OT - Weekend to End Breast Cancer

[Eskie_Lover]

Hi guys - first I want to say thank you to everyone on these boards who helped to make my trip to Disney wonderful. I learned so much from here and know my trip was better for it.

This is off topic, but after being at Disney, and doing all that walking I started to realize just how out of shape I was - especially after the first day (I'm "very pooh sized" to put it nicely...). By the last day I was starting to realize I'd built up some stamina, and decided I didn't want to lose that. So I've decided to join the Weekend to End Breast Cancer - it is a 60km 2 day walk in downtown Toronto on Sept 10th & 11th. I will be spending the next 6 months training so that I will be able to complete this walk (though I can't guarantee it won't be on my hands and knees).

I know everyone is busy saving up for their next Disney vacation , but if you could spare a minute to read about the Walk, and especially if you could make a donation I would really appreciate it.

If this post doesn't generate a single donation, but I've inspired one other person to join the walk then it will have done a world of good in helping us get one step closer to finding a cure for this disease that affects 1 in 9 women in their lifetimes and kills 5,200 Canadian women every year.

Thank you to everyone.

Sandra Gilchrist
Participant ID 55158-2

 

[Eskie_Lover]

The website for The Weekend to End Breast Cancer is http://www.endcancer.ca

 

[my3princesses]

Good for you! This is such a great event and makes alot of much needed money.

My sister and her sister-in-laws participated in this last year in Toronto in memory of her sister-in-law. The daughters of the who it is in memory of also do it. She passed away almost 8 years ago when her youngest was 1 1/2 and her oldest was 13 and two daughters were 7 and 9. Needless to say the event is very emotional for everyone and is done done so well.

It doesn't hurt to try to train as much as you can. My sister was walking over 10k 4 times a week and was able to handle the walk with no problem. Others in the group who were not in as good of shape had little problems as the walk is not very fast paced and they found having to wait at stops lights once in awhile gave them the breaks that they needed.

Since they do this as a group they fundraise together and go to service groups (Lions, Optimist, churches), have car washes and are holding a Video dance this year for this fall's walk.

Good luck training and gaining the funds - it's not only good for your soul it's good for others in the support you are giving!

 

[Eskie_Lover]

Thanks My3Princesses.

I'm really excited about the walk - I plan on doing atleast one 10km+ walk every week, plus shorter (5km) walks on a daily basis.

I did a 7.5km walk this weekend and felt great at the end of the walk. Unfortunately though, I have a heel spur on my left foot so I spent the rest of the day in a lot of pain. Needless to say I'm off to see a podiatrist this week...

I'm on my own so the fundraising is going to be the hardest part for me. I plan to put my pride away and start begging everyone I can.

 

[princess pooh]

That's so great! My friend is doing the walk this year and she asked for donations instead of birthday presents. She also threw a potluck dinner a few weeks ago and asked everyone attending to give a donation. Good luck!

 

[maryliz]

How about a garage sale? Tell all of your friends that's what you'd like to do, and ask them if they would scour their houses for stuff to donate to your sale, and then ask them to come and help you with it!

And tell everyone that bigger items like furniture, baby stuff etc bring in quite a lot of money. Sometimes people are just looking for an excuse to get rid of stuff out of their spare bedrooms/basements, etc.

Mary-Liz

 

[mdennylusk]

This is my second year participating in the Walk. It is a lot of hard work to get the training in. And you definately have to learn to set your ego and pride aside when asking for donations. But I do have to warn you, it is also an emotional weekend. It took a lot out of me to see all the t-shirts and banners in memory of family members and friends that have been lost. It was hardest to see people my age (28) walking with the survivors at the final rally. It makes you learn to appreciate every little thing that you have.

My team has expanded this year, but we sell chocolates, beg, have a snack drawer set up at my office, and plead for donations. It's not easy.

I'm not sure where in Ontario you are in, but 2 of my team members and I are in Barrie. If you're in the area, let me know and you can join us on our training walks as well.

 

[Eskie_Lover]

I'm certain it will be a very emotional event, and I've already started to realize how many young women are affected by it. I watched the "Don't Stand Still" program and two of the women they profiled were my age when diagnosed... At my orientation there was another women younger than I am who was diagnosed 3 year ago...

I love your idea of a "snack" drawer at work!! We are just a small office (15 people), but they love their snacks, and although they used to supply us with lots of cookies & pop they have had to cut back in the last year, and to make matters worse, the building managers took out the snack machines as well....

I live in Oshawa, so I don't think I will be coming up to Barrie - I have met a few really nice people in my area though who I've started walking with.

 

[Eskie_Lover]

How about a garage sale?

I'm thinking I will do atleast one of them - I did a big clean out last year and donated everything to a church sale, but I'm sure we still have lots more, and I know others will donate...

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Eskie_Lover, just wanted to thank you for your efforts to help such a noble cause. I spent most of last year undergoing treatment for breast cancer, a disease I never dreamed I'd have. My twins were only 5yrs old when I was diagnosed.

Just this week I myself have joined a fundraising effort for the American Cancer Society and am very excited about it. A group of my friends, family and fellow survivors will be camping out for a night and taking turns walking all night long. It's a small start but this year I don't want to ask people for too much since they gave so much to me last year. Next year perhaps I'll do a bigger walk.

Thank you again. Have a great walk!

 

[mdennylusk]

The snack drawer is a huge hit in our office. One of my team members and I are accountants and work in a medium size accounting firm (50 people) and this time of year all snacks are welcome. We try to stock a variety of things, ie chips, granola bars, peanuts and instant noodles for when it's too cold to go out for lunch. We have to go back to Costco almost every week to replenish our stock. We won't make a huge amount of money but every bit helps.

We're also planning to put out some pears for those people who don't each junk food type snacks. We're going to promote it as "Buy a Pear to help save a Pair". Something a little different. We've also thought about making beeswax candles to sell and making pink ribbon pins for people to just donate money.

I'll try to forward any other ideas for fundraising that we come up with. The other 2 members from our team are from the Lindsay area, so we're going to try to focus more of our fundraising efforts to the summer months.

Good luck with your fundraising and training.
If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me. I've never got one before, but there's always a first.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We're going to promote it as "Buy a Pear to help save a Pair".

 

[Eskie_Lover]

My twins were only 5yrs old when I was diagnosed.

I think that is what has shocked me the most - the high number of women who are diagnosed in their 20 & 30's. It seems it's always been promoted as something you get when your older - they only start recommending mammograms when you are in your 40's, so people tend to think that is when the cancer is more likely to occur... Of all the survivors I've met so far - all have been young - recently married, or with young children.

Good luck with your walk. I believe The Weekend to End Breast Cancer started 3 years in Toronto, and this year it is being held in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal & Calgary as well as London England!! I believe they raised over $14 million in Toronto alone last year - hopefully this year we can top that!

The idea of walking 60km in two days seems daunting (I work 50km from my house, and each day it I try to imagine walking that distance....), but I've started my training, and I'm commited to it - not just to raise the money, but to get myself in shape, and lower my risks of developing it.