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Welcome to Butterfly of Hope
How can one little butterfly have such a big impact? It's not a surprise when the butterfly is Chad Cieslik! Chad started walking in the 60km Weekend to End Women's Cancer at the first event in 2003. But he didn't stop there. He continued to walk, not just in his home area of Toronto, but in every city where the event was held - every event, every city, every year. And when there were two events the same weekend (Toronto and Vancouver), Chad walked in both - 30km on a treadmill on Friday, 30km on the road with the walkers in Toronto on Saturday, then he flew to Vancouver, walked 30km on a treadmill Saturday night, then the final 30km with the walkers on Sunday. Along the routes, he inspired people to do the same - many joined the Butterfly of Hope and walked with Chad to raise funds for this worthy cause. Unfortunately, Chad was stricken with cancer himself and wasn't able to walk in 2010 - although he did raise at least $2000 for each event and attended all of them to inspire his teams. By this time, the Butterfly of Hope had 210 walkers country-wide. So far, the Butterfly of Hope has raised (2010-2011) $990,000. That combined with the $230,000 that Chad has raised himself brings the total to $1,220,000. Now that's a hurricane! The Butterfly of Hope has had a significant impact. Robbie Krofchick and Chris Zarras, Co-Chairs of 2011 Shoppers Drug Mart Weekend to End Women’s Cancers wrote: “The Butterfly of Hope team has become a National Movement – A role model of determination and fortitude, thanks to your time, energy and dedication to the cause.” Chad will be walking again in 2012. And it's a very special year. Not only is it 10 years since he took his first bold steps to conquer women's cancer, the final event this year will be Chad's 50th event. And he has big plans. He will walk in every city as usual. He also is planning a few 60km treadmill walks and perhaps even a 60 hour treadmill walk. Finally, Chad hopes to have a team of 150 butterflies for the Toronto event, and has set a steep goal of $400,000 in fundraising. How Can You Help?You can become part of this butterfly effect by joining the Butterfly of Hope and walking in your city. Perhaps you'd like to make a donation or volunteer in an upcoming fundraising event. Check out the links below to visit the Butterfly of Hope team pages for the Weekend to End Women's Cancer events across Canada in 2012. Each walker needs to raise $2000 to be able to participate in the event. Help everyone to participate by donating to someone who has not yet reached their goal. |
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You've heard of the Butterfly Effect -
the theory that a butterfly flapping its wings in Beijing can cause hurricanes in the Atlantic. Imagine that same effect applied to
raising money for cancer research.
