For more than 80 years, Cap's Westwood Cycle has donated money, bikes and gear to dozens of charitable causes.
But the local business' latest fundraising endeavour is a little more personal - and urgent - than the rest.
As a family-owned and operated business, Cap's is happy to contribute to organizations making the Tri-Cities a better place to live, said owner Kelly Hobbis. Cap's donates regularly to the Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation, sponsors the annual Wheel to Heal cycling fundraiser, and is a premium outfitter for The Ride to Conquer Cancer (Cap's also enters top fundraising teams in both events).
But there's more. Cap's provides an annual scholarship for Douglas College students and supports schools in its stores' school districts with prizes for their fundraising needs. Last Christmas, the company donated a classroom's worth of bikes for underprivileged kids.
It has also started hosting blood donor clinics at its Burnaby store (the only one with a big enough parking lot) to make it easier for staff and customers to donate.
This weekend, however, marks one of Cap's - and the Hobbis family's - most important efforts as the company team prepares for the Light the Night event in Stanley Park, benefitting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
"This one hits so close to home," Hobbis said, because her husband, Glen Hobbis, has been battling leukemia since 2010, the same type from which both his parents died. The chronic condition has become more acute, Hobbis said, and will likely require a bone marrow transplant within the next two years.
"He just completed chemotherapy now and he's had every complication imaginable - nothing's easy," Hobbis said with a laugh. "But it makes us work harder and it makes us want to find a cure."
To that end, the company is matching funds raised by its Cap's Westwood Cycle Team for Light the Night to the tune of $5,000. (So far the team has raised just over $3,600 but Hobbis feels confident they'll reach the $5,000 mark by the weekend, for a total contribution of $10,000.)
"We're very proud," Hobbis said. "We know how important it is to raise money for research, not just for a cure but for all the incidental treatments for all sorts of things that are found along the way."
She's hoping to spread the word about blood cancers and encourage people to donate - so far, Glen Hobbis has had 11 blood transfusions - and to register for the OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network.
"It's amazing that it can save someone's life," she said. "It's a gift that is really, truly a gift."
To contribute to Cap's Light the Night team, visit www.LightTheNight.ca and search for Cap's Westwoodcycle.ca.
