July 29, 2015

, 2015 | ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES

Backyard burning snuffed year-round in P Alberni & Region, Page 3

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Serving the Alberni Valley

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jority of childhood cancers why the Tour de Rock strongly that one day we will be able to d perhaps even pre-empt. ventable. With Vancouver of hot, sunny weather, it’s a e are simple ways to minimize from sun exposure.

nd your family stay sun safe:

ght long-sleeved clothes that he summer. The more skin ring a hat with a wide brim is ur skin, especially since many e and neck.

E IN DIRECT SUN

ore 11 a.m. or after 4 p.m., gest, or any time of the day Most people will naturally the summer sun, but it’s also d natural shade or create your

th UVA and UVB protection (use SPF 30 if you’re going to wenty minutes before you go unt of sunscreen to clean, dry o be exposed to sun: feet, ears hroughout the day.

ble to the sun’s UV rays and doors. A bad or blistering ncreases a child’s risk of life.

or Cancer

ordinator 92.2244

at TourdeRock.ca @TourdeRock and mention #forthekids

D SPONSORS

ER SPONSORS nn on Long Lake • U-Haul ss Resort • Painter’s Lodge otel & Convention Centre

NZE SPONSORS Best Western Plus Barclay ear Resort • CREST Motion • Quality Resort Bayside Victoria Mobile Radio

UNITY SPONSORS BC Ferry Services Ladysmith & Parksville)

Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock TourdeRock.ca Sept 19 – Oct 2, 2015

ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES | WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2015

What is the Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock?

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he simplest answer is that it’s a two-week bicycle journey in which a team of police officers ride more than 1,000 kilometres from the north end of Vancouver Island to the south, raising money to fight childhood cancer.

Since 1998, Tour de Rock has raised more than $20 million for the Canadian Cancer Society, which uses the money to fund pediatric cancer research and programs.

The story goes back to 1994, when a group of Edmonton police officers shaved their heads in support of a boy who had lost his hair to chemotherapy. By 1997, the Cops for Cancer head shaves had reached Victoria.

The local police wanted to try something bigger. A brainstorming session between the cops and the Canadian Cancer Society led to the suggestion of a bike ride the length of the Island. And the rest is history.

A new team is picked every year. This year’s team is made up of 20 police officers and one member of the media. The sacrifices demanded of the riders and their families over the seven months of their Tour experience – three days a week of training and fundraising on top of that – cannot be stressed enough. What is harder to prepare for is the emotional side of the journey. The riders are paired with junior team members, children with a history of cancer. Some of these children continue to deal with the oftendebilitating effects of cancer treatment even while participating in Tour events. Their stories are both troubling and inspiring for the riders.

The good news for these children and their families is that we are heading in the right direction. Childhood cancer survival rates are rising (since Tour de Rock’s inception the five-year survival rate has increased 11% to 83%), and treatments are less invasive and have fewer side effects now. There is a direct link between these advances and the efforts of the people of Vancouver Island who, since 1998, have embraced this cause as their own.

TOUR DE ROC SUCCEED WIT SUPPORTERS FOR THE KIDS

If you’ve ever atten Rock community stops odds are you’ve heard (after the kids) often t loudest!

Debi and Tom Demp “Tour mom and dad”, who have been involv Rock since the beginni go on the road with th two weeks, other year day trips up-Island from team on. But for 17 ye volunteered to suppor “Volunteering for To being part of our comm this is something that that,” Debi says. “It’s a too, because we’ve go time through Cops for friends we’ve met, the kids and families, the a we’ve been exposed t amazing the opportun the sense of communi Vancouver Island since The Dempseys are t volunteers who suppo year. From event organ Port Hardy to Victoria, crew who will hit the r Tour de Rock couldn’t h volunteers who step u “We know that the team says goodbye to people there who get do we top that next ye

