Markham residents can help support cancer research at the Markham-Unionville Terry Fox Run on Sunday, Sept. 20, as local organizers seek to raise more than $100,000.
Markham Review reported that last year’s local event collected $99,800, bringing the run’s cumulative fundraising total to more than $1.7 million. Local run director Lilly Ing is hoping this year’s effort will exceed the $100,000 mark.
The event will begin at the Old Unionville Library Community Centre, at 15 Library Lane. Registration opens at 8:30 a.m., followed by the run at 9:30 a.m.
There is no registration fee. Participants can walk, run, wheel, blade or skate, giving residents several ways to take part rather than requiring everyone to run.
All proceeds will support cancer research in Canada. Information and registration are available at run.terryfox.ca.
Building on local fundraising
The fundraising goal follows a year in which the Markham-Unionville event came close to collecting $100,000. This year, organizers are asking the community to help push the annual total beyond that threshold.
Residents can also contribute their time. Organizers are seeking volunteers both ahead of the event and on run day.
The local fundraiser is part of the continuing legacy of Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope in 1980. Since that effort, the Terry Fox Foundation has raised more than $1 billion for cancer research, according to the report.
That funding has helped support more than 1,300 research projects, along with advances in cancer detection, diagnosis and treatment across Canada.
This year’s Terry Fox Run also features a commemorative T-shirt inspired by the communities Fox passed through during his cross-country journey.
For Markham participants, the September event offers an opportunity to add to the local run’s more than $1.7 million fundraising record, whether by taking part or volunteering.
