Athletes in Kind organizers Eric and Lorie Muller sent out an emphatic note to sponsors of their Canada Day eight-kilometre race on Wednesday:
“WE DID IT!”
The AiK run hit the $10,000 mark for the first time, raising funds that will be given to families struggling financially because of a child cancer diagnosis.
“We always knew that race was a $10,000 race, it was just a matter of time,” said Lorie.
The funds go to the B.C. Childhood Cancer Parents Association, which administers the funds on an as-needed basis to parents whose kids are being treated at Children’s Hospital.
“This couldn’t have happened at a better time, as I was informed at the event that association has run out of money to help families in need this summer, so we will be providing a lump sum earlier than our usual Christmas donation,” Lorie wrote to the sponsors.
About 290 participants braved Monday’s 30 C heat for the run through scenic Osprey Village in Pitt Meadows, and at least that many more came to watch the event and take part in the city’s Canada Day festivities.
Muller said the financial crunch has been a rare event for the association and she heard that one family with a child from Children’s Hospital had family members who could not visit the young cancer patient, because they could not afford a bus ticket.
That is the kind of expense the charity would cover. Lorie likes that the funds raised in Pitt Meadows will benefit families going through crisis in such an immediate way.
