The first-ever "virtual" Terry Fox Runs in Chatham-Kent may have been missing some of the usual camaraderie, but there was no shortage of support for the local fundraising efforts.
Virtual events were held across the municipality in Chatham, Dresden, Wallaceburg, Blenheim, Tilbury, and Ridgetown on Sunday with registration taking place online.
Pat McMahon, who organized the Chatham run, said it made for a lonely day out on his route, but the weather held up and he still saw a lot of positive posts online bringing awareness to the campaign.
"You get a real vibe when you're in a crowd that are all working toward the same end to raise money for cancer research and everyone has their own personal stories and connections to both cancer and the Terry Fox Foundation, so you did miss that," said McMahon. "But a lot more people were using social media to pass on their stories and their connections and what they did during their participation of the Terry Fox Run, so if you were connected to social media, you did get that feeling.'
The online registration this year also provided an opportunity for some unique connections. It allowed people to register for the local events from outside of the municipality -- and even from outside of the country.
"In Dresden, for instance, there was someone registered from Australia," said McMahon. "It's a good way to connect across various jurisdictions because you could just pick a site to register for that is close to your heart or your hometown."
McMahon said the initial totals from the Chatham run are over $6,600 so far, adding that's mostly just from the online donations -- more support is still expected to come in from paper pledge sheets that will be mailed in. The group also still has to add in proceeds from the sales of t-shirts and other merchandise.
Looking ahead to next year's event, McMahon said Sunday's event was a great starting point in case the 2021 run also has to be carried out online.
"This was kind of sprung on us this year, nobody knew the pandemic was going to happen -- so, it wasn't until April or May that the Terry Fox Foundation started focusing on the virtual run aspect of things," said McMahon. "It was a build up to it and I think there were lessons learned."
The initial totals for all of the Terry Rox Runs across Chatham-Kent are listed below and will be updated as more information comes in.
CK Terry Fox Run Fundraising Totals*
- Chatham: $6,826.50
- Dresden: $24,350
- Wallaceburg: $12,000 (estimated)
- Blenheim: $8,389
- Tilbury: $7,490
- Ridgetown: $1,500
*Most of these totals were collected from a spokesperson with the Terry Fox Foundation as of 11 a.m. Monday, September 21, 2020. The spokesperson also noted that the totals are mostly from the online portion of the fundraising -- several pledge sheets still need to be collected and donations are still being accepted online at terryfox.org.