It’s not hard to become overwhelmed with the amount of need in our community.
It seems so frequently these days we are asked to open our hearts and wallets to those in need. At times we can respond with a donation of empty bottles or cans to a local child raising money for a sports or cultural trip. Young Mackenzie Valgardson is holding one of these bottle and coin drives at Sidney elementary school on Saturday, Oct. 1 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to help raise money for Variety the Children’s Charity, which has helped her family in the past.
There are frequent bake sales and flea markets benefiting one charitable cause or another; and many locals have run, walked, biked and even swum for charities.
So, it’s not without some thought that we at the Peninsula News Review ask you, our readers, to respond once again to a call for kindness.
We are happy to support our Black Press Tour de Rock rider Chris Bush as he joins this year’s team raising money for the Canadian Cancer Society. All Tour de Rock riders are raising money for the cause and we want to help Chris reach his fundraising goal.
At the same time, our hearts go out to a small boy fighting cancer. Henry Down is still just a baby, not old enough to understand why he is in such pain; why he can no longer walk like he used to; why he has been taken away from his own cozy bed and legion of stuffed animal friends; why his Pa Pa isn’t there to tuck him in each night … While we don’t have the answer to all of those questions, we, along with your help, can make this time a little easier for Henry’s family by helping provide a little cash to make travel easier and to pay for extra costs they are incurring as they relocate most of their lives to Vancouver temporarily for Henry’s cancer treatment.
So we invite you again to open your hearts and wallets to our friend Chris, Henry Down and his extended family and through them to all those, especially children, who are battling cancer.
Donations to Henry and Chris can be made at the News Review office, 6-9843 Second Street, Sidney. Or come down between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Sept. 29 and share your thoughts with Henry and Chris by signing cards for them both during our Hearts for Henry barbecue fundraiser.
Peninsula Co-op is sponsoring the barbecue, providing food and drinks and Hearts for Henry necklaces will also be available for purchase.
Don’t forget to welcome the Tour de Rock riders as they arrive in Beacon Park in Sidney Oct. 6.