August 2014

YANA Ride Video Release

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We are very excited to release Fox & Bee’s amazing video of the 2014 Simon’s Cycles YANA Ride.  Thank you, Fox & Bee, for volunteering your time and talent to create this magic!

YANA Ride Exceeds Target

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Special guest volunteer Tori presents Terry Parkinson with his medal at the end of the Simon’s Cycles YANA Ride on Sunday. A total of 405 riders took part in the ride, raising in excess of the targeted $32,000 goal for the local charity.  We sure appreciate The Record being there to capture the moment!

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Sunday’s Simon’s Cycles YANA Ride – A Buzz with Volunteers

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Organizers are delighted that over 185 cyclists will be supporting Comox Valley families at this year’s Simon’s Cycles YANA Ride. But the buzz at YANA is focused on five very special volunteers. Markus, Gabe, Tori, Anna and Owen are all members of YANA families, who will be welcoming cyclists back to Marina Park as they cross the finish line on Sunday 17 August.

DSC_0026“It’s fantastic that these children will be coming out to support future YANA families, we are super excited to host these very special volunteers. They are the reason why we will all be at Marina Park on Sunday.” comments Marcie Dumais, Executive Director of YANA.

Participants of the 2nd annual Simon’s Cycles YANA Ride choose their route and cycle anywhere from 5, 25, 50 or 100km. Event expenses have been completely covered by sponsorship, as a result, the money raised from registrations, pledges and t-shirts sales will go direct to YANA families. There is still time to register to ride, make a donation by pledging a rider, or volunteer on ride day.

“Many of these young volunteers have shared their experiences to help YANA communicate what we do, their stories are the heart of our website.” continues Dumais.

11 year old, Markus, or Iron Man Markus, loves nerf guns and video games and, he’ll be starting grade 6 in the fall. It was during the fifth grade that he earned the name Iron Man Markus. He tripped and hit his head at school then ended up at St Joseph’s Hospital, where they found 2 tumors, one on top and the other at the back of his head. After undergoing major surgery and chemotherapy Markus recently celebrated one month cancer free.

Gabe is 7 years old and has undergone years of leukemia treatment in Vancouver and during that time YANA has had the privilege of being part of a journey which started suddenly when he was only 2 ½.

Tori was born in 2007 at the B.C. Children’s Hospital in Vancouver with a heart condition. She required open-heart surgery four days after she was born. Tori spent her first year in hospital where she received a tracheotomy, ventilator, and a second heart surgery. YANA financially assisted her family’s stay in Vancouver for the first 15 months of her life, allowing them to focus on Tori.

9 year old Anna spent significant time away from home receiving treatment for kidney cancer. Although her father was with her, she was separated from her mom and brothers, Rens and Diego, who visited when they could. Anna’s mother, Hendrika, credits YANA’s financial support and the use of the apartments with keeping the family together. She adds, “A sick child has a huge impact on family-life, the stress, your kid in pain, sick, struggling and sad, it’s a lot of emotions. What a blessing to know that the community supports YANA and therefore you. It’s a big help mentally as well as financially.”

Owen was born premature and spent the first 117 days of his life in the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit at BC Children’s Hospital. He has been living with cerebral palsy for 6 years now. YANA has been with his family since the beginning.

“Markus, Gabe, Tori, Anna and Owen, have such courageous stories, each of those stories was made more manageable because of YANA and the Vancouver apartments,” shares Patti Fletcher, Co-owner of Simon’s Cycles, “they are the inspiration for this year’s fundraising goal; we’d like to raise $32,000, which would pay for 5 months of accommodation expenses for Comox Valley families.”

YANA helped 112 local families in 2013, funded 290 medical trips, provided over $75,000 in financial assistance and offered homes away from home in Nanaimo, Victoria and Vancouver.

Read more about these and other YANA stories.

There is still time to support Comox Valley families by registering for the ride, making a donation or volunteering, for full details see event website.

Tori returns to the 2014 Simon’s Cycles YANA Ride

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We are delighted to learn that Tori will be joining us again at the Simon’s Cycles YANA Ride on August 17th. Tori will be there to support her friend Jeff and welcome all riders as they cross the finish line at this year’s ride. Tori and Jeff’s story was told by The Comox Valley Echo last summer, and is re-published below.

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Cycling ‘fast-fast’ for Tori
originally published August 16, 2013

Jeff Mosher knows this Sunday’s Simon’s Cycles YANA Ride is not a race, but he’ll be going “fast-fast” none-the-less. For he’s seen first hand the difference YANA makes to Comox Valley families.

“In July of 2007 my wife and I received exciting news from our close friends Shayne and Erin Boelk that they were expecting twins,” said Mosher. Little did he know that one of their daughters would inspire him to ride faster and raise more than $800 for the Comox Valley charity.

Tori Boelk was born November 29, 2007 at the B.C. Children’s Hospital in Vancouver with a heart condition. Her sister Lara never made it, succumbing to twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome during Erin’s 28th week of pregnancy.Tori required open-heart surgery four days after she was born, spending her first year in hospital where she received a tracheotomy, ventilator, and a second heart surgery. She will require three more surgeries as she grows.

YANA financially assisted her family’s stay in Vancouver for the first 15 months of her life, allowing her family to focus on Tori. YANA has already committed to additional support for Tori’s numerous follow-up procedures in the years to come.

Now five, going on six, Tori is back at home in Courtenay where she is fiercely independent and rapidly growing out of a continuous feeding tube and a portable vent.

“This doesn’t hold her back,” said Mosher. “Her powered wheelchair should only go one speed according to her – “fast-fast!” – because slow is too boring.

“When Simon’s Cycles announced they were hosting the 2013 YANA road ride it was a hands down choice for me. What a great opportunity to return the support YANA gave to my friends by getting pledges for YANA to go ‘fast-fast’ on the 100 km ride because slow is too boring.”

Mosher will be one of more than 100 cyclists taking part in this year’s longest leg of the YANA Ride – a 100 kilometre route – but there will be many more riders of all ages peddling shorter distances.To donate and help Jeff’s ride for Tori – or any of the other participants – visit www.yanacomoxvalley.com, click the Simon’s Cycles YANA Ride banner, and click ‘pledge a participant’. Find and click the name of one you wish to support, such as Mosher, to offer sponsorship. Tori’s story is available at the same website, under ‘Stories’. Find out more about the Simon’s Cycles YANA Ride or to register to take part, visit www.yanacomoxvalley.com.

© Comox Valley Echo