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Cops for Cancer comes to the Coast

Tour de Coast
Cops for Cancer
Griffynn Barlow is this year’s Cops for Cancer’s little buddy. He has battled cancer twice in his young life.

Over 100 Cops for Cancer riders will bike through the Sunshine Coast next week to raise awareness of childhood cancer and funds for a cure.

The police officers and other emergency personnel taking part in this year’s Tour de Coast ride will pedal over 900 kilometres between Maple Ridge, Pemberton and Powell River.

The bike tour starts on Sept. 17 and will come to the Coast on Sept. 18 with scheduled stops at the Sechelt Aquatic Centre at 10:45 a.m., Little Scholars Child Care at 11:10 a.m., Madeira Park community policing station at noon and the Sechelt RCMP detachment at 3:45 p.m.

The ride wraps up on Sept. 25 in Vancouver and the public is invited to come out and cheer on the Cops for Cancer riders as they make their way toward the finish line.

Local RCMP officers Kevin Shepherd and Hwisong (Steve) Kahng will be representing the Sunshine Coast, as well as their little buddy Griffynn Barlow, who’s going into Grade 3 this year at Langdale Elementary.

Griffynn has faced cancer twice in his young life, enduring chemotherapy both times, and last November, a bone marrow transplant.

“He’s pretty excited to be our little buddy,” Shepherd said, noting Griffynn has to be careful not to do too much while he continues to heal from the transplant, but he’s been able to meet with the officers a few times.

“I just went and visited him last week and he looks really good and happy and is bouncing around and back to mountain biking and soccer in small doses.”

While cancer has touched both Shepherd’s and Kahng’s families, it was the ability to help kids facing the disease that drew them to the ride.

All proceeds from the Cops for Cancer event will help fund camping experiences for children battling cancer as well as support pediatric cancer research.

“I think for kids especially it’s even more hard-hitting because of their young age, and it can put a damper on their spirits. So I think it’s a really good cause to rally support for,” Kahng said.

Shepherd agreed, adding that his job as an RCMP officer gave him the opportunity to do something to help.

“It’s nice to be able to give back in a huge way. We’re going to surpass $200,000 and that’s going to go to Camp Goodtimes and pediatric cancer research — that’s why we do it,” Shepherd said.

He and Kahng planned a fundraising ride with students on the Sunshine Coast in June but the teachers’ strike postponed the effort. The officers wanted to try again in early September but the ongoing dispute made the ride impossible.

The rest of the Tour de Coast team had successful fundraising efforts, putting the group’s total at more than $200,000 as Coast Reporter went to press Thursday morning.

Thursday night a sold-out Cops for Cancer ladies gala was also planned for the officers on the Coast that was expected to raise thousands to add to the team’s total.