Terry Fox ran his marathon of hope 35 years ago in 1980.
Image Credit: Wikipedia
May 29, 2015 - 8:33 AM
VERNON - Vernon does not yet have an organizer for this year’s Terry Fox Run, and that’s putting the event in jeopardy on its 35th anniversary.
The Terry Fox Foundation is spreading the word there is currently no run organizer in Vernon after the previous volunteer stepped down for work and personal reasons. The event is only a few short months away on Sunday, Sept. 20.
“Most of the committees usually start to meet in April to see who’s on board and move the event forward from there,” B.C. Yukon director Donna White says. “It (Vernon event) could be in jeopardy if we don’t have someone come forward.”
Typically, the run organizer recruits committee members, promotes the run and oversees run day activities, spending around two to four hours a week planning in the months before the event. The foundation provides support for individual community runs, but relies entirely on local volunteers to pull the event together.
This year marks the 35th anniversary of the Terry Fox Run; Vernon has been participating annually for the last 30 years, amassing $147,000 in donations for cancer research. Given Vernon’s long-standing involvement in the run, White has no doubt someone from the community will step up and take on this year’s event, whether it’s one person, a group or a sports team.
“We would love to see the event continue in the community, it’s such a big part of Canadian culture, whether you’re a small community or a big community,” White says. “I truly believe there will be an event in Vernon this year.”
The run is an all-inclusive, family oriented activity in which people can run, walk, bike or roller blade with 84 cents of every dollar donated going into cancer research. It is one of over 100 runs held across B.C. and the Yukon.
Anyone interested in becoming this year’s run organizer can contact White at 1-888-836-9786 or donna.white@terryfoxrun.org for more information.
To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infonews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015