After a successful summer raising funds for neuroblastoma research through various events including the popular Touch a Truck day, Team 4 Hope is once again taking the reins to organize another fundraiser.
The second annual Vocal for Local formal night will be held Sept. 7 at the Sidney Pier Hotel and will include all local beer, wine and food as well as a silent auction and live music by The Archers.
Team 4 Hope is a group of local women dedicated to raising awareness and funds for neuroblastoma research in B.C.
The team was founded in 2011 by Lisa Hopkins whose 14-year-old son Jordan was diagnosed with neuroblastoma when he was only two (he’s now healthy and cancer-free).
“When Jordan was diagnosed the one thing I remember when I asked about the odds of him beating it was the doctors telling me, ‘well there’s always hope.’ That’s always stuck with me so on the 10 year anniversary of his diagnosis I decided to start Team 4 Hope,” she explained in an interview with the News Review this past spring.
Team 4 Hope, which is made up of 13 members, four of which are from the Saanich Peninsula, now participates in races all over North America and has become known as the largest neuroblastoma fundraisers in all of Western Canada (last year they raised more than $106,000 for the cause).
This year, the team will compete in the Las Vegas Rock N Roll Half Marathon, one of only two events that shuts down the Las Vegas Strip each year (New Year’s eve is the other), as well as have already competed in the Godess Run in Victoria and the Lululemon Sea Wheeze Half Marathon in Vancouver.
Money raised by the team through their fundraisers and through their races goes to the B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre which is run by the B.C. Cancer Agency.
The Vocal for Local fundraiser will be no different, with 100 per cent of the proceeds from the event going to neuroblastoma research in B.C. Tickets for the event are $35 and include hors d’oeuvres and a complimentary drink.
Visit www.team4hope.com for more information and to purchase event tickets.