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The Great Cycle Challenge Canada Fundraiser
180 Plays2 years ago
We are now in the second week of the Great Cycle Challenge in Canada. I thought this would be a good time to meet Ian Parker, who directs fundraising for the Sick Kids Foundation.
We spoke about inspiring Canadians who cycle to raise money every August, the community created through our efforts, the importance of diversity and gratitude for Canadians who give.
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Transcript
Introducing Unapologetically Canadian by Tracey Ariel
00:00:02
Speaker
My name is Tracey Ariel and I am an apologetically Canadian.
00:00:15
Speaker
And welcome to Unapologetically Canadian's latest season where we focus on ancestors, businesses, creators, and community in Canada. And this week, we're going to be focusing on community.
Community Involvement in Cancer Fundraising
00:00:29
Speaker
The whole month of August, a bunch of us use our legs to raise money for cancer and join a moment of other people to participate in a community that really cares.
00:00:42
Speaker
My interview with Ian Parker can give you more information about all about it and I'd love to hear about what you're doing this summer too and drop me a line if you can and here's the interview.
00:00:54
Speaker
Uh, okay. So hello, my name is Ian Parker. Um, I am a member of the sick and foundation special events team as a coordinator. Um, and more specifically my role for this year or for the next few months, at least is, uh, I am the manager for the great cycle challenge, which is our largest, uh, fundraiser. It is a month long annual campaign taking place in the month of August. Um, but as I will eventually tell you, it is well underway and we've already started our fundraising and hoping to get a good headstart and crush our goal for this year.
Personal Motivations for the Great Cycle Challenge
00:01:23
Speaker
Yeah, and I've participated. This is my third year and I've already raised $305, so I'm all happy. Nice. You're only $5 ahead of me, so a great deal. At the beginning, I've heard us raise money. I thought I should probably do this for myself, too.
00:01:40
Speaker
Yeah, well, I'm raising money on behalf of my mom died in 2010. So I'm writing, I'm writing in her memory. So this is one of the annual fundraisers that I do for myself in her memory. Yeah, so I think it's, it's actually very motivating to work with a whole lot of other people who are raising money for research. And what I like about this challenge as well is that you do it as part of your regular life.
00:02:07
Speaker
It's not, you don't start in one place and end in another place. There's no touring. You can do whatever works for you. And I think
Flexible Participation in the Challenge
00:02:14
Speaker
that makes it. Yeah, for a bike ride just around a neighbourhood every day, but you're still making a difference. Yeah, which is basically the way I've done it. Like I've done my 300 kilometres just by biking around my neighbourhood. For me, I'm the same. Anytime I bike to the grocery store, I bike to get a haircut, I thought, all right, that's a kilometre or that's a little bit.
00:02:32
Speaker
It's a small thing. I look at it kind of the same way with donations. It's a small thing. It's like one or five or ten that adds up to be lost. Yeah, and so anybody in Canada can participate by being part of that. Can you tell me a little bit about how it started? Yeah, so it started back in 2016.
00:02:51
Speaker
It was actually founded by a team in Australia, so they were the ones who came up with the concept of it. So GCC actually takes place in Canada, in Australia, and in the United States. So they came up with the idea a little bit before 2016 and basically said, okay, this is doing really well, we want to spread it. So they actually reached out to a children's hospital in Canada that does a lot of good work called SickKids.
Origin and Impact of the Challenge
00:03:14
Speaker
And we got on board that we thought it was just a fantastic idea. I'm not entirely sure which hospital they work with in the United States, but I know that it is going on there as well. And yes, after they proposed this idea, they kind of said, we'll work on kind of the promotion stuff, but we would like Canada to really take the lead and work with the communities around to get things going. And so that was in 2016, and it's now blossomed to where it is today. And
00:03:40
Speaker
We've already raised over the past six years over $30 million. Wow. And can you tell me a little bit about where the money's gone? Yeah. So it all goes towards the goal of the Green Cycle Challenge is fighting kids' cancer. Cancer is something that affects all of us.
00:03:55
Speaker
people want to specifically target cancer in children because, you know, no child should be really fighting for their life when they should be living their life. So at St. Kitts Foundation, sorry, at St. Kitts Hospital, we have something called the Garen Family Cancer Center, which was opened up back in 2013, if I recall correctly.
