With Quesnel’s Terry Fox Run going virtual because of the COVID-19 pandemic, donations are becoming hard to come by.
“We’ve done everything we can think of, and it’s like it’s falling on deaf ears,” said Rotary Club of Quesnel chair Christy Kennedy.
This year’s Terry Fox Run will be held virtually on Sunday, Sept. 20. Participants make a donation to the Terry Fox Foundation and then decide when and where they want to walk, jog, run, ride or roll. There is also an option to track your run or walk through the MoveSpring app. Users can use the code TFF to register and join the Terry Fox Run challenge.
Kennedy said the club has tried to raise awareness through signs and social media but isn’t receiving much feedback.
“I put signs up throughout the community with my number on them and have not received one phone call,” she said.
Residents can register and/or donate online at terryfox.org/run/. If you prefer to donate by cash or cheque, contact Rotary treasurer Debbie Wiens at debbie@pmtcpa.com or 250-991-0940.
As a registration incentive, when Quesnel reaches 25 registrants, the Rotary Club will perform a draw and the winner will receive a $25 sponsorship donation from the club. At 50 registrants, Rotary will draw for $50; at 75, $75; and at 100, $100.
The Rotary Club of Quesnel is asking local residents to share how they participated in this year’s Terry Fox Run through the Rotary Club of Quesnel’s Facebook event page; on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtags #QuesnelTerryFox2020, #QuesnelRotary and #TryLikeTerry or by sending an email to RotaryClubOfQuesnel@gmail.com.
Kennedy said she thinks the pandemic has caused people to be a lot more careful with their money.
“A lot of people don’t have the same amount of funds that they did before,” she said. “People are really holding onto their money, and you can’t blame them.”
This year marks 40 years since Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope. He started his inspiring journey April 12, 1980, in St. John’s, Nfld., and ran 5,374 kilometres before stopping Sept. 1, 1980, in Thunder Bay, Ont. He had run nearly a marathon a day for 143 days. Despite a leg amputation three years earlier, cancer had returned and spread to his lungs. He died on June 28, 1981, at just 22 years old.
READ MORE: ‘Amazing legacy’: Terry Fox Run goes virtual for 40th anniversary of Marathon of Hope
Terry Fox died on June 28, 1981, at just 22 years old. A few months later, the first Terry Fox Run was held Sept. 13, 1981, at more than 760 sites in Canada and around the world. It raised $3.5 million and attracted 300,000 participants, according to the Terry Fox Foundation.
To date, the foundation has raised more $800 million for cancer research.
— with files from Lindsay Chung and Katya Slepian
editor@quesnelobserver.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter