Trio of Grade 12 students Elia Jang, Addison Brown and Natalie Bell spearhead this year’s Cops for Cancer campaign at Oak Bay High.
Called C4C among the school community, the goal is to get the students and outside community involved, in a bid to send the most amount of kids with pediatric cancer to Camp Goodtimes.
“Cops for Cancer has always been important to me because my family has a history of cancer and I’ve seen how the diagnosis impacts families. The campaign sends children with pediatric cancer to a camp where they have the opportunity to be kids again,” Bell said.
Cops for Cancer is an array of fundraising events for the Canadian Cancer Society since it began in 1997. They have since come to include police agencies, other emergency service personnel and media. Events include cycling tours – called Tour de Rock on Vancouver Island – where riders engage with communities and schools through head shaves and other events.
The 2024 team includes 17 riders representing police and other agencies from Port Hardy to Victoria who will spend 14 days cycling Vancouver Island coast-to-coast-to coast.
In the C4C campaign at Oak Bay High, things kicked off with the traditional car wash Sept. 7, and a bottle drive Sept. 14 at Oak Bay High (2121 Cadboro Bay Rd.).
The community can continue to pitch in with purchases or donations for the garage sale on Sept. 21, starting at 9 a.m. with donations welcome the day before in the parking lot of Cranmore Road.
A silent online auction at 32auctions.com/OBC4C2024 is open all month and residents can expect to see student canvassers on the streets through September.
This is the 24th year Oak Bay High has raised funds for the cause, amassing $871,422 to date. Last year the school community raised $25,591, revealing the number when Tour riders rolled through the halls and appeared in the large gymnasium last October.
With a goal to raise $1 million, the Tour de Rock team leaves Port Alice on Sept. 21. Riders are expected to visit the West Shore and Sooke Oct. 2, Oak Bay, Victoria and Sidney on Oct. 3 and Esquimalt, Saanich and Victoria for a finale on Oct. 4.
Donate to the campaign online at bit.ly/OBC4C2024.
