Organizing the Terry Fox “Marathon of Hope” here for her second-straight year, the executive director of the Fort Frances Volunteer Bureau said she’d like to line up a little more community participation before the annual event gets underway this Sunday at 2 p.m. in front of the museum.
“We’re doing very well, but we need someone to conduct the warm-up before the run,” Vanessa Hebert noted Monday.
Last year, this was done by Jean Bujold and by Gerry Parent the year before that.
“We’d also like a cheering squad for the runners, for when they come back. I’d like to see some sort of fanfare,” added Hebert.
“It’d be nice if we could get the high school cheerleaders out for it—they could earn some of their volunteer hours,” she remarked.
Hebert noted while she has enough volunteers to handle the water stations and registration tables (one for first-time participants and the other for veterans in order to speed up the process), she is keeping her fingers crossed that many come out to walk, run, bike, skateboard, or in-line skate Sunday.
“I don’t know how many people there are going to be until they bring in those pledge sheets,” remarked Hebert, adding the forms have been available at various locations around town, including the Volunteer Bureau (located in the old CN station).
“I don’t think people realize they don’t have to be in it just to bring in the dollars,” she stressed. “While it is a fundraiser, it’s also about just keeping the spirit of Terry Fox alive.”
Those who still want to participate in the run, or want to lead the warm-up or cheer participants on, can call Hebert at 274-9555 or drop by the Volunteer Bureau.
Hebert also is selling Terry Fox merchandise, including T-shirts, sweatshirts, baseball caps, and magnets.
This year’s run is dedicated to local cancer survivor Rhonda Spuzak, whose family has been touched by several incidents of cancer. She will be on hand to cut the ribbon at the start.
Last year’s run, which was dedicated to the memory of Celeste Beck and raised about $11,000 altogether, saw 93 participants of all ages cover the 10-km route for cancer research.
Hebert is hoping to at least match that total again, and things look to be off to a great start thanks to people like Marj Hull-Katerick, who already has achieved her goal of $2,003 this year.
“People will compete with others [when getting pledges] and many have their own personal goals—it’s great,” enthused Hebert, who admitted she still would have liked to see local businesses vying to see who’s the best at fundraising.
In an effort to get the public aware of—and involved with—the run, a barbecue took place last Friday from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in the lot beside Pharmasave (the event’s corporate sponsor).
Hebert noted while the event wasn’t a great success money-wise, it did serve to raise public awareness and attract a few potential participants.
The 10-km route once again will begin at the Fort Frances Museum at 2 p.m., go down Portage Avenue to Front Street, and then continue along the riverfront to Pither’s Point, where participants will turn around and return to the museum.
A family barbecue at the museum—free to the participants and volunteers involved in the run—will follow. If it’s raining, it will be held inside the Volunteer Bureau, Hebert noted.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
