TFRI-funded research teams from coast to coast showed their true colours this year, turning out by the dozens in researcher-designated purple T-shirts and forming teams to raise funds for cancer research at the 36th Terry Fox Run on Sunday Sept. 18.
Early estimates show the research community's fundraising efforts resulted in over $105,000 raised. The number is based on combining all the known TFRI teams totals that appeared online a few days after the run. In addition, approximately 500 T-shirts were purchased by teams, their friends, families and associates as part of the TFRI Purple T-Shirt Challenge.
Notably this year, the Vancouver Prostate Cancer Team raised over $37,000 in donations and purchased 58 purple T-shirts. The team turned out in full force at Stanley Park in Vancouver to run and hear the lead of the long-time program project grant, Dr. Martin Gleave, talk about how Terry Fox funds have had an impact on prostate cancer.(See team photo below).
Showing another strong performance this year was the Ottawa-based COVCo PPG team led by Dr. John Bell, with approximately $22,000 raised.
The teams from TFRI's Headquarters(HQ) in Vancouver and the COEUR,CPCBN and CRCHUM in Montreal were neck and neck with $6,300 and $6,625 raised. The HQ team also sold $1,145 in T-shirts in the days before the run and gained more support when members of several BC-based teams joined the HQ effort.
New and longstanding teams also showed strong turnouts and support. Drs. Singh, Lupien, Ohashi and Wrana, newly funded award holders, had teams in various locations in Toronto and Oakville run for the cause. TFRI researchers and trainees in Atlantic Canada also had a presence at runs in Halifax and St. John's. On the West coast, Drs. Humphries, Gleave, Lam and Ling headed teams.
Notable standout individual fundraisers on teams this year were: Dr. Martin Gleave who raised over $20,000 for team VPC; Dr. Peter Black, also with VPC, who raised $11,000+; Dr. Rebecca Auer, with over $8,160 for the COVCo team; and TFRI HQ team member Marlene Manson, who raised over $2,300.
TFRI President and Scientific Director Dr. Victor Ling was thrilled by the strong turnout and expressed his thanks to each and every person who helped to make this year's team challenge and fundraising efforts so successful.
Although the final numbers raised this year through the annual national run are yet unknown, The Terry Fox Foundation said it is quite optimistic that this year will be as strong or better than the totals from last year. "What we can see is that we are very happy with our online numbers which are on par with last year for donations received and increased in the number of participants who registered online," the Foundation told us. The Foundation expects to know and share more once the results of the school runs, held over the last two weeks, are tallied.
Below is a summary list of the TFRI teams that participated in the run and team challenge (according to online records):
NOTE: IF WE MISSED LISTING YOUR TEAM HERE, PLEASE LET US KNOW!
IF YOU HAVE A TEAM PICTURE TO SHARE, SEND IT TO US! E-mail info@tfri.ca and we'll be happy to add your name
Quebec
TFRI Goodman Cancer Research Centre Foxtrotters
TFRI COEUR, CPCBN, CRCHUM
TFRI C4 (Canadian Colorectal Cancer Consortium)
Ontario
TFRI Hypoxia Team
TFRI Immunotherapy Network
TFRI Team Rottapel for Terry
TFRI-TNBC
TFRI GBM
TFRI The MAGICians
TFRI Team Hippo
The Hydra-Killers
Guelph Cancer Biotherapy Group
Stemness Program
COVCo Team
British Columbia
Bloodrunners
TFRI Vancouver Prostate Centre
TFRI-HQ
Terry Fox Lung Team
Atlantic Canada
BHCRI- Teams in Halifax and St. John's
TFRI HQ team at Stanley Park
TFRI Hypoxia team customized T-shirt
Vancouver Prostate Centre team
Team Hippo (Wrana) PPG team at the Terry Fox Run, UCC/Forest Hill.
Back row (left to right): Ted Higgenbotham (Trainee), Emad Heidaryarash (Trainee), Sabrina Sen (Trainee), Liliana Attisano (PI, U of T), Jeff Wrana (Lead PI, LTRI), Frank Sicheri (PI, LTRI), Helen McNeill (PI, LTRI), Shawn Xiong (Trainee), Boris Dyakov (Trainee)
Front row (left to right): Mandeep Gill (Trainee), Carrie Causing-Henderson (Project Manager), Calley Hirsch (Trainee), Olive and Henry Hirsch, Kai Henderson, Dan Mao (Research Associate)
Team GBM (Singh) post-run in Oakville