Big changes are afoot to mark the fifth anniversary of the Jack Bonaparte Memorial Walk for Life. What hasn’t changed is the event’s focus on raising funds to support victims of cancer.
This battle hits home for many local Xerox employees since it claimed the life of their co-worker Bonaparte in 2006 after a hard fight with cancer. Since then, several Xerox employees have put together the Walk to honour his memory. To date it has raised more than $20,000 to aid the search for a cure. All funds raised, including registration fees, go directly to the charity.
But this year the event is taking place a little later than usual and, rather than wending its way through Burnside, participants will be strolling along the beautiful trails of Shubie Park.
“The dates and location were changed to make things a little more family and pedestrian friendly,” says Heather Langille, chair of the 2010 edition of the Walk. “With Dartmouth Crossing in place now, we have a lot more traffic to deal with in Burnside on the weekends, so we thought moving it to the park would make for a safer and more enjoyable walk.”
Langille says other changes for the event are in the works, but she is keeping the details to herself.
“We do have a few things that will be different from previous years, but are still finalizing the details. Come on out and see on the 21st!”
This year’s five-kilometer walk/fun run is scheduled rain or shine for August 18, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. with registration opening at 8:15 a.m. Anyone interested in joining the Walk for Life, or looking for additional information, can register online at www.walkforjack.ca.
Langille attributes a large portion of the success of the event to date to her employer, Xerox, which has really stepped up to provide lots of the support and resources needed to organize and run the family and dog-friendly event each year.
Another returning sponsor is the East Coast Countdown, the national radio program Bonaparte used to host. It’s back to provide the live entertainment, with several of its regulars signed up to perform.
Again this year, the funds raised by the event will be directed to the Canadian Cancer Society’s The Lodge that Gives.
“We wanted to have a bigger impact, to be able to point to something and say, ‘We did this,’” says Lisa Weatherhead, one of the event’s creators. “So the funds raised will go to support The Lodge That Gives, which provides shelter, lodging, food and a sense of family to those with a loved one fighting cancer.”
The Lodge, located on South Street in the Cancer Society Building just across from the Victoria General site of the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, is the only one of its kind that’s fully funded by the Society and donations. By targeting it as its charity of choice, the Walk hopes to make life a little easier for everyone battling the disease.
“Each person who participates can make such a difference,” Weatherhead adds, “and it’s this feeling of community that the Walk brings that is such a huge component of its success.”