TOUR DE ROCK

Volunteers lead the charge on Vancouver Island

CK COULDN’T THOUT SELFLESS S WHO FIGHT S

nded one of the Tour de s over the past 17 years, d the Dempseys; they are the ones cheering the

psey, better known as are longtime volunteers ved with the Tour de ing. Some years they he team for the whole rs they take multiple m Victoria to cheer the ears straight, they have rt the Tour. om and I is important; munity is important, and has allowed us to do a bit of a selfish thing, otten so much out of our Cancer Tour de Rock; the e other volunteers, the amazing communities to – it’s just absolutely nities that we’ve had and ity that we’ve seen on e the first year.” two of countless ort the Tour de Rock each nizers all the way from to the riders and support road in mid-September, happen without the up for a truly worthy cause. moment the Tour de Rock o a community, there are to work, saying, ‘OK, how ear?’” says the Canadian

Cancer Society’s Jan Buehler. “It’s humbling knowing there are volunteers who care so deeply about what Tour de Rock does and what it means to Vancouver Island kids that they’re working to fundraise year-round. The amount of people who volunteer their time in all kinds of ways to support the team and support kids battling cancer means the world to us.”

Debi says she and Tom have seen firsthand how Tour de Rock has evolved over the years, all thanks to those volunteers in every community who care.

“

It’s like being embraced by a warm hug in every community we go into. ”

“That first year, people didn’t know what it was and they didn’t know how to respond to it.

So what really stands out for us is how people in the communities have really embraced it. You get supporters and volunteers doing so much now to support it any way they can,” Debi says.

Apart from the bond that connects all Tour supporters – a unified fight against a terrible disease – there’s an even greater connection that has developed between volunteers over the years.

“We get to meet a lot of great volunteers in the communities. So every year, as those relationships developed, it would be like a family visit once a year; we’d pull into those communities and you look for those familiar faces,” she says. “I just think Vancouver Island communities are amazing.

It’s like being embraced by a warm hug in every community we go into. These volunteers and supporters, they give of themselves for others who are in need. There’s just nothing like it.”

Events Calendar UPCOMING TOUR DE ROCK FUNDRAISING EVENTS SOUTH ISLAND Greater Victoria Bottle Drive August & September at Bottle Depot Locations Take all your bottles to your local Bottle Depot’s donation bin! All funds support Tour de Rock. Visit bottledepot.ca for locations.

Garage Sale & BBQ at West Shore RCMP Saturday, August 8 • 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Head out to the West Shore RCMP Parking Lot, 698 Atkins Avenue, for the garage sale of the century!

Haircuts #forthekids at Brothers Barbershop Sunday, August 9 • 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Come down to Brothers Barbershop at 770 Fort Street – get a fresh look and support Tour de Rock!

MID ISLAND Red Arrow Brewing Fundraising BBQ in Duncan Thursday, August 13 • 3 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Taste some amazing local new brews, enjoy some BBQ and help raise funds for kids fighting cancer. Info: Matt at matt@juicefm.ca.

Join the Team at Just Jakes in Duncan Sunday, August 16 • 12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Cheer the Tour de Rock team on as they arrive at Just Jakes Restaurant the day of their Mock Tour! Then, join the team for a BBQ lunch. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at Just Jakes, 45 Craig Street. Limited tickets available.

Cops for Cancer Show’n Shine in Qualicum Saturday, August 29, gates open at 8 a.m.

Join us at the Qualicum Beach Golf Club for the 2015 Show’n Shine! Enjoy breakfast or lunch at Thalassa Restaurant. Car entry $15. Public entry by donation.

Info: Clay at 250.752.9615 or lorrclay@shaw.ca.

NORTH ISLAND 6th Annual Sayward Fishing Derby Saturday, August 22 & Sunday, August 23 Test your lines in the Johnstone Strait and see who can pull in the biggest catch! Info: Sandy Sanderson at s.sanders@telus.net.

Cups for Cancer Barrel Race in Comox Valley Saturday, August 29 & Sunday, August 30 at 10 a.m.

At the Comox Valley Fair Grounds riders of all ages and skill levels can compete for great prizes while supporting a great cause. Fun for everyone! Entry fee $10, plus $5 administration. Info or to pre-register: Kandi Woods at 250.923.3941.

To see a complete listing of all upcoming Tour de Rock fundraising events, please visit TourdeRock.ca/Upcoming-Events

TOUR DE ROCK

WEDNESDAY, JULY 29,

Community support helps Tour de Rock thrive ISLANDERS SHOW STRENGTH IN HELPING TO FIGHT CANCER, DESPITE ECONOMIC CHALLENGES

T

he 30-kilometre drive from the Island Highway to Port Alice is quite memorable, as the road weaves its way through lush forest down into the small, scenic community. The 30-kilometre bike ride back out is memorable for very different reasons (the least of which is the tough uphill climb).

