 |
More than 14-thousand students at 45 LDCSB
schools are taking part today in the annual Terry Fox National
School Run Day. They are running, walking and wheeling
to raise money for cancer research. They are joining millions of
other students across the country who take part in this event each
year - the biggest of its kind in the country. |
|
 Terry
Fox’s Marathon of Hope, in which he ran a marathon a day for
143 consecutive days in 1980 to raise funds for cancer
research, touched Canadians and united the country from coast
to coast in the belief that anything is possible. Since then,
many Canadians consider Terry Fox to be Canada’s greatest
hero. From coast to coast, Canadians are united every fall by
the dream of a world without cancer, and cheer their youth as
they take part in this historic event. This event
fulfills the vision of Terry Fox. It gives hope to those
stricken with cancer and raises millions of dollars for cancer
research. It inspires students and other Canadians to
volunteer action. |
|
|
|
| Terry Fox Run Staff and
students of St. Michael Catholic School in London have been
busy this week not only collecting donations for the Terry Fox
Foundation but also sharing and displaying the names (on
'Adidas shoes') of those family members and friends whose
lives have been impacted by cancer. The school community
gathered this afternoon for a brief assembly and then on to
the yard for a community walk/run to celebrate this event. |
|
About Terry Fox
Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and raised in Port
Coquitlam, British Columbia, a community near Vancouver on Canada's
west coast. 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.
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 garner 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.
It was a journey that Canadians never
forgot.
However, on September 1st, after 143 days
and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 miles), Terry was forced to stop running
outside of Thunder Bay because cancer had appeared in his lungs. An
entire nation was stunned and saddened. Terry passed away on June
28, 1981 at age 22.
The heroic Canadian was gone, but his
legacy was just beginning.
To date, more than $400 million has been
raised worldwide for cancer research in Terry's name through the
annual Terry Fox Run, held across Canada and around the world.
|
|
For feedback,
submissions, suggestions and input, please contact:
mailto:j.boles@office.ldcsb.on.ca
or contact:
John Boles,
Manager of Communications,
519-663-2088, ext
40015
|
Spotlight
is produced weekly by
the
Communications Department of the
LDCSB.
Spotlight is a BRAVO Award
winner for demonstrated excellence, recognized by the Canadian
Association of Communicators in Education and a winner of the
Glorya Nanne Award from the Ontario Association of Parents
in Catholic Education for making a substantial contribution to
fostering better understanding of Catholic Education.
|
