'Remarkable young man' bikes for a cure

Ten-year-old Tanner Levesque completed a 15-kilometre bike ride, Sept. 17 to raise funds for cancer research in memory of his grandfather, Howard Sairbairn, who passed away from cancer in May.

Levesque, a Grade 5 student at Immaculate Conception Catholic Elementary School, rode his bike from Desmarais Street in Val Therese to the Taxation Centre on Notre Dame Avenue in Sudbury.

He raised almost $1,300 for the Canadian Cancer Society.

Levesque was accompanied on his ride by family, friends and a Greater Sudbury Police escort.

“(Tanner) has left such a lasting impression with me and for us all,” Tim Whalen, unit council president of the Canadian Cancer Society, Sudbury & District Unit, said in a press release.

“He is a remarkable young man, Whalen added.”

“When Tanner came to be with this idea, (it) brought tears to my eyes,” Tanner's mother, Leeann, said in the press release.

“A 10-year-old wanting to help out with a cause like this. Wow.”

“I was so impressed to hear that Tanner took the initiative to plan a fundraising event to honour his grandfather,” Louisa Bianchin, principal of Immaculate Conception, said in a press release.

“I was even more impressed to learn that Tanner plans to cycle for cancer every fall to support and continue the work of the Canadian Cancer Society. It is my hope that as a school, we will all join Tanner next year and cycle for the cure, as the staff and students at Immaculate Conception School are so proud of Tanner and are truly inspired.”

For more information about the Canadian Cancer Society, visit www.cancer.ca.