Terry Fox would have been 60 years old this Saturday, July 28 and you can celebrate his birth by volunteering and giving back in September.
The 38th annual Barrie Terry Fox Run takes place on Sunday, Sept. 16 and the local version will happen between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Centennial Beach.
Last year was a banner year for the local Terry Fox Run, as they raised their largest amount in $138,000.
Barrie Terry Fox Run chairman Michael McDougall is taking Terry Fox’s approach this year and by doing so hopes to raise at least $150,000.
“Terry wanted to raise $1 for every Canadian, which back then was about $24 million, and he did that,” said McDougall. “Even more amazing is that the population of Canada is now close to 37 million and $750 million has been raised in Terry’s name.
"Our goal in 2018 is to raise $1 for every person in Barrie and with the population of the city at around 147,000 we rounded it up to include students at the college and anyone else who may have been missed," he added.
Every year, 9,000 communities across Canada and thousands more around the world host a Terry Fox Run to raise money for cancer research.
McDougall believes that one of the reasons that so many people like to get behind the campaign is that is unlike other some other charities, the Terry Fox Run still has the values that Terry Fox made popular while he attempted to run across Canada in his Marathon of Hope.
“The Terry Fox Run gives away 83 cents from every dollar raised and very few charities actually give that much,” said McDougall. “That’s what Terry wanted. He wanted the money to go back to those who needed it. We operate on zero dollars to start the year and rely on donations from people who are looking to give.”
McDougall has been chair of the event for two years, but has been involved a lot longer and has a personal reason for working so hard every day on the campaign: he's a cancer survivor.
With all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into the Terry Fox Run, the 56-year-old can’t help but get a little emotional when the busy day winds down.
“Last year, it was when I was on stage and about to say hi to everyone and I looked around at all the red shirts who were lined up ready to run, that’s when the emotions hit me,” said McDougall. “When you come down to the event, you’ll see folks in red shirts, which are worn by cancer survivors, and when you see how many there are, it really chokes you up.”
Planning for the big day of the run starts in January when McDougall and his team start sending reminders to the businesses that give every year. It isn’t always just money as some grocery stores give oranges and apples for those running and/or volunteering the day of the event.
“Our struggle has always been that we are one of the final charitable events of the year as most stop in September,” said McDougall. “So we have to get our donors all the information early in the year and keep hammering away at folks until the last possible chance. We are fortunate to have a large amount of people who love the legacy of Terry Fox.”
Last year, there were close to 30 people giving their time to make the Terry Fox Run go smoothly and there are steps to make the squad of helpers even larger and younger this year as McDougall says they will be using the most popular form of communication nowadays to do so.
“We have been committing to our social media more and more every year in hopes of driving up those numbers,” said McDougall. “It is a great tool and I’m also hoping it will bring in a younger crowd who wants to give. We have a typically older group as do most charities but I feel like the youth are very exposed to Terry’s vision with the schools running events every year.”
The other main focus is getting people to sign up and participate. McDougall assures anyone interested that it isn’t necessarily a run and not to be intimidated by that. The chair of the event also encourages people to form teams and make it a fun event for your family or group.
“Some people come down and say I don’t really like to run and my response there is you don’t have to,” said McDougall. “You can walk and if you’re in a wheelchair and need some help believe me; someone will gladly push you so you can be a part of the event.
"I would also say to form a team as it makes the build up and gathering of money so much easier and enjoyable," he added. "Last year, we had a huge team who were raising money for a little boy with brain cancer; not only was that another emotional thing to see but they really made it fun and kept in good spirits.”
For more information head to the Facebook events page Terry Fox Run 2018, follow on Twitter @barrietfr or email [email protected].
To register to participate in the event, head here and follow the registration links.
