Fox Run raises funds and hope
More than 50 runners participating
raised $4,000, with more to come
Sarah Ladik
Northern News Services
Thursday, September 24, 2015
INUVIK
Inuvik turned out in full force Sept. 20 for the 35th annual Terry Fox Run to raise money for cancer research.
Co-organizer Natasha Kulikowski gives a kick-off speech at the 35th Annual Terry Fox Run Sept. 20 at the Midnight Sun Complex. - Sarah Ladik/NNSL photo
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According to co-organizer Natasha Kulikowski, more than 50 participants raised a total of more than $4,000 for the cause.
"If you look at it, 84 cents of every dollar goes to research," she told the Drum. "We're not doing T-shirts or big giveaways or prizes, the money is going directly to research and I think that's important."
Kulikowski said she has been involved with the Terry Fox Run in Inuvik since 2009 and said that while the process of organizing the event can be a daunting one, she and co-organizer Patricia Davidson have it going like a well-oiled machine after so many years.
In previous years, the run drew as many as 50 participants, with a dip to 25 last year as a result of a time change.
Volunteers manned tables at intervals along the route, which went from the Midnight Sun Complex out to the highway and back. Runners and walkers chose to complete various distances up to five kilometres.
"We even had extra volunteers coming out to help," said Kulikowski. "I just want to say thanks to all the volunteers and to the participants for keeping this marathon going."
But the run is not over yet. East Three School will be hosting its own Terry Fox Run Sept. 25, starting in the morning with a big kickoff assembly.
Organizer Britney Selena said there are incentives for the students to raise money, which can include getting to pie a teacher in the face, and having them fake-arrested.
"After all the fun, they go out and do their loop and then come back and there are hotdogs and beverages," she said. "It's a whole morning event."
Selena said the goal is to raise $10,000, but that the school always tries to strike a balance between having fun and raising money on the one hand, and remembering where that money is going on the other.
Part of the kick-off assembly is the showing of a short film about Terry Fox and his journey.
"We always talk about who he was, what he did, and how he changed things," she said. "A lot of the kids have stickers saying who they're running for, like their mom, their aunt, their grandfather. I think it means a lot to them to be part of finding a cure."
