Manfred Schroeder (left) and Dave Smale of the Oyen Lions Club cook up a batch of scrambled eggs and pancakes at the Alsask Lions Hall on Sept. 16 for people attending the community’s 36th annual Terry Fox Run fundraiser.
Kenneth Brown
of The Crossroads
Terry Fox is an iconic figure from Canadian history and Alsask continues to hold a successful fundraiser in support of the Terry Fox Foundation.
The community held its annual Terry Fox Run on Sept. 16 at the Alsask Lions Hall. There is a 1.5-kilometre loop mapped out if people want to go for a walk, run or bike ride, but there are few, if any, people who do the actual walk or run. Instead, people eat breakfast and spend money.
According to an organizer, the event has raised a total of $4,445 and about 60 people attended the fundraiser. To put the community’s accomplishment in perspective, a Terry Fox Run in Medicine Hat raised slightly more than $3,700.
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The Terry Fox Run in Alsask has raised as much as $6,884 in the past, but the community accomplished the feat in 2012 and it is the only time the event surpassed $6,000 in its history. However, the event raised $5,931 in 2010. The lowest fundraising total was $243 in 1983 when the event was organized by the Canadian Forces Station Alsask, but it was the first year an event was held in the community.
There are several ways money is raised at the event in Alsask and people do have the option to take pledges. There is a silent auction, a prize raffle and people buy breakfast. People also make personal donations and, in the past, there has been a produce and bake sale.
People also have an opportunity to win door prizes, and there was a long list of door prizes at this year’s event. After all the door prizes had been handed out and the silent auction came to a close, organizer Cindy Chiliak thanked everyone for supporting the event and told people she hopes to see them back next year.
A large group of volunteers helped with the event. The volunteers helped to cook, serve and wash dishes. Two members of the Oyen Lions Club helped to cook scrambled eggs and pancakes, and the Alsask Red Lion Restaurant prepared the sausages.
Candace Dueck, the head organizer, said attendance was down from the 80 or so people who attended the event in 2017, but the event was still a success and organizers met their goal for fundraising. She noted that former Alsask residents still send donations.
Two larger prizes were part of a raffle. Apex Distribution Inc., a company operating out of Kindersley, donated a Broil King barbecue and Vortrax Construction Ltd., a company in Acadia Valley, donated a Traeger smoker. Dueck said raffle tickets were sold at the event and in advance, so it helped organizers to reach their fundraising goals.
“We’re definitely grateful,” she said, recognizing that new donors came on board this year and the organizers appreciate all donations past and present no matter how big or small. “The business support was tremendous this year.”
Dueck, whose son has battled a rare form of cancer known as retinoblastoma, said she believes everyone is affected by cancer in some way. She noted that her family has also had to deal with breast cancer in the past, so her family’s history motivated her to get involved with the fundraiser.
The organizer said every little bit of support helps. She added that the fundraiser received great support from volunteers with as many as a dozen people helping out on Sunday, so she thanked Chiliak for helping to gather auction items and all volunteers for helping out.
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