Tour de Coast Turns 20 Years Old in 2019!
The Cops for Cancer Tour de Coast marks its 20th year this year and the tour is coming up September 18th – 26th, 2019. The trek involves an 800 km cycling tour through the Sea to Sky corridor, the Sunshine Coast, the North Shore and cities of Greater Vancouver, from Maple Ridge to Richmond. The Flag Shop has supported this important cause in the past, last year donating 10 full-sized custom flags and 24 car flags to help shine a spotlight on the fight against childhood cancer. We hope to see them out this year!
The inspiration behind Cops for Cancer came from Sergeant Gary Goulet of the Edmonton Police Service. In 1994, he met a boy named Lyle, a 5-year old who was fighting cancer. Lyle was losing his hair as a result of chemotherapy treatment, and was being teased and ridiculed at school. When Sergeant Goulet heard about this, he rallied fellow officers, who shaved their heads in support of Lyle. He approached the Canadian Cancer Society to hold a “bald is cool” head shaving event, to raise funds and awareness for childhood cancer. The idea spread to police services across the country, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Today, Cops for Cancer supports Jail and Bail events, head shaving fundraisers, cycling tours, and other initiatives, such as Camp Goodtimes. About the Tour de Coast, Sergeant Goulet said, “The mandate of the police service has always been to give back to the community and police do so much which is often behind the scenes.” He added, “At the same time, police officers understand that because of our public profile, we have unique opportunities to draw positive attention to important causes like this, and to make a real difference.” Since 1997, Cops for Cancer has raised over $42 million for cancer research, and support services for children struck by cancer, and their families. [1]
Truths About Childhood Cancer
A cancer diagnosis can be devastating to children, and their families and loved ones. Here are some tough truths, which drive home the importance and impact of efforts like the Tour de Coast:
The most common forms of childhood cancer are leukemia, lymphoma, and tumors of the brain and spinal cord. [2]
Cancer is the leading cause of disease-related death among Canadian children under 15 years of age. [3]
Nearly 950 children in Canada are diagnosed with cancer every year. [4]
Custom car flags and custom flags made for Cops for Cancer
Giving Back to the Community
For more than 40 years, The Flag Shop has been proudly supporting not-for-profit cancer awareness, research, and prevention organizations, including the Canadian Cancer Society, the BC Cancer Agency, the CURE Foundation and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. It is our privilege to work with these clients, sharing a long and rewarding history. Over the years, our list of projects just keeps growing, and we’ve supplied many products, such as custom flags, custom street banners, and over the street banners.
Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation Street Banners
Thank you to Cops for Cancer, and all of our clients, for their tireless work in advancing research, and bringing hope to Canadians living with cancer.
For information about all Cops for Cancer Tour de Coast, and to find our how you can get involved, please visit: the Tour de Coast official website.
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Sources:
[1] [2] [3] [4]
https://secure2.convio.net/cco/site/SPageNavigator/BCY/Cops_BC_MediaCentre.html;jsessionid=00000000.app248b?NONCE_TOKEN=08A247E0108BF47CA459E6CC34D2EE15