‘Do It For Dad’ Off To A Great Start
The race doesn’t take place until Father’s Day, but the Vernon Jubilee Hospital Foundation’s 15th Annual Do It For Dad Run/Walk presented by Interior Savings is off to a great start! In addition to sponsor contributions, including $4,000 from title sponsor Interior Savings, donations from three fundraisers held last year will be going towards this year’s event to fight prostate cancer in the North Okanagan.
The Knights of Columbus Vernon Council 4949 held a ‘Grow it for your Bro’ event that raised $1,410, while the Bean Scene raised $1,370 from their Movember Muffin sale. Hytec, a manufacturing company in Armstrong, contributed $1,442 through employee-led initiatives including hot dog sales, an auction, pledges and an ugliest moustache contest.
“The team did it all on their own time, volunteering to organize the events and contests, and donated their own money,” says Chad Vecqueray, Hytec’s Manufacturing Manager.
With more than 40 volunteers in place, and countless hours spent on organizing the event, the Foundation is hoping to keep the momentum going.
“We rely on the community to come through with pledges and donations to make ‘Do It For Dad’ a continuing success,” says Eleanor Diekert, Project Coordinator for Vernon Jubilee Hospital Foundation. “Last year, nearly 300 participants helped raise more than $38,000 for prostate cancer screening and treatment.”
This year, funds raised from the ‘Do It For Dad Run/Walk’ will provide free prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests for North Okanagan men, as well as help purchase a ureterorenoscope for the treatment of prostate cancer at Vernon Jubilee Hospital.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among Canadian men, (excluding non-melanoma skin cancers) and is the third leading cause of death from cancer in men in Canada. About 1 in 7 Canadian men is expected to develop prostate cancer during his lifetime and 1 in 28 will die from it.
‘Do It For Dad’ takes place Sunday, June 15th at Coldstream Ranch. Registration opens at 8:30 am and the walk & run starts at 9:30. Registration is $10 for youths and $20 for adults. Participants who raise $50 or more in pledges will have their registration fee waived. Pledges and donations can be made online at www.vjhfoundation.org/events/do-it-for-dad.
For additional information, call the VJH Foundation Office at 250-558-1362.