For more than two decades, Chemainus has welcomed the Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock riders to town.
And every year, the riders leave with a good feeling about the generosity of this community. On Monday, the team arrived in Chemainus for a luncheon and an enthusiastic response from two organizations.
Chemainus Health Care Auxiliary Donna McCasky presented the riders with a cheque for $15,000. The Auxiliary operates the very successful Thrift Store in Old Town Chemainus and has been raising funds for health care equipment and facilities for 126 years.
“We would not be able to do this without the support of the community,” McCasky said. “Donations and shopping at our store makes this possible.”
Representing the Chemainus Legion Branch 191, past president David Nielsen presented a $1,000 cheque to Cops for Cancer.
An additional $750 was donated by people attending the lunch at the Legion hall. As of Monday evening, the riders had raised a total of $471,863, almost halfway to their goal of $1 million.
Cops for Cancer began in 1994 with one police officer who wanted to make a difference. Ever since, it’s grown into a united effort across Canada and has become one of the largest fundraising events for childhood cancer research in the country.
As a partnership between first responders and the Canadian Cancer Society, the annual event has raised nearly $56 million to increase survival rates and support children living with cancer and their families.
