Sunshine Coast RCMP constables Ed Harrison and Dustin Shevchenko will pedal more than 900 km to raise money for childhood cancer research next month as part of the Cops for Cancer Tour de Coast.
The annual Canadian Cancer Society fundraiser will see dozens of law enforcement and emergency services personnel trade their uniforms for biking shorts from Sept. 21 to 29.
Tour de Coast riders will start in Vancouver and bike through the Sunshine Coast, Powell River, Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, New Westminster and Richmond before ending again in Vancouver. Along the way participants will stop to talk with school and community groups about why they’re riding and what they hope to accomplish.
Harrison and Shevchenko have both been training for the ride since they signed up in February, as neither is an avid bike rider.
Shevchenko said he wanted to get involved because it was a good cause and a good way to connect with the Sunshine Coast community. He moved here late last year and is still getting to know people.
“There’s a bit of a personal connection as well with cancer,” Shevchenko said. “My dad had it and is now cancer-free, but it was definitely a trying time for our family. It was a good eye-opener as to what you go through.”
Harrison said he wanted to get involved to give back. “I watched my trainer go through it last year and realized that the cause is amazing,” Harrison said.
“It’s an opportunity for us to give back to the community, to those who are struggling.”
Harrison said he’s also had several family members who have been touched by cancer, including one of his godchildren, who was matched up with a Tour de Rock rider as a cancer buddy in the past.
Riders are often matched with young cancer survivors who help drive home the importance of the fundraiser.
This year Harrison and Shevchenko have been matched with four-year-old Isabella as their buddy. Isabella lives in Vancouver, however her entire family is from the Sunshine Coast.
The officers couldn’t find a young cancer patient living on the Coast to be matched with this year.
“It’s exciting because it was hard to find a buddy,” Harrison said.
“We looked within the [local] schools but no one came forward.”
Harrison and Shevchenko haven’t met Isabella yet, but they hope to see her at the biggest Tour de Coast fundraiser on the Coast – the Cops for Cancer Ladies’ Red Serge Gala.
“Hopefully her health allows for her to be here,” Harrison said.
The Red Serge Gala is an annual Cops for Cancer Tour de Coast fundraiser that last year brought in $45,000 for the cause.
This year’s gala will take place at Holy Family Parish Hall on Nickerson Road in West Sechelt on Sept. 15 starting at 5:30 p.m.
The evening features appetizers, a gourmet dinner and drinks served by RCMP members and firefighters, along with a silent and live auction, door prizes, draws, raffles and the ever-popular casino, where guests can win Mountie bucks to bid on items.
As of Wednesday this week, there was only a handful of $75 tickets left for the event, available at the Sunshine Coast RCMP detachment.
Harrison and Shevchenko hope this year’s event will be another successful one and said their dealings with new organizer Carrie Sacco have been great. Sacco is taking the reins from longtime coordinator Catherine Gadsby this year.
Find out more about the gala on Facebook by searching Sunshine Coast ladies red serge gala-cops for cancer. Pictures of the many prizes up for grabs are detailed on the Facebook page.
To donate directly to the local riders in the Cops for Cancer Tour de Coast ride, go to http://convio.cancer.ca/site/TR?fr_id=21832&pg=entry. Enter their names in the search engine to find their individual donation pages.
