Now that the smoke is cleared, we can look forward to heading outdoors to ride our bikes once again.
However, come October we may want to move indoors again for the Inside Ride at Duchess Park secondary school in Prince George on October 23. The fifth annual ride raises funds to send kids with cancer to Camp Good Times.
“People are usually happy and energetic,” says Kiara Jungar, who will be part of the Little Dillers team at the Inside Ride. “Our cousin passed away from cancer when she was just little and we found out this foundation is sending kids with cancer to camps. Usually when they go to school, they feel left out or they feel that no one wants to be friends with them because they are the kid with cancer.”
The Little Dillers have raised more than $100,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society over the past decade through the Relay For Life and the Inside Ride.
Last week several family members and friends each has a teal ribbon tattooed on them for cancer survivor Jake Mcleod.
“Our whole team gets together, lots of family members come in support us,” said Kiara. “It’s a lot of fun. We do lots of fundraising. We go to Spruce Kings games and sell chocolate bars and sometimes cotton candy. We do bake sales as well.”
Sandra Blackwell, annual given coordinator for the Canadian Cancer Society, calls the Inside Ride a “party with a purpose.” Teams of four to six members can register for the ride, which takes place on stationary bikes.
“Each member rides their bike for five minutes (at a stretch) and we ask each team to raise $1,000 to go towards our Camp Good Times,” said Blackwell.
The goal is to have 25 teams participate in the ride. Some teams are very fit, like the Prince George Spruce Kings who take part every year, and other teams are, well, less fit but will have fun just the same. Teams often dress up for the ride. And the money raised will help a kid go to camp.
“Camp Good Times is this wonderful place at Loon Lake where kids affected by cancer get to go and be kids,” said Blackwell. “They get to go experience a camp, but get taken care of too. Families can come together and be with other families who are going through the same thing. It’s a very special place for kids just to be kids, and get a break from the cancer experience.”
She says the more that word spreads about Camp Good Times, the more people they can send to the camp. The cost to go to camp is free. Even travel costs are covered.
JDC West, an extracurricular event for business students at UNBC, is the presenting sponsor.
“We host volunteers,” said Quynlan Mracovcic, vice-president of external affairs for 2018-19 JDC West team. We bring everyone to set up the event, to take down the event, and to count the money. There are a lot of positions to be filled and we make sure those positions are filled.
“The ride is awesome, anyone can do it, and it’s all for the greater cause of eventually finding a cure for cancer, and sending kids to Camp Good Times.”
The Inside Ride received a big boost last week as the Brink Group signed on as a major sponsor with a $2,500 donation.
“It’s amazing what they have done in terms of raising money for the cancer society,” said John Brink, founder and CEO of the Brink Group. “We want to be part of that.”
In addition to the sponsorship, Brink said the company will field two teams in the annual event.
“They raise a lot of money, and it all stays local,” said Brink. “Everyone is doing a fabulous job.”
The Inside Ride is set for October 23 at Duchess Park so there is plenty of time to get your team together and start fundraising.
“We bring the bikes, the music, the DJ and the awards,” said Blackwell. “You bring the teams of riders, the volunteers, your energy and fundraising.”
