Thursday sees the 2023 kick off of Cops for Cancer.
The event marks the beginning of the training and fundraising season for Tour de North, which will take place in September and raise funds for life-saving childhood cancer research and support programs.
Cops for Cancer first began in 1994, when Sergeant Gary Goulet of the Edmonton Police Service met Lyle Jorgenson, a then 5-year-old boy who had cancer. Goulet requested the meeting after learning that Lyle was being ridiculed at school because of his hair loss due to chemotherapy. Goulet was so moved by the boy’s story, that he rallied his colleagues to shave their heads in solidarity while raising funds for the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS), and the Cops for Cancer movement was born
More than 25 years later, Cops for Cancer, a partnership between CCS and first responders, is a national program that raises impactful funds for life-saving childhood cancer research and to support children with cancer and their families navigate an extremely challenging experience. Since its inception, the initiative has raised almost $52 million through cycling tours and fundraising events such as head shaves, helping CCS to become the largest funder of childhood cancer research in Canada.
In British Columbia, Cops for Cancer hosts four cycling tours every September in regions across the province – Tour de Rock, Tour de Coast, Tour de Valley and Tour de North. In 2022, the four events raised a total of more than $1.5 million.
To learn more visit copsforcancer.ca, cancer.ca or call 1 888-939-3333.
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