The Team de North roster was unveiled Friday morning at Quinson Elementary School.
For the next four months they will be out in their bright blue jerseys on their bikes training for the week-long September Cops For Cancer ride to raise funds to help kids beat cancer.
Sixteen riders representing law enforcement and first responder agencies, as well as guests from northern B.C. communities, are on the team for the 23th annual Cops For Cancer 850-kilometre ride from Dawson Creek to Williams Lake, Sept. 20-26.
This year’s Tour de North team riders are: Andrew Simpson, Allison Feske, Robert Orlowski, Meghan Driscoll, Brandon Jones, Megan Lee, Jacob Kooman, Douglas Furlong, David Horvath, Sydney Steinbach, Jamie MacPherson, Sharleen Bast, Owen Vrbos, Terry Jackson, Leighton Johnson, Anna Zinti, Rob Gallo and JJ Bast.
The Prince George RCMP and Tour de North Steering Committee Team are also collecting donations for the ride, one of four Cops For Cancer rides taking place this summer in B.C.
“Cancer sits close to my heart as I lost my best friend and glue to my entire family in less than three weeks to it,” said Steinbach, a BCEHS paramedic from Fort St. James. “I am riding this year in honour of my family and for all who have been affected by this horrible disease.”
The money they raise will be used by the Canadian Cancer Society to fund childhood cancer research and Camp Goodtimes, a Vancouver summer camp that gives families of children diagnosed with cancer a stress-free holiday in a medically-supervised environment.
Last year in Canada, 1,050 kids 14 and under were diagnosed with cancer. Over the past decade, the Canadian Cancer Society has invested more than $35 million toward the cause, which has helped to increase the five-year survival rate of childhood cancer from 71 per cent in the 1980s to 84 per cent now.
“I was blown away the first time I got to go to Camp Goodtimes,” says Evelyn Tseng, a childhood cancer survivor. “At camp, we get to be kids again, play and make friends, and connect with each other. Without donors who support everything that the Canadian Cancer Society does, the fun memories I made at Camp Goodtimes wouldn’t have been possible.”
The goal is to raise $20,000. As of Friday afternoon, the Tour de North total was at $15,185.
If you would like to donate, go to the website.
