For the first time, Maddie Sweeney will captain her own team — Maddie's Angels — in the Oct. 6 CIBC Run for the Cure in Sudbury.
Sweeney, a retired CIBC employee, said she's excited to take part this year, although she's been participating the run for many years.
In order to make it even more special this year, Sweeney decided to add incentive to anyone donating to her cause. And, she held up her end of the bargain.
On Sept. 27, she let some of her friends and family shave her head. She raised $700, but the real reason she did it was to support her sister-in-law, Eileen Ward, who was diagnosed with breast cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy.
“She's been through eight months of chemo,” Sweeney said. “We have a dear friend, Cathy Martin, who has done a lot of work for the CIBC Run for the Cure, and she passed away a year and a half ago. I figured this would be a good way to recognize them and to say thank you to all the people who work at organizing this event, often without being thanked for their efforts.”
As for the new haircut?
“It feels great,” she said. “I'm going to wear it with pride.”
CIBC Run for the Cure happens Oct. 6 at Cambrian College starting at 10 a.m.
Last year, the event raised $60,000 with about 700 participants. However, CIBC Run for the Cure has more than 80,000 participants and raises $16 million annually in communities across Canada. About $445 million has been raised since the event's inception in 1992.
Registrations will be accepted right up until race time, and donations are always accepted.
For more information about CIBC Run for the Cure, visit cibcrunforthecure.com.
