MONTREAL — The 2,250 participants in the fourth annual Weekend to End Breast Cancer raised $6 million, benefiting the Jewish General Hospital’s Segal Cancer Centre.
Marchers make their way along the Lachine Canal in the fourth annual Weekend to End Breast Cancer benefiting the Jewish General Hospital.
This two-day, 60-kilometre walk is designed to help fund new developments in research, treatment and care for breast cancer patients in Montreal and beyond.
Since 2005, this event has raised a total of over $30 million. A fifth weekend is being planned.
After an emotional opening ceremony at the Olympic Stadium, walkers embarked on a scenic walk through the streets of Montreal. At the end of their first day, participants arrived at “Tent City” at Queen of Angels Academy in Dorval, where they enjoyed showers, hot meals, and relaxed. Hundreds of volunteers and crew members were present to provide support throughout the two-day event.
They helped serve meals, staffed the water and snack stops, provided gear transport, medical services and portable restrooms, and oversaw safety on the streets.
“Even if you’ve been part of this walk in past years, it’s still extremely impressive to see the amazing results that so many months of intensive planning and training have yielded,” said Richard Dubrovsky, chair of the Jewish General Hospital Foundation.
“The logistics and security have been organized with great care; everything from getting tents pitched to treating blistered feet. The participants know they’ll be well taken care of, so they’re all the more willing to make the physical and emotional effort to cover 60 km in two days to bring the end to breast cancer all that much closer.
“With this kind of attention to detail, it’s no wonder that so many people have been involved in the weekend, year after year.”
At next year’s fifth-anniversary event, walkers from the first four years will reunite with new participants as they embark on their first journey.
“The weekend represents a personal triumph for those who have survived breast cancer, but also for all who have met the physical challenge of completing the 60 km of walking,” added Alexis Gaiptman, director of special events at the foundation.
“It’s this sort of dedication that has become the trademark of the Weekend to End Breast Cancer. Participants from all walks of life and all backgrounds are aware that their unity is what will really make a difference. By coming together to raise funds and support one another along the route, they know they’re making a tangible difference in the fight to eradicate breast cancer.”
Proceeds from the weekend over its history have helped fund a series of research initiatives, as well as support prevention, treatment and care programs.
For more information about the Weekend, or to register to participate in the 2009 event, call (514) 393-WALK or visit www.endcancer.ca.