Desire to 'give back' to community motivates first-time participant in Terry Fox Run

A desire to help others and give back to the community motivated a man from Mishkeegogamang First Nation to take part, for the first time ever,  in the Terry Fox Run on Sunday in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Merle Loon, who works in Thunder Bay, said he has always greatly admired Terry Fox and his efforts to raise money for cancer research.

But Loon said he was inspired to turn that admiration into action this year, after chatting with a friend, who mentioned the annual event was coming up. 

Then, on Saturday night, Loon tuned in to a CBC-TV documentary about a young hockey player who was paralyzed in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash.

"I thought about him, and then I thought about this [the Terry Fox Run] and I was at church this morning and sometimes unfortunate things happen to people and I was thinking to myself that I take things for granted too much so why not support a good cause?" said Loon.

"I think I just want to give back," he said.

Organizers of the Terry Fox Run in Thunder Bay say about 350 people participated in the event.

They estimate over $11,000 was raised, with pledges still being returned.

The Terry Fox Foundation, which oversees the run, estimates that, to date, the event has raised more than $750,000,000 worldwide for research into better diagnosis and treatment of cancer.