Fred Fox, brother of late Canadian icon Terry Fox, is attending several meet and greets in the Parkland this week as a way to connect with supporters of the Terry Fox Foundation.
Fox plays the role of Supporter Relations with the Terry Fox Foundation, which he said involves a good bit of travelling across Canada to meet with supporters.
"For 6 to 8 weeks in the spring and then another 6 to 8 weeks in the fall I travel across Canada (& a little bit more internationally the past 2 years) to meet with volunteers and supporters who give their time to organize [the] TF Run and support the work of The Terry Fox Foundation. During this 12 to 16 weeks I am also visiting schools that host their own TFR's and share Terry's story," said Fox in an emailed statement.
Aside from travelling across the country, he has a lot of other jobs within the Foundation, including the organization of fundraising.
"The rest of the year I do other tasks that are supporting so many incredible people who have done so much to keep Terry's dream and legacy alive. I am also on The Terry Fox Foundation executive, so have a role in the fundraising strategies that TFF has each year," said Fox.
He said usually during his travels each year, he usually attends 10 to 15 meet and greets or similar events as a way to share Terry's story with members of Canadian communities. To Fox, having these kinds of events is especially important in smaller communities.
"The most important [thing] is to be able to say thank you! Thank you to so many community members that have continued to fundraise for cancer research in Terry's name. These community members have played an important role in impacting the outcomes of a cancer diagnosis. So important to be doing this in Provinces like Manitoba & Saskatchewan, as Terry didn't make it that far west on his Marathon of Hope," said Fox.
Fred Fox will be in Russell today at 6:00 PM, in Rossburn tomorrow at 6:30 PM, and in Sandy Lake on Wednesday at 5:30 PM. Fox said he hopes to be able to make the Terry Fox connection with people who couldn't see him during his Marathon of Hope in 1980. Since it's creation in 1988, the Terry Fox Foundation has raised more than $1 billion for cancer research.
