Focusing on the obvious
September 13, 2004
By Cam Tait
VANCOUVER, BC // There was enough motivation at the recent Weekend to End Breast Cancer to spur Rachel Moffat on. One source was to generate a minimum of $2,000 for the B.C. Cancer Foundation. Rachel met that, and then some, raising $2,400.
Then there are the simple facts. Rachel says that one in ten Canadian
women will be told they have breast cancer. Numbers generate numbers.
On the weekend of August 21 and 22, more than two thousand people -
including Rachel - walked a total of 60km through the streets of Vancouver.
The group strolled 35km in the rain on the Saturday, and then 25km the
next day.
"People of all ages, body types, and fitness levels participated," Rachel
reports. "Many breast cancer survivors, including at least one male
breast cancer survivor, walked. Many other survivors manned pit stops
and helped at camp. The event was extremely well organized.
"Because it wasn't a race, the atmosphere was very supportive for each walker. I became separated from my team of eight on Sunday and spent most of the day walking alone. But I was rarely actually alone. It was very common to strike up a conversation with another walker as you trudged along."
Rachel remembers speaking to people from the BC interior, Vancouver
Island, and Seattle. And everyone had a story: one woman was celebrating
her first cancer-free year that weekend; another young woman was walking
in honour of her uncle who is battling breast cancer right now. It's
all part of sharing with the community...something Rachel strongly believes
in.
"I've donated to charities for years," e-mails the graphic designer.
"When I opened my own business six years ago, I made it part of our
corporate mandate to give a percentage of our earnings back, either
as a straight donation or as work-in-kind." Rachel also donates blood
regularly - 100-plus and counting. "I do it because I can, and because
if someone I knew had leukemia, I'd want anyone who could donate life-saving
platelets to get off their butt and get in and donate. Besides, it makes
me feel good knowing that something my body produces so easily can be
put to such good use."
The Weekend to End Breast Cancer was her first fundraising walk though.
"It's really a wonderful experience...one I'm sure I'll treasure for
a long time." As she was going through the process of collecting pledges,
walking through the rain and the sunshine, and in the end celebrating
the more than $7 million raised, there was one person Rachel thought
of: her mother, a 20-year breast cancer survivor.
Perhaps that's all the motivation Rachel really ever needed.
Do you know someone who deserves to be in the Charity Village Spotlight? Send us their name, telephone number and details about their community involvement to cam@charityvillage.com.
