Killarney Guide

BY JAY STRUTH

Killarney School raised $13,500 last fall in Terry Fox Run fundraising, which was the most in Manitoba.

In recognition of the major milestone, Terry’s brother Fred Fox paid a special visit to the school on Wednesday. He offered a more personalized glimpse at his brother’s life and his commitment to everything he did.

“I think it’s so cool that Killarney School is the top fundraising school in Manitoba,” said Fred Fox to a gymnasium full of K-8 students and teachers. “It’s amazing. You’re not a school in Winnipeg, in the big city, but you’re here in a small community in southwestern Manitoba, and you’re doing your part of continuing Terry’s dream.”

Terry’s dream was to eradicate cancer. His Marathon of Hope began on April 12, 1980, when he dipped his right leg in the Atlantic Ocean near St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, and filled two large bottles with ocean water. He intended to keep one as a souvenir and pour the other into the Pacific Ocean upon completing his journey at Victoria, British Columbia.

Fox never completed his journey, as he was forced to stop running on September 1, 1980 after being admitted to hospital, and learning that cancer had spread to his lungs. 

His goal was to raise awareness and money for cancer research, and to set an example that would never be forgotten. He did just that.

Fox had raised $1.7 million when he was forced to abandon the Marathon of Hope. A week after his run ended, a nationwide telethon in support of Fox and the Canadian Cancer Society raised an additional $10.5 million. Donations continued throughout the winter, and by April of 1981 over $23 million had been raised.

Terry succumbed to cancer on June 28, 1981, but his legacy continues to live on. 

Fox set in motion the framework for an event, The Terry Fox Run, which would ignite cancer research in Canada, raising more than $850 million since 1980.

“These kids obviously weren’t born in 1980 when Terry was running, and a lot of their parents probably weren’t born yet either, so it’s important to keep sharing his story,” Fred Fox told The Guide after his presentation to the school. “Like Terry said, everybody is going to be touched by cancer in one way or another, and Terry’s story is about cancer and research and everything else. But I think the more I let people know about him, and what he was like, the more they can be inspired. Terry was a very positive force.”

THEIR LAST PHOTO – Fred Fox shares the last photo ever taken of him and his brother together, just two weeks before Terry’s Marathon of Hope had to be cancelled because of the return of his cancer. Terry received multiple chemotherapy treatments, but the disease continued to spread. He died on June 28, 1981, but his legacy lives on. 

AUTOGRAPHS – Terry Fox’s brother, Fred Fox, signs autographs for Killarney School students on Wednesday after his personalized presentation about his brother, complete with family photos. Fred visited Killarney School to congratulate them on being Manitoba’s top Terry Fox fundraising school for 2023. Killarney School raised $13,500 for the Terry Fox Foundation last year, and this year their goal is to raise over $14,000.

TOP FUNDRAISING STUDENTS – From left: Casey Taylor with $808 raised, Jackson Giesbrecht with $1,104, Hudson Taylor with $715, and Alaana Salas with $561 raised for cancer research.

TERRY FOX TOP FUNDRAISERS – Mrs. Little’s class, which raised $2,803, was the top class for Terry Fox cancer research fundraising this year. And, for the second year in a row, Jackson Giesbrecht was the top fundraiser in Killarney School, raising a whopping $1,104. The final fundraising tally for the entire school was $13,504.35. As the top fundraising class, Mrs. Little’s crew has earned themselves a chocolate smoothie party.