Terry Fox Foundation: Cancer Research
CSLI staff and students has been active participants at Terry Fox Runs over the last 10 years, attending at Stanley Park every September (and even in Taipei, Taiwan organised by the Canadian Consulate), raising more than $20,000 over this time. Terry Fox is a modern day Canadian hero and is an inspiration to all at CSLI what is possible when we set our mind to our dreams. Terry’s brother Fred has been a regular visitor to our school while Heather, one of our longest serving teachers, has appeared every year for the run.
The Terry Fox Foundation has raised over $500 million and Terry’s legacy has become folklore.
https://www.terryfox.org/Run/index.html
Terry’s Story:
Terry was raised nearby in Port Coquitlam. An active teenager involved in many sports, Terry was only 18 years old when he was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma (bone cancer) and forced to have his right leg amputated 15 centimetres (six inches) above the knee in 1977. While in hospital, Terry was so overcome by the suffering of other cancer patients, many of them young children, that he decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research. He would call his journey the Marathon of Hope.
It was a journey that Canadians never forgot. After 18 months and running over 5,000 kilometres (3,107 miles) to prepare, Terry started his run in St. John’s, Newfoundland on April 12, 1980 with little fanfare. Although it was difficult to get attention in the beginning, enthusiasm soon grew, and the money collected along his route began to mount. He ran 42 kilometres (26 miles) a day through Canada’s Atlantic provinces, Quebec and Ontario. However, on September 1st, after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 miles), Terry was forced to stop running outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario because cancer had appeared in his lungs. An entire nation was stunned and saddened. Terry passed away on June 28, 1981 at the age 22.
He is also our inspiration for our Micro Credit Sustainability Tour 2011
