As has become the custom in the community of Coronach, the community hosted two walks in support of the Terry Fox Foundation. The school walks on Thursday previous the community walk, that this year was held on the second Sunday following Labour Day, the official date of the Terry Fox Run all across Canada.
The Terry Fox Run began 29 years ago when 21-year-old Terry Fox, who had to have his leg amputated because of cancer, attempted to run across Canada to raise money for research to find a cure for cancer.
Cancer halted Fox’s run, but Canadians stepped up and took over for him, and every year since, Canadians have gathered to participate in the run to raise money for cancer research.
The total of the fundraising efforts of the community and school of Coronach was over 5,000!
The students of the Coronach School students walked around town on Thursday, September 17 to commemorate the annual run and to honour the courageous young Canadian that lost his battle with cancer. This year, the Coronach School students and their families donated over $1100 in spare change and donations, double what was raised last year, five times that of 2007!
On Sunday, September 10, over one hundred community members gathered at the Coronach Sportsplex to participate in the annual event.
The event began with the singing of “O’ Canada” led by Kassanda Gent and an address from guest speaker Trish Manske, a cancer survivor who also suffered the loss of her granddaughter Kylee to cancer. Brenda Obrigewitsch, the run coordinator said, “She talked about how cancer has affected herself and her family and the importance of events like the Terry Fox run to help raise monies for and awareness of the cancer cause. Everyone was moved by Trish’s words and we were very thankful that she accepted our invite to speak.”
Andy and Angela Giraudier, long time supporters, along with Constable Steve led 85 people and 4 dogs who walked, roller bladed, biked, rode their heelies and rode in strollers around the streets of town. The weather was cold and windy, but everyone braved the weather and completed the course. “It was great to see everyone come out, eventhough the weather wasn’t nice. We know that Terry Fox ran in all sorts of weather and it was good to see the participation.” said Obrigewitsch.
The event also consisted in a number of fundraising methods. Over one hundred items were donated to the Penny Parade table. The following is the break down of the money raised:
Feet Sales - $166.00
Penny Parade - $838.00
Jelly Bean Guess - $29.30, winner Kyan Dionne
Basket Raffle - $307.00, winner Susan Line
Lunch - $242.37
T-shirts Sales Profit - $51.00
Cash & Cheque pledges and donations - $2591.00
School Donation - $1118.44
Total donations - $5343.11
“The enthusiasm from the town is overwhelming as far as volunteering, donations - monetary or items for the penny parade and raffle and stuff.” said Obrigewitsch. “Overall, the day was a success, again, from a great community!”
The community of Coronach has been very supportive of the run over the years. In 1993, Constable Ken Holst organized the run and passed it on to RCMP members Gary Creed and Gerry Pankratz. In 1999 the local RCMP passed the torch to community members Sylvia Palmer, Nan Bristow and Angela Giraudier.
Since 1993, the Coronach run has raised over $60,000. The record year was 2000 when the total reached $8,593.26 with 200 participants.
