New volunteers are being sought to help organize the Terry Fox Run that will be held in Duncan on Sept. 18.
The roles of Run Organizer and event volunteers are currently open.
Duncan has hosted an annual Terry Fox Run since 1985 and has contributed more than $286,000 to cancer research.
The Terry Fox Foundation will work closely with the volunteer chair and provide support, training, and materials to ensure the success of this year’s run in Duncan.
The participants in Duncan’s Terry Fox Run will join hundreds of thousands of people across Canada on Sept. 18 who will be taking part in the annual event to raise funds for cancer research.
Now in its 42nd year, the event continues to stay true to its roots with a non-competitive, grassroots and family-oriented spirit, with communities all over Canada joining together to realize Terry Fox’s vision of a world without cancer.
Fox had started his run across Canada on April 12, 1980, in St. John’s, NL, and made his way through the Maritime provinces and Quebec before failing health forced him to stop in Thunder Bay, Ont.
He had run 5,374 kilometres in his journey, including 21 miles on his final day of running, before acknowledging that he could no longer keep going.
Despite a leg amputation three years earlier, the cancer had returned and spread to his lungs.
Fox died on June 28, 1981, at just 22 years old.
To date, more than $850 million has been raised for cancer research in Fox’s name through the annual Terry Fox Run, held across Canada and around the world.
“Our greatest strength is the extraordinary team of Terry Fox volunteers that span from coast to coast, a human chain linked by a common purpose, to make a positive difference in the fight against cancer,” a press release from the Terry Fox Foundation said.
“They also share many of the attributes Canadians hold most dear; they are dedicated and driven, helpful and humble and, above all, they are caring and compassionate. If you are an enthusiastic and organized individual who possesses exceptional leadership skills and wants to make a difference in the world, please reach out to the regional coordinator of your area to help organize the Duncan Run and make a difference.”
For more information, contact Jack Basterfield, the foundation’s director of community development, at jack.basterfield@terryfox.org, or call 1-888-836-9786.