Jeeps started out as a basic military vehicle. One could argue they were the original sport utility vehicle (SUV). This summer, Jeep enthusiasts coast to coast are using their passion for their vehicles to raise money for food banks along the route of their Pass the Flag Across Canada relay.
Pass the Flag rode through Hawkesbury on the evening of August 27 with members of the Hawkesbury Jeep Wrangler Club escorting it. The Hawkesbury club picked up the flag in Ottawa earlier in the day and were taking it to Laval after to hand it over to a Jeep club there. Funds raised by the local club are being donated to the Hawkesbury Central Food Bank.
The flag being passed from club to club has been dipped in various bodies of water along the way. Nathalie Jeaurond and her sister Josée Bourassa-Jeaurond dipped it in the Ottawa River when the Jeeps stopped on Chenail Island.
The Hawkesbury Jeep Wrangler Club started in November 2017. Nathalie Jeaurond had just bought a Jeep Wrangler and was becoming familiar with the subculture that exists among Jeep owners. One of those is the signature wave Jeep owners always give each other when they pass on the road.
“Why don’t we start a club?” Jeaurond thought. So, she co-founded it with Josée.
The club now holds a Jeep meet every second Thursday night during the spring, summer, and early fall. They have held a night trail ride, and some of them have also traveled to the Jeep Beach event in Daytona Beach, Florida.
The Hawkesbury Jeep Wrangler Club has more than 200 members, and Jeaurond said approximately 50 of those are regularly involved.
