Jesse's Journey renames itself Defeat Duchenne Canada

London-based charity Jesse's Journey has rebranded itself as Defeat Duchenne Canada.

Its goal remains the same though, to help raise funds and awareness for Duchene muscular dystrophy, the most common and fatal form of the disease.

Since its inception in 1995, the organization has raised close to $15 million for various research projects.

“John and Jesse Davidson founded Jesse’s Journey in 1995 to provide leadership in research, advocacy and support in the fight to defeat Duchenne muscular dystrophy,” says Defeat Duchenne Canada CEO, Perry Esler in a news release.

“Their vision remains our foundation. But, now is the time to broaden our reach, engage and support more families across Canada, fund more research and gain the Federal support needed to make even greater progress towards our ultimate goal: to defeat Duchenne muscular dystrophy.”

Jesse Davidson was six years old when he was diagnosed with the disease. Jesse along with his father John embarked on their first "journey" on May 20, 1995, with John pushing his son's wheelchair 3,300 kilometres to Ottawa.

Jesse passed away in 2009 at the age of 29.

For more about Defeat Duchenne, click here.