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| Terry Fox |
On September 18, students & teachers of Inuujaq
School were called down to the gym for an afternoon assembly. The Events Committee had planned a few activities
connected to the upcoming Terry Fox Run.
The “annual non-competitive charity event” is held every year to raise money
for cancer research. The event is named
after Canadian cancer activist Terry Fox, who began the Marathon of Hope in
1980 - running across Canada to raise cancer awareness and collect donations
for research. He began in Newfoundland
and got as far as Thunder Bay, Ontario.
If the cancer hadn’t returned, he would have made it to Vancouver. Regardless, his legacy & spirit still
lives on since his tragic death in 1981.
I wrote in 2015 that the name Terry Fox is well-known
in Arctic Bay. The former Polar Pacers
and the Midnight Sun Marathoners Organization established Terry Fox Pass on the
Road to Nanisivik. The monument stands near
the old Nanisivik Airport. Terry’s
younger brother once worked as a summer student at the old Nanisivik Mine and
participated in a Polar Pacer marathon.
Unfortunately, cancer is everywhere and exists in many
forms. (I’m not talking about the
astrological sign). The deadly disease
is present in the north and it effects many people. I feel like smoking is at the top of the list
for causing cancer in Nunavut, but don’t quote me on that. I know the media has reported that Nunavut
has a very high consumption of cigarettes and other smoking products. Increasing the price of cigarettes to $25 a
pack in Arctic Bay hasn’t caused a great decline in smoking habits. Building more houses and decreasing overcrowding
will lead to less smokers, in my opinion.
The assembly began with a short biographical video about
Terry Fox. A committee member added a
few more details about Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope. The student body was also informed about the
planned run on September 27. (More on
that later). As an incentive to raise
money for the Terry Fox Foundation, the vice-principal announced that if $900
or more was raised by the end of the month, he would dye his hair pink. Decorations were handed out to teachers with
instructions to have them coloured, named, and placed in their classrooms &
the hallway. I showed the CTV movie Terry
to my students and did a brief lesson on cancer and the dangers of smoking.
The school was unable to do a Terry Fox Run in 2017 but
we did do one in 2016 that featured the crew of the CCGS Terry Fox. Unfortunately, the coast guard vessel wasn’t
in town this time.
The run began at the school in the afternoon on September
27. You could run or walk over to the
community hall where a congratulatory barbecue was waiting for everyone. Everyone wore stickers that showed who they
were running for. I walked/ran for my
late aunt. Most people walked but a few
ran. The sun was shining and there was
no snow on the roads. There was snow on
the surrounding hilltops, foreshadowing the impending first true snowfall in
the community.
The barbecue was
handled by the Hamlet Office and open to the public. Even the local RCMP dropped by to say hello. I took several pictures but didn’t eat any
burgers or hot dogs. The students were
dismissed for the day at the barbecue.
The school bus came at 3:15pm to pick up students.
We found out the
next day that the school had managed to raise well over $900 before the end of
the month. The final amount was $1600. I can only imagine what was going through the
vice-principal’s mind? I hope he’s ready
for pink hair.
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| Arctic Bay - September 27, 2018 |
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