September 7/06 12:38 pm - Annual Ride for Karen

Posted by Editoress on 09/7/06
 

Fifth Annual Ride for Karen Gives a Lift to Children with Cancer
Courtesy organizer

More than 300 Ride for Karen participants are set to cycle up to 160 kms on Sunday, September 10, 2006 to support children's cancer camps.

Seasoned and beginner cyclists have raised more than $250,000 for cancer care charities in the past four years and event organizers are committed to raising another $125,000 at this year's event. One hundred percent of the pledges and donated funds from this year's event go to Camp Oochigeas, Camp Quality and Camp Trillium to help send children to camp and provide the required support and treatments during their stay.

Scotiabank is the presenting sponsor of the 2006 Ride for Karen, providing support and sponsorship for the operation of the event, while also helping to create more awareness, increase the number of participants and raise additional funds for the camps.

"Scotiabank is proud of its long-standing commitment to supporting the communities where we live and work and the Ride for Karen aligns perfectly with our goals," said Ahmad Dajani, District Vice-President of Scotiabank. "We're very excited and proud to be part of such an important event. Our employees are also very enthusiastic about this sponsorship and many have volunteered their time to help out with the ride."

The 2006 Ride for Karen features two courses, a 25 km course for intermediate cyclists and a 160 km route for advanced riders. Both start and finish in Vaughan. Participants raise funds through pledges and may dedicate their ride to a child or loved one affected by cancer.

The 25 km course covers beautiful countryside and promises to be a fun ride, with good food and fantastic prizes. On the longer course, more competitive cyclists will pedal through some trying hills and valleys north of Toronto.

"When we were planning the routes for the Ride for Karen, we wanted to make sure that both courses were challenging," said Kris Tobias, Ride for Karen Organizer. "We see the difficulty of both courses as a suitable metaphor for the strength that cancer patients show on a daily basis during their battle with the disease."

In Canada approximately 1,400 children are diagnosed with cancer annually and another 10,000 are already living with cancer or its long-term effects.

The Ride for Karen - themed "Riding Hard ˆ Building Hope", was started by Karen's sons, Kirk and Kris, shortly after her death at 53 years of age from breast cancer, in July 2002.

"While Karen was in the hospital to receive treatment for breast cancer, she would spend a lot of her time speaking to other cancer patients in an effort to reassure them about their treatments and to help build their internal strength and hope to battle the disease," said Kirk Tobias, Ride for Karen Organizer. "The essence of what we are doing is a direct manifestation of the values she imparted on us. She wasn't a victim of cancer, she was an advocate. Everything we do is trying to continue that, and her legacy."

For more information, to register as a rider or a volunteer, or to make a donation, visit www.rideforkaren.com.


Ride Details

Sunday, September 10th, 2006

Start and Finish:

St. Joan of Arc High School
One St. Joan of Arc Ave., Maple
(Keele St. and McNaughton Road),

Start Time: 9 a.m.

Expected Finish Time: 3 p.m.