00:04:11
Speaker
Yeah, 2013. And they are, I believe, the largest cancer center that we have here in Toronto. And we actually take care of not just people from Toronto itself, but also about 25% of all cancer patients here in Canada. And all of that money that's raised goes towards research, towards actual treatment, for its providing for families who maybe can't afford such things like travel costs or anything else that's really affecting them when they're dealing with a child that has cancer.
00:04:40
Speaker
Right. And so basically the money that this is your biggest fundraiser. What are the other fundraisers that you use?
00:04:49
Speaker
So our two, yeah, I would say our two largest ones, we have something called Say Kids Get Loud, which is a, it's like similar to GCC, a month-long campaign where people
Other Events by SickKids Foundation
00:05:00
Speaker
fundraise. That one's targeted a little bit more towards families than individual riders such as myself or yourself. So they raise money with parents and their children and that all come, ends with a nice,
00:05:11
Speaker
I want to say festival of sorts and a little walk at the very end of the month and it'll be this year, it's called Downstreet Park, which is located just in the north end of Toronto. So that's one of them. We also have something called a Million Reasons Run, which is a very similar concept to GCC, but instead of getting on a bike, you're just running. So, gotta just strap on your shoes and run as many comments as you can and raise as much money as you can.
00:05:35
Speaker
Right. And so some of the ways that people get involved is not just by individuals, but they also have teams. And they also have, I mean, there's some really big fundraisers who are part of it.
00:05:52
Speaker
We have some people that really, they go above and beyond. Obviously, any amount raised is amazing, but we do notice there's some people that are raising like $10,000, $13,000, $15,000. Sometimes over the smallest things, like simple donations of $5, $10, they're having a big sale, but they just are very persistent. They talk to a lot of people in their community and they have a lot of great connections. Those small donations eventually build up to the tune of over $10,000.
00:06:17
Speaker
Yeah, a lot of incredible work out there. But obviously we appreciate everyone, no matter how much they raise, just for contributing to the fight that we're all fighting for.
Flexible Fundraising Methods in August
00:06:26
Speaker
Can you talk a little bit about how the campaign goes? Because, I mean, I've participated in it. Yes, of course. Yeah, I'll try to keep it as short as I can. I do talk a lot, so my apologies. But the short version is it is a month-long campaign beginning from August 1st, August 31st, in terms of the
00:06:42
Speaker
However, it starts now and what we're telling people is you hop on your bike, you raise money. That's a very gist of it. You can log your kilometers, you can set a goal of either 10 kilometers, 1 kilometer, even not even hop on, you cannot hop on a bike at all. But you set a personal goal whenever you're comfortable with and you go around your community, talk to your friends, family, share it on your social media.
00:07:04
Speaker
and raise funds. You can have people give you cash, you can enter that in online, people can donate directly to your page. Whatever way you're able to obtain money is good with us and people can really fundraise to whatever amount they want to. That was not the best explanation, I'm sorry, that was slightly less overused. But yes, that's the short version of it.
00:07:29
Speaker
All right, and then so talk a little bit about it because this is called unapologetically Canadian. So one of the things that we like to do is talk about the Canadian identity per se. So can you talk about because this came out of Australia, it's in the US.
Canadian Community Spirit in Fundraising
00:07:47
Speaker
Can you tell what's what's different about the Canadian version of the Great Cycle Challenge?
00:07:53
Speaker
Well, I don't, I couldn't tell you too much about how the U.S. does it, but we're cannabis and we're automatically a little bit better. But I would say one thing that's kind of, one thing that I mean, I've been born and raised in Toronto and I've been around Canada my whole life and I've been very privileged to travel around to so many, like I've driven across Vancouver and all the way across the East coast. And what they always found when I go to, especially small towns, is just a sense of community. There are people that come from all walks of life. They have completely different upbringings and lifestyles and yet
00:08:21
Speaker
we all just kind of come together to fight the same cause and just over the conversations I've been having with people and looking at the GCC Friends Canada Facebook group that we have where people can come together I think what really makes us special and different is just how much we care how how friendly we are how supportive we are of each other even if it's someone from BC talking to somebody from Nova Scotia you can have them connect on Facebook and share their story and bring them together by the shared experiences that they have and
00:08:51
Speaker
Sure, America might be able to do that, but I think that we're really unique in just how supportive and kind we are to everybody, even when we have our struggles as well. Because, you know, I'll see on a Facebook group that people that they're kind of complaining, they maybe have the best intentions, but they're not the most happy. And instead of people just getting upset with them, they try to bring them back up and remind them that even if you're not feeling the greatest today, we're all working towards the same thing.
