Family, friends, survivors and supporters are pulling on their running shoes and will make tracks for this year’s CIBC Run for the Cure.
The annual event happens Sunday, Oct. 6, at Beban Park, where participants can join in a five-kilometre or one-kilometre run or walk along with other Canadians who will take part in the 28th anniversary of the run being staged in 57 locations across Canada.
The CIBC Run for the Cure is the largest, single-day, volunteer-led event dedicated to raising money for breast cancer research, support programs, helpline and breast cancer support group facilitator training.
Since it was started in 1992, the run has raised more than $45 million to battle breast cancer.
“You might ask why we’re still raising funds for the breast cancer cause, and while we’ve certainly made huge strides in breast cancer, every day, more than 70 Canadians will receive a diagnosis,” said Andrea Seale, Canadian Cancer Society interim president and CEO, in a press release. “We must keep investing in the breast cancer cause so that more and more people can continue to survive their diagnoses and enjoy a better quality of life.”
The first CIBC Run for the Cure happened in 1992 in Toronto’s High Park when volunteers brought together an estimated 1,500 people who raised $85,000. Last year’s events across Canada raised $16 million.
According to the cancer society, money raised from the run helps with research, prevention, diagnosis and treatment and helps people live through and live beyond breast cancer – the mortality rate has been reduced by 44 per cent since the mid-1980s.
To learn more, donate or sign up for this year’s run, visit cibcrunforthecure.com.
photos@nanaimobulletin.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter