Every year, elementary students at Vernon Christian School participate in the Terry Fox Run to support cancer research, raising as much as $7,000.
This year, the school decided to do something a little different and support two VCS families with children who are currently undergoing treatment for cancer.
Jesse Randelsome (St. Denis), a 2013 graduate, was diagnosed with cancer in Grade 10 and has been undergoing treatment ever since. His siblings still attend VCS and Jesse and his family are required to make many trips to Vancouver for treatment.
From the school’s elementary campus, Grade 5 student Kira Alder was diagnosed with leukemia in June after an eight-year remission.
She has spent most of the summer undergoing treatment at B.C. Children’s Hospital in Vancouver.
“We are being called as a community to organize this year’s run not for greater cancer research as in the past but for the two families right here at home,” said Steve Onsorge, elementary campus principal. “It is not unreasonable that each family’s additional expenses and loss of wages is substantial.”
To help the families with expenses, VCS organized a run Oct. 3, with students, teachers and parents walking or running around the school’s lower field.
“This year our hope was that all our students, parents and friends would rally around these families by supporting them in prayer, by supporting them financially, and by supporting them in action,” said Onsorge.
Okanagan Landing Church is partnering with VCS to collect donations for the St. Denis family while Alexis Park Church will collect donations for the Alder family.
Cheques should be made out to the respective church with the family name in the subject line. Unmarked cash donations, grocery gift cards and other items will be divided evenly between the families.
