The second annual Silver Fox Run kicked off at Points West Living on Sunday, Sept 7 at 10 a.m.
Residents who can’t run, but still wanted to support the Terry Fox Run, were encouraged to “walk or roll” their way down the street to raise money for cancer research.
“I’m fortunate to be here,” said Points West resident and cancer survivor Anne Neely. “It’s important to raise money for cancer (research) until we beat it.”
In addition to being a cancer survivor, Neely is also a longtime Terry Fox Run volunteer. In fact, she was a volunteer at the first Prince Albert Terry Fox Run back in 1983.
“They prepared for 100 people,” said Neely, who worked for the Canadian Cancer Society at the time. “So off to Little Red I go with the volunteers and 2 p.m. comes and there’s a lineup of trucks, buses, people on horseback, people on bicycles. I said, ‘oh my gosh, I need more help.’”
Cell phones didn’t exist at the time, so Neely had to trek back to her office in Prince Albert to make some phone calls. Many of the people she phoned were happy to help out, but they didn’t anticipate how long the event would run that day.
“When the dust settled, the volunteers said, ‘we’re going home,’” Neely remembered. “I said, ‘no you can’t go home yet. You have got to count and see how many (people) were there’ and it took so long.’”
Instead of the 100 they prepared for, Neely and the volunteers counted around 650 people. More than 40 years later, Neely is happy to see the event still going strong.
Sunday’s Silver Fox Fun drew 20 walkers and rollers. Together they raised $2,827 for the cause.
“We just want to thank the people who donate and support us,” resident Dorothea Herron said.
“Some of us walk partway, and then don’t walk. We have family here too to help out.”
Resident Jean Hnidek said she and other residents have been following the Terry Fox Run for decades. She said it’s important to support the Terry Fox Foundation’s efforts.
“There are so many cancers of different kinds and they need a lot of research,” Hnidek said. “This is our way of helping by donating.”
The Terry Fox Run has been on for the past 45 years with the proceeds used in support cancer patients all across Canada.
–with files from Michael Oleksyn/Daily Herald and Jason Kerr/Daily Heral
