The second annual Convoy for a Cure will be rolling down the highway again this year in support of breast cancer awareness. The fundraising and awareness campaign known as Convoy for a Cure-Atlantic Canada is set to take place on Oct. 9 and will consist of approximately 100 transfer trucks driving 93 kms down the highway from Salisbury Irving to Aulac Big-Stop. Many of the truckers will be women.
Afterwards there will be a barbecue, hosted by the Tantramar Regional High School’s student council, live entertainment, face painting, a live auction and awards ceremonies held in the parking lot of the Aulac Big Stop from 12-5 p.m.
The Convoy was started last year by Roxanne Doran-Smith, who said that cancer has been the number one killer in her family and has a strong connection with the trucking industry through her husband, who has been an owner-operator for 38 years.
The coordinator and team leader, who was enthusiastic during a phone interview on Wednesday, said, “Last year we made a dent in the highway, this year it will be a pothole.
“We want to make sure we leave a mark.”
The goal of the fundraiser this year is $100,000, more than twice the amount raised last year. All funds will be donated to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and used in the Atlantic region.
Doran-Smith explained that the convoy has three goals: bridging the gap between truckers and the community, celebrating women and the role they play in the trucking industry and most importantly raising funds and spreading awareness about breast cancer. “Sometimes truckers aren’t put into a very good light,” Roxanne said. “And this campaign helps put a positive perspective on the industry.”
The first section of the convoy will be women drivers and owner-operators, followed by the men who will be required to have a female passenger with them.
On the ninth of October the convoy will travel through Sackville on the Trans-Canada Highway between noon and 2 p.m. Residents are being urged to come out to the highway and show their support for the men and women of the trucking industry touched by breast cancer.
For more information visit www.convoyforacure-atlantic.com
