Some of you are aware of this event but I wanted to advertise it even more since it’s coming soon.
Tristan (my oldest, 12 years old) in 2007 had the desire to organize a fundraising event. I had not been diagnosed at the time so it is not connected with my situation. It was just something natural for him, encouraged by the philosophy of the school that has an important community component. He talked to his two best friends who were immediately enthusiastic about the idea.
Then the date was chosen in June 2008. With the help of my brother Omer and the parents of his two friends we organized a bike ride from school to the house of my sister Lucie in St-Janvier. 80% of the ride was on the cycling path of “Le Petit Train du Nord”, 43 km with 15 cyclists including 4 adults. Thomas's mother and I followed as best as possible with our cars to ensure safety at intersections.
This project, conceived and developed by young people, has touched the entourage of Tristan, Thomas and Olivier. So they have managed to raise $ 1655 for La foundation de l’Hôpital Ste-Justine (French children’s hospital in Montreal). The choice of charity was probably influenced by the death of our friends’ son(he was 10 years old and lost his battle against leukemia in late 2007).
Given this success, the three buddies decided to do it again in 2009. The date is June 14. They obtained the support of the school and the parents' committee.
This year's ride will be 60 km as they will travel up to the St-Jerome train station to picnic and back.
I talk about this today of course because I want to invite you to attend the event. I know that several members of the cycling club Le Suroît read the blog and I hope you'll be tempted to come ride with Tristan and his friends. For information and registration visit the website http://www.velothongastonpilon.org/.
My second goal is to solicit your help. Normally I'm there to help the organization, but this time I'll be in the hospital recovering from my surgery. So if some of you are willing to lend a hand to Tristan it would be greatly appreciated. You can contact him by email at tristan.raymond@live.ca or call home at 450-434-4833.
I hope you understand that what I have done here is very difficult. Asking for help for oneself is one thing because you can communicate your needs, but do it for someone else is more complicated especially when it's your child. When it's your child, you always want to be the resource person. In this case I can not be that person. I could ask someone in particular but I do not want to impose this on anyone. I prefer that the help comes spontaneously and voluntarily.
Finally, if you can’t be present and you can’t help either, I encourage you to financially support the event. You can donate through the site of the bike-o-thon where there is a link to the foundation’s donations page. These electronic pledges are easy to do. Please indicate in the comment box that you made the donation for the Vélothon Gaston-Pilon. You can also donate by check or cash directly to Tristan. If you want to send a check to Tristan, send him an email he will reply to you with our address. Make checks on behalf of La Fondation de l'hôpital Ste-Justine.
Thank you for helping my son and his friends achieve their goal of $ 2000.
A proud Papa
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