LAKELAND - An organization offering a driver service to regional residents going to cancer treatments is giving all area residents an additional opportunity to take on more drives.
On June 13, golfers in the Lac La Biche area will be hitting the links to help raise money for the Road to Hope Community Support Foundation during the organization’s first annual Spring Scramble.
The Lac La Biche event is a new addition to the Road To Hope fundraising calendar, becoming a new prequel to the organizations long-standing golf event in Athabasca that has been taking place for more than a decade.
Jessica Wallace is coordinator for Road To Hope, which provides no-cost transportation to appointments for those living with cancer in the Lac La Biche and Athabasca areas. Wallace said the Spring Scramble will be a full day event complete with breakfast, golf, prizes and a banquet.
The Lac La Biche golf fundraiser is replacing the annual Fun Run that has taken place each summer at Sir Winston Churchill Provincial Park. Ironically, said Wallace, the run, which offered community members a six-kilometre walk, run or bike course, had run its course. A lack of interest in the Fun Run caused the board for the Road to Hope Community Support Foundation to switch gears and look at other ideas for fundraising events, she said.
“We were just finding that we weren’t getting very much interest in the run anymore,” Wallace said. “There wasn’t a lot of people showing up for it.”
When asked how many people have signed up for this inaugural golf tournament, Wallace says registration numbers have been strong. At the beginnng of May, the tournament was half full.
Money raised goes to supporting the foundation to transport cancer patients to appointments, but also covers overhead costs such as office expenses and advertising.
While fundraising is an objective of the Road to Hope Foundation, over the past year, the focus of the organization has been less on raising funds and more on awareness and getting people involved and getting out into the community and engage with local residents.
She continued by saying that Road to Hope is always on the lookout for volunteers and some of the group’s current volunteers will be at the Spring Scramble.
“We’ll have volunteers and representatives of the foundation on a lot of the holes doing contests and stuff, so it’ll be a great opportunity for us to speak with the public,” she said.
Regarding how much money the organization hopes to raise from the first-ever Spring Scramble, Wallace says there is no actual goal in mind, and that organizers are going into it “wishing and hoping for the best.”
The organization hosts many planned fundraisers and is always ready to accept donations from individuals and businesses.
With the Spring Scramble just over a month away, Wallace says organizers are getting excited about the golf tournament.
“I think it’s going to be a fantastic day,” she said. “Everybody in Lac La Biche is always so supportive and awesome.”
Registration for a team of four is $600 and $150 for individual players. There are also corporate team sponsorships ranging from $1,000-$5,000. More information about registering for the event can be found at the Road to Hope Community Foundation website.
