A local family that has been fundraising to kick cancer’s butt for years has officially begun its fundraising for this year. The family, fundraising under the team name of “Cancer Kicking Cousins”, will be participating in the Terry Fox Run this year in addition to other fundraisers.

Team (and family) member Carol Miller Snook explained the history of the family’s cancer fundraising efforts. “In 2013, the Miller family formed the team, Cancer Kicking Cousins,” she explained. “Our desire was to help fund research and awareness of the devastation of cancer. Cancer has not only affected family members (parents, siblings, uncles, aunts, in-laws) and friends but also team members. All this has made it a cause close to our hearts.”

The team participated in the Smiths Falls Relay for Life for five years, raising over $50,000 before Smiths Falls discontinued hosting the event in 2018. “We still wanted to support the cause and hoped to keep it local, as most of the team live in or near Kemptville and Smiths Falls,” Carol added. “While investigating various events, we learned of the Neon Night Fun Run for child- hood cancer and decided to select it as our cause. From 2018 to 2020, we raised over $9,000 towards this event. Due to COVID, Neon Night was discontinued and has not restarted. We continued doing fundraisers and began contributing to the Terry Fox Run for 2021 and 2022.”

How does a team like “Cancer Kicking Cousins” get its unique name? Carol explained that different team members had different suggestions, but they settled on “Cancer Kicking Cousins” since it is a family team with mostly cousins, except for a couple of aunts and an uncle. Carol is one of the aunts and is also a cancer survivor. She explained that all of the family members have been affected by cancer in some way. “We started with 16 members but, for various reasons, we are now down to 6-8,” said Carol. “The oldest, my brother, participated from the beginning, but now at almost 91 years old, he doesn’t do the walk but helps where he can on fundraisers.”

Fundraising is all about having a passion for a cause. Carol believes that people should do what comes naturally to them when fundraising, which can include activities such as yard sales, crafts, collecting bottles, BBQs or just reaching out to friends and family for donations. She posits that goals don’t have to be big, and that every little bit helps.

Particularly in this area, fundraising is made easier by the strong support of locals. “The community in Kemptville and the surrounding area is so great, providing a spot to post flyers, donating space or items for fundraising and spreading the word,” said Carol.

This year’s fundraising goal is $5,000, with over $1,000 already raised at a craft sale that the family does every year before Christmas. A yard sale took place last weekend, and upcoming events include a Euchre tournament on June 8, and a bake and craft table on June 18 at the Kemptville Farmers Market.

“People can donate to the Terry Fox Run via our team, Cancer Kicking Cousins,” Carol said. “Everyone has been affected in some way by cancer. Please make it your cause as well and contribute in any way to help eradicate cancer.”

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here