A need to connect with the community and stay active was born out of COVID, and through that came online challenges and groups.
Every few months, the Canadian Cancer Society hosts a new series of challenges on Facebook designed to get people moving and to interact with one another. On August 1, three new challenges – a 15km swim, a 50km dog walk, and a 62km row – will kick off.
“So far, we’ve run two separate challenges,” Lina Mohamed, vice president of mass marketing at the Canadian Cancer Society, says. “In April, we had more than 14,000 people join an 80km run, which raised more than $1.5 million. In June, we held a 50km dog walk and had about 13,000 people register, which raised about $850,000.”
The fundraising goals for each challenge starts at $100,000.
The challenges take place over the entire month, not all at once, so there’s no need to worry about moving 50km at a time, whether you have two legs or four. Groups on Facebook are set up for each individual challenge, so participants are able to interact with people who share their interests, encourage one another, and engage in a bit of healthy competition along the way.
“This is an opportunity for like minded individuals who want to achieve their fitness goals with friends, their family, or colleagues, while supporting a great cause,” Mohamed says.
The fundraising aspect of the challenge happens just as it would for other charity initiatives, with people raising on their own, or collecting from friends and family to make their way towards the goal.
The Canadian Cancer Society came up with the idea for the challenges during COVID as a way to ensure people could continue moving and stay connected. Movement especially was important to encourage during the early days of the pandemic when it was difficult to gather. Approximartley 40 per cent of all cancers in Canada can be prevented through healthy living, and policies that encourage health, according to the CCS’s ComPARe study, which was released in 2019.
The comPARe study also suggests there are five leading preventable causes of cancer, including smoking, physical inactivity, excess weight, poor diet, and too much sun.
The three new challenges kick off on August 1. More information on the challenges, and how to get involved and start fundraising, can be found on the various Canadian Cancer Society challenge Facebook pages.
Click here for the swimming challenge.
Click here for the dog walk challenge.
And click here for the rowing challenge.
