Local grandfather and grandson fundraising for kids fighting cancer

Written By Paula Brown

A Shelburne resident and his grandson are hoping to make a difference for children facing cancer as they prepare to gear up and peddle their bikes in a month-long cycle challenge. 

Throughout August, Michael Wright and his eight-year-old grandson, William, will be cycling the streets of Shelburne as part of the annual Great Cycle Challenge – a national fundraising initiative for SickKids Foundation. 

“Kids should be living life, not fighting for it,” Wright told the Free Press, explaining why he supports the initiative. 

Wright initially joined the challenge last year with his grandson to help teach William to ride his bike without training wheels. The challenge eventually became a nightly routine for the duo as they attempted to reach their fundraising and distance goals.

Last year, the grandfather and grandson set the goal of raising $500 and cycling a total of 100 km, and by the end of the month, they had raised more than $1,200 and peddled roughly 250 km. 

Coming off the success of the challenge last year, both Michael and William decided they wanted to take up the initiative for another go at it. 

“It was a big deal for [William]. Anybody he talked to he told them what he was doing and that we were raising money for kids with cancer,” recalled Wright. “The fact he wanted to do it again this year is beautiful because it was a wonderful learning experience. I'm so happy that he's interested in doing it with me.” 

“Riding for kids' cancer with my Grampie is the best thing I can do. I just really want to help as much as I can to raise money for kids' cancer research,” said William. 

So far to date, Michael and Willam have been able to raise a combined $512 and have their eyes set on matching and surpassing their total kilometres and donations raised in 2023. 

“We're looking forward to raising more,” said Wright. 

The Great Cycle Challenge is an annual fundraising initiative that has been held each August since 2016 by the SickKids Foundation. 

The initiative looks to raise funds to support research to develop treatments and find a cure for childhood cancer by encouraging people to participate in individual cycling challenges. 

Childhood cancer remains the leading cause of disease-related deaths among children younger than 14 years of age with more than 1,000 Canadian children diagnosed with the disease each year. 

Since the initiative's inception, riders from all across the nation have ridden a total of 24,200,181 kilometres and have helped raise almost $47 million in support of research to develop treatments and find a cure for childhood cancer.

Michael and William will be peddling through the challenge throughout August by completing nightly rides together. 

Those interested in supporting the duo in their cycling efforts to help children facing cancer can donate at greatcyclechallenge.ca/riders/MichaelWright.

“I hope that anybody in the community would think about the benefit of helping kids with cancer. It's not just about us,” concluded Wright.