olympiques forward Mikaël Martel launches the Up’N Down line

A player from the Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec (LHJMQ) (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)) has launched his own line of sportswear to raise funds for people with Down Syndrome and, at the same time, raise awareness for this cause.

Mikaël Martel was playing with the Rimouski Océanic at the beginning of the season, while pursuing his college studies in police techniques. As part of one of his courses, he had to give 25 hours of his time as a volunteer or towards community involvement. https://d39b51f8f6080cf24b3edebc44b9d00c.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

One thing led to another and the athlete, who will turn 20 on April 10, decided to pair up with a fan of the team, Ely, a 15-year-old with Down Syndrome. From there, a great friendship was born and, in turn, the idea for the clothing line.

“In Ely, I discovered an incredible person, always cheerful and in a good mood. It made me realize that we are blessed and that we must take the time to listen to these exceptional, brilliant, and endearing people,” says the burly 6’2″, 205 lb. man with a kind heart. PHOTO COURTESY

Up’N Down

An idea formed in Mikaël Martel’s head: launch a line of clothing to raise funds for people with Down Syndrome and to make people aware of this cause.

In just a few months, he succeeded in setting up his project, so that on March 21, World Down Syndrome Day, the Up’N Down collection, in reference to Down Syndrome, was born.

Each logo of the line is integrated with a Down Syndrome logo, so that each person who wears a piece from the collection becomes in a way an ambassador of the cause. In addition, up to $5 per item sold is donated to the Regroupement pour la Trisomie 21. In one week, some $1500 had already been raised for the organization.

“The vast majority of us are not aware of this syndrome, to the point where some people look at those with it as if they were strange. My experience with Ely made me realize that a person with Down Syndrome is not so different and that we should be inspired by it,” the hockey player fervently believes.

https://d39b51f8f6080cf24b3edebc44b9d00c.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.htmlPHOTO COURTOISIE

Friendship

Even though Mikaël Martel was traded to his hometown club, the Gatineau Olympiques, in mid-January, he doesn’t plan to cut ties with Ely or give up the cause. The two friends try to talk with each other at least once a week via FaceTime

“This project has given me a good life lesson. I want to take it as far as possible. I also intend to get involved in organizations related to the cause when health measures allow it. It’s something really close to my heart,” said the friendly young man.

JADRINO HUOT 

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Raphaël Lessard’s future with GMS Racing could be decided today

Today, April 1, is the deadline for Raphaël Lessard if he wants to continue his career in the Camping World Truck series, Le Journal has learned.

The young Quebec driver fought bravely to keep his brilliant third place on Monday on the dirt of the Bristol circuit.

However, the Beauce prodigy is facing an even bigger battle as GMS Racing, which recruited him this year in NASCAR’s third division, is waiting for an amount of money necessary for the next step.

The deadline is today, as stipulated in the contract signed earlier this year between the GMS team and Lessard’s team. And no, it’s not an April Fool’s joke.

On the first of every month, an amount set at approximately $180,000 USD (just over $225,000 CDN) must be received by GMS or his spot could be taken away.
Despite his remarkable performance at the beginning of the week, Lessard’s team was not able to find the necessary funds to fulfill the commitment.

Sponsors needed

Since the beginning of the season, Lessard has been supported by two Quebec companies, CANAC and Quincailleries Richelieu, whose financial agreements have expired or, at least, the amounts they paid have already been spent.

At his last event in Bristol on Monday, only the Chevrolet logo, the car manufacturer associated with GMS Racing, was clearly visible on Lessard’s Silverado – proof that Lessard participated in the race without any actual sponsors.

The loss of loyal investors does not bode well for Lessard’s career. Formed as a limited partnership, the wealthy businessmen and stock car enthusiasts jumped ship last fall after Lessard’s team decided to turn the young driver’s career over to a new organization. https://774f5924c7e15e82f78a8de60c8ade4a.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

Angry investors

The arrival of this group meant, among other things, the departure, not desired by the original investors, of Alan Labrosse as an advisor. This caused them to choose, angrily for the most part, to withdraw from the case and stop funding Lessard’s career.

When it was announced in a press release a few months ago that Lessard would join the 2021 season full time, it was without mentioning that the budget was not fully completed.

The message is being sent to all the companies that care about the career of Quebec’s best NASCAR hopeful, whose historic victory last year at Talladega made headlines.

Lessard is a rare find, but talent is not enough in motorsports. Money is at the heart of the matter.

The good news is that the next race on the calendar is not scheduled to run until April 17 at Richmond Raceway in Virginia. We can hope that GMS will accept a delay to keep such raw talent in its ranks.

LOUIS BUTCHER

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A survey published Thursday by Laval University’s Academy of Digital Transformation (ATN) (Académie de la transformation numérique (ATN)) found that 78% of Quebec adults made at least one online purchase in the year 2020, a 15% increase from the previous year, more significant among older Quebecers.

In fact, in the 55 to 64 age group, the proportion making at least one online purchase jumped from 48% to 77% in one year, while in the 65 to 74 and 75+ age groups, the proportion increased by 32%.

Claire Bourget, the Director of Business Intelligence and Marketing Research at ATN, observed that the value of online purchases over the past year was estimated to be over $1,000 by 32% of Quebec online shoppers.

The survey revealed that Amazon’s website and mobile application were the favourites of online shoppers in Quebec, which is where they made 41% of their total online purchases in 2020, compared to 25% from the sites or mobile applications of Quebec merchants, 18% from Canadian merchants, and 16% from foreign merchants.

Among online shoppers, 44% found Quebec products online easy to identify, while 44% thought the opposite.

As in 2019, the most popular products online among Quebecers in 2020 were clothing, footwear, jewelry, and accessories at 65%, electronics at 42%, and music, movies, and video games at 40%.

However, the survey noted that the books, magazines, and newspapers category and the health and beauty products category grew by 38% and 32%, respectively.

The survey, called NETendances, also found that 92% of Quebec online shoppers were very or somewhat satisfied with the timeliness of delivery of products purchased online in 2020.

By LA PRESSE CANADIENNE

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