The goal, Larry Funnell said, is “making us all unbreakable.”
Funnell, the chair of the Canadian Osteoporosis Patient Network, was one of several volunteers at Sunday’s Art in the Vines event at the Township 7 winery in Langley.
The annual high summer art fair, and fundraiser for Osteoporosis Canada, featured more than 25 established and emerging artists whose work included crafts, jewelry, glass, pottery, paintings, photography, clothing and cuisine.
Funnell and the other Osteoporosis Canada volunteers had a table to distribute information about the organization and the disease.
Township 7 has carried out awareness-raising events for Osteoporosis Canada twice a year, he said.
“They’ve been a good partner,” Funnell said.
“It works out very well for us because we get to see a lot of people in short period of time … 200 to 500 people.”
Donations can also be made online at the Osteoporosis Canada website, www.osteoporosis.ca which has extensive information about the disease that causes low bone mass and deterioration of bone tissue.
Osteoporosis increases bone fragility and the risk of fractures, particularly of the hip, spine, wrist and shoulder.
Fractures from osteoporosis are more common than heart attack, stroke and breast cancer combined.
One in three women and one in five men are at risk of receiving an osteoporosis-related fracture.
The overall yearly cost to the Canadian healthcare system of treating osteoporosis and the fractures it causes has been estimated to be more over $2.3 billion.
The website calls the statistics related to hip fractures “particularly disturbing” because 28 per cent of women and 37 per cent of men who suffer a hip fracture will die within the following year.
Over 80 per cent of all fractures in people over 50 are caused by osteoporosis.
Township 7 Vineyard and Winery is open daily at 21152 16 Ave.
Visitors can enjoy the tasting room or have a picnic.
Situated on three acres, Township 7 is host to other popular events like Bard in the Valley, as well as a Father’s Day event, Easter egg hunt and grape stomp, with proceeds going to local charity.
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