The legacy of Terry Fox’s 1980 Marathon of Hope lives on among a generation young enough to be his grandchildren.
On Wednesday, September 29, students at Vankleek Hill Collegiate Institute (VCI), organized and participated in a Terry Fox walk which followed a loop through town along Higginson Street, Home Avenue, and Stanley Avenue.
The VCI walk was organized by Grade 12 students Spencer MacKinnon and Ty McRae as a project in the Link course, which teaches leadership and event organization skills. Other students from the class helped with ensuring the walk went smoothly. Students were also invited to make donations with all proceeds going to the Terry Fox Foundation for Cancer Research.
Students were invited to wear stickers with the name written on it of a person they were running or walking in honour of who had survived or passed away due to cancer. Some chose family members or friends, but many wrote Lucas, who is a Grade 9 student at VCI currently being treated for Leukemia.
Terry Fox was from Port Coquitlam, British Columbia. In 1977, his right leg was amputated due to cancer. In 1980, he began his cross-Canada Marathon of Hope for cancer research but was forced to stop near Thunder Bay, Ontario because the cancer had returned. Fox died at the age of 22 on June 28, 1981.
Terry Fox events have been held in communities across the country and world each year for 40 years, raising more than $800 million for cancer research.
The VCI Terry Fox Walk was organized by Grade 12 Link course students Ty McRae far left, and to his right, Spencer MacKinnon. They were assisted by other students from the class, including Kaleigh Allard, to the right of MacKinnon, and Nathaniel Gerow, far right. Photo: James Morgan
