The starting gun fires Tuesday for the 17th annual Run for Wishes campaign across Prince Edward Island.
The crew of the HMCS Charlottetown conducts the charitable event each year. The event is centred around a volunteer relay run across the province, wrapping up Saturday, Aug. 24.
The run began in 2003, initiated by members of the ship’s company who wanted to raise funds for Children’s Wish in the ship’s namesake province.
The goal of the fundraising effort is to assist the Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada’s P.E.I. chapter in granting wishes to Island children between the ages of three and 17 who have been diagnosed with a high-risk, life-threatening illness.
The chapter is currently working on granting 29 wishes to Island children, which is the one of the highest numbers of wishes the organization has worked on at one time in the P.E.I. chapter’s 32-year history.
The team lead for the 2019 HMCS Run for Wishes is an Island native, Sub-Lieut. Brendan Wright.
The members of the run team invites the public to join them for a run or to meet them at local Sobeys locations where barbecues will be hosted at 3 p.m. each day: Summerside (today), West Royalty (Aug. 21), Stratford (Aug. 22), Montague (Aug. 23) and Allen Street in Charlottetown (Aug. 24).
To make an online donation, visit www.childrenswish.ca/runforwishes or look for sailors carrying “the boot” in your community.
To make a donation by phone or run a section of the event with the team, call the Children’s Wish Foundation at 902-566-5526.
