Canada colours locks for cancer
National team part of Princess Margaret fundraising campaign
Canada’s entry at the Langford, B.C., stop on the World Series rugby sevens circuit later this month should be easy to spot.
The Canadian women are taking part in Colour Your Hair to Conquer Cancer, a campaign to raise funds for the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.
For players like Sara Kaljuvee and former captain Jen Kish, it’s very personal. Kaljuvee lost her mother in 2016 after a 10year battle with cancer. “She showed me what it means to be a fighter. I do this with you mom, I love you,” the 25-year-old from Ajax wrote on the team fundraising page.
Kish’s father is dealing with the after-effects of his colon cancer treatment.
“He was on a pretty aggressive chemo treatment,” said Kish, who announced her retirement Monday. “It sucks because he’s still in pain every single day because of what those drugs did to him.
“But you know he has a heartbeat and he’s grateful for that. He’s living life to the fullest as always and still cracking jokes.”
Both players are honorary chairpersons of the fundraising campaign.
Participants can donate online or set a fundraising goal, ask others to support them or challenge friends to join the campaign. The Canadian rugby women are already close to raising half of their $10,000 goal. Kish and Kaljuvee also have their own fundraising pages.
“The reason why I was so keen on being a part of it is it’s one of the top research facilities in the world,” Kisk, 29, said.
Nick Taylor, senior director of new revenue for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, hopes that the fundraising campaign can become a fixture each May, as Movember has done in November.
“Our sole job as a foundation is to raise $100 million annually,” Taylor said. “We need to do that to continue to fuel the engine which is the researchers that are trying to find tomorrow’s treatment today and translate that scientific breakthrough into care in the hospital, in the cancer centre.” he added.
Kish says she is considering going either silver or grey for the cause.
The World Series event in Langford runs May 12-13.