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Aurorans help Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer break records

October 19, 2016   ·   0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte

Hockey and charity. Is there anything more Canadian?
A team of local residents played a key role in making this year’s Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer (RHCC) event the biggest yet.
Andrew Bulmer, the managing director at Active International in Toronto, was the honourary chair of the event earlier this month, where close to 2,000 survivors, friends and family came together for the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.
While the Active International team was able to raise an incredible $15,000 for the cause, Bulmer took it one step further in organizing a second team of friends and family of which cancer has hit close to home, having lost his father to cancer five years ago.
“Together we have lost fathers, mothers, friends, a sister, a wife,” said Bulmer. “However we also wanted to celebrate family and friends who have battled and beat cancer. We were also very thankful to celebrate the day with our friend and teammate who recently beat cancer and was able to participate in RHCC with his family in attendance.”
With a goal of $10,000 in mind, the team of mostly rookies was able to collect over $45,000.
“Each of us reached out and shared our stories and were blown away by the generosity we received. Importantly, we also connected with our places of work to seek corporate employee charity matching programs. I would like to point out the generosity of Molson Coors Canada who really stepped up to the plate in support of one of our teammates.”
Bulmer said he was “blown away” by the experience, and plans on bringing his family to next year’s event again.
“There were great events to keep the kids entertained and well fed throughout the day. They also walked away with some great gifts, autographs of NHL legends and memories of their dads competing for a great cause.”
In total, the day brought in roughly $2.5 million, adding to a six-year total of close to $14 million.
Shawn Burt, an Aurora resident who coordinates the event each year, said he was concerned about a possible drop-off in numbers in 2016 after such a successful 2015.
“Thanks to the leadership of Andrew and the rest of our event Ambassadors, we broke records and are setting our sights on even bigger things in 2017. Most other peer-to-peer fundraising events across North America are in decline. To reverse that trend is a major win for Scotiabank Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer.”
The page for next year’s event is already up at www.teamuptoconquercancer.ca.

         

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