Jenn Davies
Age: 38
Occupation: RMT/Program Manager Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation
Hometown: Kelowna, BC
Family: Married, two amazing kids aged 8 and 6
My biggest physical accomplishment(s) to date: 2008 Sears National Kids Cancer Ride
Find something you are passionate about and use it to make a difference in the world.
Always an athlete, my love affair with my bike began 5 years ago. After many triathlons and half marathons, an admitted endorphin junkie was looking for a new challenge, a way to push physical limits and find a new “rush”. I choose a 4 day, 800 km ride called Tour for Kids; a charitable ride organized by a fledgling Canadian Charitable Foundation called Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation.
Four years and $11 000 in fundraising later, I realized that I cared less about the ride and very very much about the children it supports, and the people committed to supporting them. I realized I had a passion and the ability to communicate that passion and translate it into effective fundraising
In June of 2008 I made what perhaps could be called a “once in a lifetime trip (although I’d do it again in a heartbeat if anyone is going), and got home from the Sears National Kids Cancer Ride to find myself irreversibly altered.
As we rolled into small towns and big cities across this country, we were welcomed, cheered and praised as role models by the public, by families, kids, and sponsor employees. They were calling us heroes. This praise seemed a bit displaced to me and almost made me feel uncomfortable. The kids that we did the ride for live a harsh reality and they are the real heroes, they and their families are the courageous ones…I just got to go for a bike ride.
Although I have many friends who have been affected by cancer and my younger brother is an adult survivor, I am blessed to be able to say that I had no children in my life affected by cancer. I Ride, Fundraise and Volunteer because I can, to make a difference in my community, to be a role model for my own children, to show them that they are not small, that they are powerful beyond measure.
And…oh …did you feel that? A heartbeat...and now I am blessed to be able to go a second time on that once in a lifetime trip. As crew not rider, in a role that will allow me to help engage the public in this inspiring journey, I am able share how they too can make a meaningful difference in the fight against childhood cancer, each one of us has a role to play. It’s in our hands.
“…..be the difference you want to see in the world.” - Mahatma Gandhi
