DUNNVILLE—The Quad Niagara ATV Club is doing something that has never been done before in southwestern Ontario, arranging an ATV-themed breast cancer fundraiser that will see a large group of riders on a parade route that will take them through parts of Haldimand County on October 28.
Club president Tracy-Lynn Bell spoke to The Press about the inspiration behind the event, and the complicated process of ensuring it runs smoothly and safely.
On the why, Bell said she decided she wanted to do something to help others after receiving two back-to-back cancer diagnoses. Hit with a Stage 1 bladder cancer and a Stage 3 breast cancer diagnosis just two days apart, Bell decided right away that she wanted to take her misfortune and spin something positive out of it.
Currently, thanks to treatment, Bell’s doctors have told her she’s healthy, but not necessarily out of the woods yet.
While many cancer fundraisers focus on raising money for research, Bell wanted hers to have a different goal, with raised funds going toward the Kelly Shires Breast Cancer Foundation, an organization devoted to providing funds to breast cancer patients who need financial help while undergoing treatment. Some of the items the foundation has provided to patients over the years include wigs, prosthetics, transportation services, lodging expenses, counseling, coverage for household bills, and rent.
“This is why I chose to go with this organization. I’m helping the millions of people out there who don’t have the benefits, can’t afford things, or are having a hard time paying their bills because they’re stuck in chemo treatments and they can’t work,” said Bell.
She said that while the government does cover some of the expenses that come with breast cancer treatment, despite having good coverage, her insurance provider “took a hit for me to do all my stuff.”
Putting the event together required support from two municipal governments, Haldimand and Wainfleet Township. In addition to Haldimand Mayor Shelley Ann Bentley and Wainfleet Mayor Brian Grant leading the group in the first deployment of ATVs, the event will have EMS crew, recovery vehicles, and all the necessary insurance in place to ensure a safe event.
This is very important to Bell, who wants the event to become an annual occurrence, and also wants to help soften an often-negative perception seen locally toward ATV users, noting the clear difference between members of her club, who largely ride their vehicles in designated, controlled environments, and ATV users who trespass on private property or cause trouble in their community: “We’re not those people that don’t care.”
She thanked the two municipalities for coming together for “such a great cause.”
The event has seen heavy sponsor support as well, with Bell noting that they have already surpassed the $10,000 goal she started out with. Bell now has $20,000 as her new ‘magic number’ for the event.
“I can’t express what I’m feeling inside in the sense of what we’re about to accomplish,” she said. “I want to do this again next year, so I want to make sure everything runs flawlessly this year.”
The ride should be quite the spectacle, with the 100-plus ATVs scheduled to take part decked out in pink to support the cause.
Riders are scheduled to meet at the firehall in Wainfleet before heading out on a route that will take them along a canal that crosses into Dunnville, with the ride then continuing along Taylor Rd. before heading back toward Wainfleet, where everyone will gather for a dinner.
While it’s too late to register as a participant in the ride this year, Bell said the club is still happily accepting donations toward the cause, noting that e-transfers can be made to the email address quad-niagara@hotmail.com with the password answer set to ‘breastcancer’.
Bell expressed her thanks to not just the two municipalities and the sponsors who have come forward, but to the people who have “stepped up from out of the blue to say ‘where can I help’. I’ve been impressed.”
She concluded, “To me, it’s this club’s great accomplishment to actually have this go off without a hitch and be a huge success.”
