For the next nine days, New Westminster constables Dave Lemire and Jaspaul Chung will ride their bikes around the South Coast of B.C. and Lower Mainland in support of Cops for Cancer.
While the ride is physically demanding and requires some training, Lemire and Chung chose to tackle what they said was the most important part of the ride, the fundraising.
"We wanted to be on top of our fundraising," said Lemire. "We agreed to try and do our fundraising up front so we could do our training in the summer."
The plan worked, and by July both Lemire and Chung had surpassed the $6,000 minimum required to participate in the ride. Events like a charity hockey game between the Senior Salmonbellies and the New Westminster police, and Vancouver and Surrey's Visaki festivals, where the constables allowed people to take photos with different police vehicles for a fee, earned the most money for their cause.
"I think we raised $6,700 between the two events," Chung said.
Chung ranks fourth among the top fundraisers for the Tour de Coast Cops for Cancer ride, having raised more than $8,700 for the charity bike ride.
Together, Chung and Lemire have raised almost $15,000 for the annual event.
"At the end of the day, it's for the kids. That's why you come out and do this. That's why you donate your time and your efforts. Take a look at the bigger picture. We all have good days and bad days, right? But if you look at the kids and they're battling cancer, none of our bad days are as bad as their bad days," Lemire said.
Both constables agreed the fundraiser was their small way of contributing to improving the health and happiness of kids with cancer.
"It's worth every minute and every dollar that we raise," Lemire said.
The money raised from the nine-day ride goes towards pediatric research and Camp Goodtimes, a camp for children, and siblings of children, with cancer in Maple Ridge.
"It lets them enjoy a proper summer experience but having the sanitary environment they need, having the medical staff," Chung said. "On top of that, all the activities kids would do at a summer and support them through that."
Chung was able to visit the camp in the summer and he said he was blown away by the spirits' of the children battling cancer.
"They have a different outlook on life. They've gone through a lot more than a seven or eight year old kid should have," Chung added.
This is the first ride for Chung and Lemire, and they said they're both motivated by the strength of the children with cancer
"The one thing that gets me is the maturity for their ages," Chung said. "I can tell they've had to deal with a lot, they've haven't had the chance to be a kid. ... All they should know is going to school and playing in the playgroud."
But this isn't the case for the youngsters who benefit from Cops for Cancer's bike tours, which is why both Lemire and Chung decided to ride.
The two New Westminster constables will join more than 20 other police officers from departments across the Lower Mainland on a ride through Metro Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast, Powell River, Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton, starting today (Sept. 18).
For more information and to donate, visit www.copsforcancerbc.ca/tourdecoast.