00:09:16
Speaker
I always love when I see those stories because it reminds me that there are so many good people out there that just want to help make a difference. And can you talk a little bit about some of the other people who were involved?
Inspiring Fundraiser Stories
00:09:27
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, some individual stories of people. I'm not sure if they're comfortable with me sharing their names, but I can tell you that the moment I first started, I was told that there are some people that really like to go above and beyond. And there's this older woman from small town Ontario who managed to raise, I want to say, $11,000 to $13,000 last year. And so I gave her a call and I asked her, hey, what did you do? Like, how did you get from just not knowing about this challenge at all to where you are at this point? And she told me she has this really simple concept of,
00:09:55
Speaker
somebody is living and breathing they have the ability to donate and she will seriously go around to little just she'll be riding her bike wearing her jersey and she will pass people on the road and sometimes people will actually stop and talk and ask her what she's doing. Every time she tells me she goes to Timmy's or she goes to the grocery store she has a jersey on and she just asked to catch her hey would you like to
00:10:16
Speaker
Donate any amount that you have. And she told me a story. This one girl that only had a dollar. And that girl was so, she was like, I don't know, 15, 60. And she was so apologetic. And the one said, hey, if you give me this dollar and then everyone in here gives me a dollar, I possibly raised 50. And I thought to myself, that's the kind of mindset that I want everyone to have is, and sometimes little conversations that you have with people in the small amounts.
00:10:39
Speaker
that can actually make a big difference. A lot of people, what I think is a lot of people want to help, they just don't know how. But if you just make that ask and you strike up a conversation, you're going to be very successful. And she is our, as of now, I think our largest fundraiser. And it's really inspiring to see what she's doing, especially at her age. She's like, well, don't tell her this, but she's a little bit older, not too old.
00:11:00
Speaker
obviously, because she's still helping out. And you know, we have so many writers that are like that, that I've talked to, that they didn't even do anything crazy. They don't host a crazy fundraising event or anything like that, but it's, yeah, like I said, the small things that they do. And I can actually tell another fun story that I liked. I was looking through just a list of who were our top fundraisers, and I noticed that there was this, there was this boy who was only five years old, and he had raised over 10 grand. I believe in his second year, and I,
00:11:28
Speaker
There was even a CBC article done about him. So I ended up calling the mom and said, how did this happen? And she said, well, we actually originally started it because we just wanted an excuse for him to get outside and ride a bicycle and do something. And then people saw what he was doing and were so inspired by it. And they got so many members of the community involved. And yeah, they also just did an amazing job with their fundraising. And I thought it's really the most unexpected things. People are going to see some kid biking around on the road. And next thing you know, they're making a huge impact.
00:11:58
Speaker
And that's really cool. What about some of the people who actually work for the organization?
Team Dedication and Personal Motivation at SickKids
00:12:03
Speaker
Can you talk a little bit about that? Sorry, kind of, do you want to repeat the question again? What about some of the people who work for the organization? Can you talk a little bit about them? Yeah, like their involvement in the GCC.
00:12:15
Speaker
Yeah, well, my director, his name's Jamie Lamaze, and he is probably the most involved with it. I looked already, he's already, I think almost $3,000 raised, and it's not even July yet. So he's always been very involved with it, I believe, one of his family members, I can't remember which,
00:12:30
Speaker
has been personally affected by cancer. So he, yeah, very passionate about the cause and always does a lot. He's very well connected within the community because of how long he's been doing this. And I think the work that he does is incredibly inspiring. And I can even speak for myself. I know I am new, but when I first got hired, I thought the campaign that they were giving me was perfect because I'm an avid cyclist. I bike almost every day.
