A grueling fundraiser this past spring will help others both in Chatham-Kent and beyond.
A team of local fire fighters took part in the 9-11 memorial stair climb in New York City this past May, raising money for a pair of causes, including stem cell research in honour of Chatham’s Jocelyn McGlynn, who is in remission from Leukemia.
McGlynn says the donation has already had a huge impact on her life.
“Knowing that this was going on during a very scary point in my life made me feel stronger, and it made me feel like there is hope or the people receiving this gift,” says McGlynn. “Not only will it impact people in the the short term it will impact them on the long term and it makes me very happy that can hopefully feel the way I do one day from the gift that was given,”
Organizer Jon Benoit says part of the proceeds will go towards in honour of Jocelyn McGlynn, who’s in remission from a fight with Leukemia. “We are donating to the 9-11 memorial, that was always the goal of raising the money But we always like to keep some money locally. This was a good cause, Jocelyn was a 21-year -old with leukemia. It’s a big type of cancer for children and adolescents, one of the most common types, it just helps out to get a little more stem cell research to try to find a cure.”
Close to $2400 has been given to Canadian Blood Services for stem cell research, while the other half of the money was earmarked for the Soldiers’ Journey Home project, a campaign to provide housing for wounded veterans.
