www.endcancer.ca

A meaningful movement
The Weekend to End Breast Cancer is a two-day, sixty-kilometre walk to fund breast cancer research and programs for 6 benefiting institutions across Canada.  The first Weekend was held in Toronto and raised 12.6 million dollars for Princess Margaret Hospital and the rest is history!  Now, in its 6th year, The Weekend to End Breast Cancer has become a household name in Canada, having raised over 150 million dollars to date.

But The Weekend is an event designed to not only raise significant funds for research, prevention, and treatment of the disease.  It’s also an experience structured to challenge its participants.  In order to have a sense of genuine accomplishment, they must feel (as much as know) that they have really done something to fight breast cancer.  Something hard…

From the anticipatory Friday check-in, to the reflective Saturday morning Opening Ceremonies, to the jubilant Sunday afternoon Closing Ceremonies, a participant takes an emotional journey as demanding as the 60-kilometre walk.  They are challenged physically and emotionally while being totally supported.  Hot meals, pit stops, hydration, sleeping tents, medical care, massage, and entertainment are all provided.  So a participant finds that everything is taken care of.  All they need to focus on is the challenge—the walking.  And at the end of the route they discover that it was well worth the effort.  The sense of accomplishment is intense.  And the exhilaration is sky-high.

However, contrary to what you see here, The Weekend to End Breast Cancer is not a two-day event.  It’s a lifestyle that starts the day a participant registers.  Responding to an ad, brochure, or word-of-mouth recommendation, a person begins their journey months prior to the actual event.  And they continue that journey through orientations, training walks, fundraising, interaction with coaches, and soliciting media coverage of their story.  All the while, they are part of the Weekend to End Breast Cancer movement.  It’s an emotional development that culminates with the celebration of the walk itself.