00:12:54
Speaker
anywhere I can. And when I was, I believe, 11 or 12 years old, my next door neighbor, she was actually diagnosed with leukemia when she was only three years old. At that time, I wanted to help in some way and I thought, oh, let's go with a science route, become a doctor. Then I realized science wasn't for me, but my passion and forsaken still remained and now am I always
00:13:14
Speaker
So I'm myself helping out in some way, especially helping children that can't really help themselves. And now here I am managing the campaign and I just want to get back in whatever way Canada really make a difference because I saw the struggles that not only she went through, but her parents went through and how much it affected her family and the whole community. And I just remember there's like, there's so many other people that are experiencing the same thing and I want to do my part to make their lives as good as I can.
00:13:39
Speaker
Great. Wow, that's an inspiring story too. Can you talk about, you knew I was gonna, I did warn you that the last question on this is always, do you consider yourself Canadian and what does that mean to you?
Pride in Canadian Identity
00:13:53
Speaker
It's actually a funny story because I, yesterday I was, so as you can tell, sorry about my skin tone, I don't look, I don't look white, but I was telling a friend,
00:14:03
Speaker
My full name is Ian David Parker, and I was telling this person I managed to be like okay What is your background like where do you come from I told you you know the honest answer is I don't fully know because I'm adopted I have only known one way of life going up, and that is really being born and raised as a Canadian and To me like I guess your question is what does that mean or like what what makes me so you do But what does it mean to you?
00:14:27
Speaker
I can say myself, just true blooded Canadian and I always say what it means to me is really just, sorry, it's a very good question. I just feel a lot of pride being Canadian because I know how special and unique we are and obviously we have our struggles, we have our things to work on but it's really, I think Canadians are just, we're kind, we're caring, we have that sense of community, we have that sense of pride of helping others
00:14:58
Speaker
It's something that I always have just found myself being a part of. I've never felt excluded from because we do so much work to make people feel included and welcomed despite coming from any walk of life. And my mother, she's an immigrant. My dad's been here for ages, but they have the exact same lifestyle now. And I think that's what makes this place so special is no matter where you come from, you're going to feel Canadian in some way. Great. Thank you very much. I also am a huge hockey fan. I was put on skates at three years old, so there's that too.
00:15:28
Speaker
So if you want the more Canadian answer, I grew up skiing, I played hockey. Yeah, I had a rink in my backyard until like global warming got really bad, and so I was about 15, and then we could consistently keep a rink. But besides that, I'd be out of my backyard shooting pucks in my garage and breaking stuff all the time. That's the most important thing for you. Well, it is June, I think. You wouldn't be in your backyard at this time of the year. Not really, no. My parents kicked me out. No, it's okay.
00:15:57
Speaker
But yeah, I've always tried to just embrace all the things that make us special. Like I mentioned, I've been very fortunate to travel across by car as well, like not on a plane going over it. But my family, we rented, we bought a tent trailer, drove across all the way to the West Coast. And we didn't have a trailer time. We've also driven across to the East Coast.
00:16:19
Speaker
And that really gave me the opportunity to just meet so many different Canadians. And I realized it because I'm from Toronto. I'm from the biggest city. And I thought, wow, these people have such a different life for me. If you were to toss them in Toronto, they would feel like they're in another country. And yet, here I am, I'm like, what, 13, 14. And I'm still able to have the same old conversations talking to people, how they're doing. People don't even know you're going to come up like, hi, how's your day going? And I thought, I love this.
00:16:48
Speaker
What I envision Canada to be is people that are always out there going, hi, how are you? How's your day? What can I do to make your day better? And I really hope that that can continue on. Yeah.
Future Objectives for the Great Cycle Challenge
00:16:58
Speaker
And as manager, so your tasks over the next six weeks are going to be, well, I guess it's more than six weeks. It's 10 weeks.
00:17:06
Speaker
Uh, yeah, about that. Um, and it'll continue on a little bit into September as well for the fundraising part. The ride goal does end on the 31st, but, um, in the same way that donations can be accepted now, they can also be accepted a little bit after all the way until the end of September. Um, so yeah, for the next few weeks, I'm going to be talking to a lot of people just trying to get them on board, seeing how I can.
00:17:25
Speaker
take what they've been doing in the past to make it better because I really see myself as someone that can elevate people really just by giving them the resources and opportunities because as I mentioned, people want to help in some way, but they sometimes don't know what to do and they don't have the access to it. So if I can help them do that, I can give them a little step up. Oh, that's fabulous. Well, thank you very much for your work and I'm looking forward to another great experience.
00:17:52
Speaker
Thank you for listening to Unapologetically Canadian.