By Claire Piech
Whistler’s first-ever Cancer for Awareness And Prevention (CAAP) Walk will be held along the Valley Trail Saturday, June 16, followed by a reception with local music, door prizes, and a silent auction at Dusty’s.
Local ladies Shannon Byrne Susko, Tammy Peavoy, and Scalene Warren are the masterminds behind the 5 km or 25 km event. The women decided to organize it after realizing that little was being done in the Whistler community to raise general knowledge of cancer.
“We really wanted to focus on looking at awareness and prevention of cancer in Whistler and the Sea to Sky corridor,” said Susko.
“A lot of people think of Whistler as cancer free, and that is far from the truth,” she said.
According to Susko , a staggering 40 per cent of all cancers are preventable.
“We want to get the information out to each and every one. You know, these are the things you should be asking your doctor when you see him in order to prevent cancer. We want to improve the information out there, so individuals become more proactive in their health,” she said.
So far, the event has raised about $10,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society. The hope is the final total will reach $20,000, which will all be donated to the society.
“We want to go big. We really want to make a difference and raise a fairly substantial amount of money. We thought that twenty grand would be a good amount to make a reasonable difference in our community,” said Susko .
The rest of the money will be raised from online pledges, as well as revenue generated from the reception held at Dusty’s after the walk.
Susko added that the women hope to build up the event to become one of the main fundraisers in the Sea to Sky corridor for cancer.
“We’ve already started thinking and talking about the next one,” she said.
Sign in starts at 8 a.m. Saturday at Dusty’s Square in Creekside. You can also register online in advance at www.cancer.ca under “how can you help” and follow the links to the Whistler CAAP Walk. An online pledge system is available with registration.
The walk begins at 9 a.m. at Dusty’s. A 25 km loop and a 5 km loop are the two options for participants.
Music and après walk celebrations begin at 1 p.m. at Dusty’s.
