The Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation (CTCACF) will raise money and awareness for families and children affected by cancer. Our mandate is to create high quality, physically challenging events on a national and regional basis to raise needed funding for worthy cancer charities across Canada.
In doing so, we want to inspire wellness and encourage volunteerism within our communities, and create pride and a sense of purpose in everyone who participates in these events. Financial support will be provided where the needs are greatest based on a formal assessment process that includes an advisory committee comprised of experts in the field of childhood cancer. This funding can include funding of oncology camps, support programs, research and other areas which contribute to inspiring hope and improved prognoses for children and their families impacted by cancer. Samples of some of our events include:
Tour For Kids Ontario and Alberta
www.tourforkids.com
Tour For Kids is an epic cycling adventure for people who are passionate about their active lifestyle and, more significantly, the quality of life for thousands of children living with and beyond cancer. In just 3 years, Tour For Kids participants have helped raise over $1.7 million for three very special camps that bring laughter and the spirit of childhood to thousands of brave children, and provide year round support programs for their families.
Riders can choose to ride 2 or 4 days and either 100+km or 200+ km per day. Mix and match your distances and pace daily, and each day you will be provided with a full breakfast, rest stops along the way, lunch, dinner, and some much needed massage and fun evening entertainment! Tour for Kids is an exhilarating event that will challenge the best of experienced riders while allowing recreational cyclists to achieve new cycling feats. It is an opportunity to enjoy the company of people who love to bike while improving your cycling skills and fitness.
A typical day includes a full morning breakfast followed by some stretching, and a morning dedication to one of the young children we are riding for. You will then have an opportunity to select the pace you would like to ride at, and will be grouped with other cyclists with similar desires. Each group will be assigned a Tour Marshal who will ensure that the group is paced properly and while on the road will focus on navigation and the riders’ safety! On the road there will be a series of fully stocked rest stops with food and beverages. When arriving at the day’s destination you will check in, set up, shower and be treated to a great dinner and some fun evening entertainment all with a link to the cause we are riding for.
Each rider takes away a unique experience having met new friends, laughed, shared and, most of all, improved the quality of life for a child living with and beyond cancer. Tour for Kids is an event that will leave you feeling good about your accomplishments and knowing that you have provided a child and their family memories of good times spent at camp.
The Inside Ride
www.theinsideride.com
The Inside Ride is an organized stationary cycling challenge that we bring to your workplace, high school or community group which is set up indoors or outdoors. Thirty state-of-the-art road cycling bikes are mounted and held stationary on trainers, with mileage and speed gauged by cycling computers. Each bike has a team of six cyclists with each one riding for ten minutes, recording their mileage covered. Heart-pounding, uplifting music accompanies the cyclists as each take their turn on the bike. They are cheered on by teammates, friends, colleagues and spectators, creating momentum and camaraderie among the teams! Not only does the event raise donations for the Foundation but it creates a sense of volunteerism and team spirit.
The Inside Ride is a fun, team-building, stationary cycling challenge with three objectives:
- Support families and children with cancer through fundraising
- Promote health and wellness in our workplaces and high schools through challenging participants in a fun, energetic, team-building stationary cycling event and,
- Encourage volunteerism by providing opportunities for adults and youth to get involved in fun, spirited cycling events!
Awards and Recognition are given at the event, with trophies and volunteer recognition.
Sears National Kids Cancer Ride
www.nationalkidscancerride.com
In 2008, cyclists from across Canada will be able to register for a trans- Canada cycling adventure, traveling nearly 7,000 kilometers from Vancouver to Halifax in the The Sears National Kids Cancer Ride. Cyclists will also be able to join the ride in selected communities and cycle shorter distances on pre-determined days. The Ride is expected to be an annual event raising significant monies for Canadian children’s cancer charities.
“Sears is very excited to be a part of the National Kids Cancer Ride and we are committed, through our associates and great network of stores across the country, to help the Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation raise awareness, funds and support for families who are dealing with this devastating disease,” said Dene Rogers, President and CEO, Sears Canada Inc. “It is heartwarming to see the passion of those truly dedicated to the cause and the faces of all the children who benefit from their efforts. Sears and our customers are enthusiastic about investing in such an important part of our future: our children.”