The Village of Port Alice, the starting point for the two-week Tour de Rock fundraising ride, has a population of roughly 800 people.

And it seems as if every single one of them greets the team with wide open arms and warm hospitality every year. It’s the perfect start to the ride that sees stops in 27 communities – big and small – on Vancouver Island.

“The people here are very giving,” says Yvonne Spafford, a longtime resident of Port Alice who has volunteered to help organize the annual Tour de Rock event there for more than a decade.“Very giving” is an understatement, especially when you consider what’s going on in that community.

There have been years when the pulp mill, the village’s lifeblood, has been closed for months by the time the Tour de Rock rolls in.

The mill employs nearly a quarter of Port Alice residents, so its closure has the potential to devastate everybody living in the small town.

But what’s special about this tight-knit community, and many others that the Tour de Rock visits each year, is no matter what’s happening in the local economy, people still come out in droves to donate money.

“I think we really gravitate towards (Tour de Rock) because being in a small town you know everybody, and everybody’s been touched by cancer or known somebody with cancer or has had cancer. In a small town like this, you hear more about it; when you know everybody, you know what’s going

Stay heal this sum

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he sad reality is the vast maj are not preventable. That’s w supports cancer research so t diagnose and treat even earlier, and Some cancers, however, are prev Island going through a long stretch good time to remind you that there your risk of developing skin cancer f

Here are four tips to help you an

1 COVER UP

on,” Spafford says. “It’s a very giving town.

If someone’s sick, you get a barbecue going and everybody’s down there. Tour de Rock, because it’s a function to raise money to help children with cancer, people are willing to donate whatever they can because they want to help.”

Port Alice is just one example. There are many amazing communities on the Island that step up like this and make a meaningful difference in the lives of children living with cancer.

“We get to visit a lot of incredible communities over these two weeks, and we meet so many people who, it doesn’t matter what their economic situation is like today or if the largest employer in their community is shut down, they still want to do what they can to help,” says Dan Mayo, chair of the Tour de Rock steering committee. “It leaves us speechless, truly. The selflessness of the people of Vancouver Island who want to end childhood cancer is the reason why Tour de Rock is a success.”

The pulp mill in Port Alice curtailed operations in February, and is expected to reopen in August. Despite this, as they’ve done in years past, area residents are still busy planning a memorable fundraising dinner and they will still do what they can to support the cause.

And come the morning of Sept. 20, as the 2015 Tour de Rock riders begin their journey by pedalling out of Port Alice, their minds will be on the hospitality and support they received there, knowing it is just the first taste of unforgettable hospitality that’s to come in every other Vancouver Island community, too.

Wear loose-fitting and lightweig you’re comfortable in through th that’s covered, the better. Wear the simplest way to protect you skin cancers happen on the face

2 FIND SHADE AND LIMIT TIM

Plan your outdoor activities befo when the sun is not at its strong when the UV Index is 2 or less. seek out shade to cool off from a great prevention method. Find own with an umbrella.

3 USE SUNSCREEN PROPERLY

Find a sunscreen that offers bot that has an SPF of 15 or higher be outside most of the day). Tw outside, apply a generous amou skin (any parts that are going to and bald spots, too!). Reapply th

4 PROTECT CHILDREN

Children are especially vulnerab need to be protected when outd sunburn before the age of 18 in developing skin cancer later in l

Support Cops fo Tour de Rock

To get involved, contact: Katie Crowe, Tour de Rock Coo kcrowe@bc.cancer.ca | 250.59

Donate Now & learn about the 2015 team facebook.com/ CopsTourdeRock

Thank you to our 2015 Tour de Rock Sponsors TOUR SPONSOR

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PARTNER SPONSOR

GOLD

SILVE Accent Inns • In Canadian Princes The Westerly Ho

BRON Atomic Crayon • B Black Be Island Rehabilitation in Triangle RV •

PLATINUM SPONSORS

Trek Bicycle Store

COMMU Artbox • Tim Hortons (L Printing and distribution of Tour de Rock feature generously sponsored by: