Signal Hill Climb sends message of hope
Young Adult Cancer Canada supporters raise more than $26,000
For Young Adult Cancer Canada founder Geoff Eaton, climbing Signal Hill is a lot easier these days than it was in 2000.
That was the year the leukemia survivor, then 23, celebrated coming out of a medically induced coma by taking his symbolic “first steps” on the hill.
“I needed to learn to walk again after I came out. I thought it would be a cool way to mark getting back on my feet,” he said.
Since then, the climb has become an annual fundraiser for YACC, and other Canadian cities have started their own events to coincide.
Sunday, Eaton joined about 150 YACC supporters, including cancer survivors, in the walk from the Johnson Insurance building to the top of Signal Hill. He said it’s about getting people of all ages out to take on a physical challenge.
“And it’s also really about this idea that statistics, they’re sometimes an accurate reflection of the past, but they’re not at all necessarily a predictor of the future,’ he said Sunday before the walk.
“For some people here today, cancer survivor buddies, some of them are dealing with some really tough situations and having a reminder for them and their families, and our community as a whole, that there’s always hope, and amazing things can happen sometimes.”
By Sunday evening, $26,773.25 had been raised, surpassing the fundraiser’s goal of $25,000. Almost $15,000 of that was raised in St. John’s.