In Canada, 1700 children are diagnosed with cancer each year. Although great strides in treatment and care have been made, childhood cancer is still the leading disease-related cause of death for Canadian children. While over 75% of children survive cancer, more than 50% of survivors of childhood cancer face after effects of their disease and treatment, including neurocognitive impairments, sterility and secondary cancers. Childhood cancer has a devastating effect on parents, siblings, extended family, friends and communities everywhere.
“We believe that together with Sears we will be able to positively impact children and families affected by cancer to help them get through this challenging period of their lives by providing long-term financial support to the deserving childhood cancer charities who provide research, support, and survivorship programs,” said Jeff Ruston, Founder of the Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation. “We are delighted to be working with an organization like Sears Canada that believes in youth and their bright future and we are looking forward to the inaugural Sears National Kids Cancer Ride.
Launching in 2008, the Sears National Kids Cancer Ride will be what is believed to be the world’s largest fundraising event for childhood cancer. Starting on Canada’s west coast in Vancouver and finishing on Canada’s east coast in Halifax, the event will be of epic proportions. As they travel from coast to coast along a well planned route, cyclists will be met by supporters, stop at Sears locations for community support and refreshments, and visit with pediatric oncology centres along the way. A volunteer team will accompany the national team to ensure the safety of all riders, ensure optimum riding conditions, drive support vehicles, and tend to the needs of all the riders.
The men and women, who will make up the core national cycling team, will be avid cyclists who have experienced the difficulty and impact cancer can have on a child, a family and the community. Canadians wishing to participate in this exciting, fully-supported, cycling fundraiser are invited to apply online at www.nationalkidscancerride.com, as registration spaces will be limited. This core group of riders will also be joined by families of Canadian cyclists who can register on-line to participate in the shorter daily stages of the ride.
Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation is a registered Canadian charitable foundation. The Foundation is focused on improving the quality of life of children with cancer and their families. The goal of the Foundation is to raise funds by conducting memorable events that encourage an active, healthy lifestyle. Over the past five years the Foundation and its organizing team have raised over $2,500,000 through its annual “Tour For Kids” cycling adventures, “The Inside Ride” cycling fund-raising programs and several other cross-continent cycling events.
Team RACE
www.teamrace.com
Team RACE (Race Against Cancer Everywhere) is a community of fun-seeking bike riders that share a love of sport. Team RACE embraces athletes of all abilities and interests.
First-timers will appreciate the cycling tips and encouragement offered by the outgoing group. More advanced riders will discover refreshed motivation for training along with plenty of opportunities to ride longer and harder with people of similar ability and goals.
By participating in sanctioned Team RACE cycling events, members help raise funds on behalf of selected charities that improve the quality of life for people engaged in the race against cancer. It’s like being Lance Armstrong - without the years of agonizing training. There are several ways for members to get involved.
Team RACE allows members to become part of an exciting movement that coverts time on the bike into an experience with rewards that surpass the personal benefits of physical fitness.
Ride for Karen
www.rideforkaren.com
Started in 2002 and run by the Foundation’s good friends Kirk and Kris Tobias, RIDE FOR KAREN is a yearly cycling event that is held as a tribute to the life and legacy of their Karen Tobias and to raise money for charities that help people living with cancer, and those who care for them. In the last five years the Ride for Karen has raised over $425,000, which was used to help build and furnish new cancer care facilities, provide much needed resources for cancer support centres and send kids with cancer to camp.
The 2007 Ride for Karen will feature two course lengths, a 25km course for intermediate cyclists and a 160km course for advanced riders.
The 25km course covers beautiful countryside and guarantees to provide participants great fun, good food and cool prizes, while supporting a very worthwhile cause.
In the longer course, cyclists will embark on a 160 km / 100 mile ride through the valleys and farmlands north of Toronto. While scenic, the 160 km ride is a difficult undertaking even for a seasoned cyclist and acts as a suitable metaphor for the strength that Karen showed in her tireless battle with Breast Cancer.
As a cancer patient, Karen knew first hand that hospitals were not a very positive environment in which to spend a lot of time. Karen wanted to make a difference and was dedicated to improving the quality of life of cancer patients with one goal in mind- Improving Hope – which she felt was a critical component of cancer care. We as a family have created the Ride for Karen to continue her work in an effort to harnesses the positive power of hope.
|
