As Margaret Mead said…
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Well isn’t that the truth.
Early in April our BRIGHT Run executive got together for our first ZOOM meeting to discuss BRIGHT Run 2020. We discussed HOW we would do it, not IF we would do it. Cancelling was never an option. However, the safety of our participants and volunteers was always top priority.
So this year we went virtual. Initially we did not know what that meant but we did our best to figure it out. Old dogs really can learn new tricks! Maybe this is a silver lining of sorts. At least I choose to believe that.
As spring turned to summer, we had no idea how many people would register or how much we would be able to raise, but we decided that we would not change our $300,000 fundraising goal. Take that COVID-19 – you didn’t scare us!
Around 10 a.m. on Sept. 12, BRIGHT Run participants gathered safely with their friends, family and supporters in neighbourhoods and public parks across our region to walk, run and socialize. Pink was the colour of the day, from hair and makeup to tights and tutus. Based on the hundreds of pictures and videos, a great time was had by all.
Aside from the obvious challenge of a pandemic, BRIGHT Run was unique this year for several reasons. We were not together at Dundas Valley Conservation Area and we have no medal to hang around our neck. But…we didn’t get rained on either!
Breast cancer did not stop for COVID-19 and neither did BRIGHT Run 2020 or BRIGHT Runners. Thank you for changing the world and helping to fund local breast cancer research at our Hamilton cancer centre.
I have always believed that we can do almost anything we set our minds to, if we just do the best we can with what we have. We have done our best. All of us have done our best. And together, we raised more than $333,000!
See you Sept. 11, 2021!
