The Cops for Cancer Jail n’ Bail fundraising event held Wednesday raised just over $20,000 for the Cops for Cancer Tour de North cause.
Today, local riders from the Williams Lake detachment — safer communities co-oridinator Dave Dickson, Cpl. Brian Evans, Cpl. Michael Hacker, and Cpl. Ken Davis — will be among 22 other police members in B.C. as they begin their approximate 800-km ride from Fort Saint John to Williams Lake.
Proceeds from the ride support pediatric cancer research and programs to support families of those stricken with cancer.
The Cops for Cancer Tour de North will conclude in Williams Lake on Thursday, Sept. 15.
Two community celebrations will take place that day in the city to greet and support the participants when they arrive, says Brian Stefan, owner of Canadian Tire, which is one of the corporate sponsors of Cops for Cancer.
Stefan says the first celebration will be a free event, held at the bandshell in Boitanio Park on Thursday at 4 p.m.
It will include cotton candy, a bouncy toy, food concession, a ceremony, speeches, and dignitaries, to name a few highlights.
Later, at 7 p.m., a gala dinner will be held at Thompson Rivers University to welcome the RCMP riders who will have participated in the cause.
Tickets for the gala cost a $10 minimum donation — all proceeds go toward pediatric cancer research and programs — and should be purchased in advance at the Williams Lake RCMP detachment, Williams Lake and District Credit Union, Canadian Tire, Williams Lake Canadian Cancer Society office, and Zone 4.
“Community support will go a long way,” Stefan says.
For more information on the cause or to pledge one of the riders taking part in Cops for Cancer, visit www.copsforcancer.ca.