Toonie for Terry

John W Gunn Middle School will be celebrating the 46th Anniversary of the Terry Fox School Run on Friday, October 2nd.

Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1958, and raised in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia. Terry was an active teenager involved in all kinds of sports, but at only 18 years old he was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma (bone cancer) and was forced to have his right leg amputated.

While in the hospital, Terry was so overcome by the suffering of other cancer patients, many of them young children, that he decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research. He called his run the “Marathon of Hope.” For over 140 days, Terry averaged over a marathon every day, until the cancer returned, and he was forced to stop just outside Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Students will have the opportunity to discuss the heroic efforts of Terry over the next week and raise much needed funds for cancer research. Through their participation in the annual School Run/Walk, we hope that our students will view themselves as positive agents of change giving the best of themselves to Canada, just like how Terry did.

Students will be participating in the Terry Fox Run/Walk with their homeroom classes within the community outside. Regarding our school fundraising efforts, we will be doing a Toonie for Terry, asking students to bring in $2 that will be donated to cancer research. Donations can also be made online. To make an online donation, please visit our school donation site: https://schools.terryfox.ca/JohnWGunnMiddleSchool Any amount of donation is greatly appreciated, and all monies raised will be donated to The Terry Fox Foundation. We will be collecting money until Friday, October 9th.

We are very pleased to be a part of this year’s Terry Fox Event as we encourage our students to develop a sense of volunteerism and goodwill, while celebrating school spirit. Thank you in advance for your support!