FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon Announces 19 Charities to Participate in
the 2013 Times Colonist Charity Pledge Program
(Victoria, BC - February 20, 2013). Nineteen charities will be
participating in the 2013 Times Colonist Charity Pledge Program. This is
the eighth year that the highly successful Charity Pledge Program has been
adopted by the GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon. It is the third year
that the Times Colonist has been the title sponsor for the program. In
2012, 20 charities participated in the Charity Pledge Program raising just
over $195,000. Since 2006, just under $1 million has been raised by the
combined charities.
The charities raise awareness and funds by encouraging individuals to run
or walk for their individual causes, and by collecting pledges. The 19
charities are the BC Cancer Foundation, Canadian Diabetes Association,
Crohns and Colitis Foundation of Canada, HepCBC Hepatitis C Education &
Prevention Society, KidSport Greater Victoria, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
of Canada, Lifetime Networks Victoria, Mary Manning Centre, Mount St. Mary
Foundation, MS Society of Canada, NEED 2 Suicide Prevention and Support,
Pacific Centre Family Services Association, Pacifica Housing, Times
Colonist Raise-a-Reader, Recreation Integration Victoria, The Arthritis
Society, USC Canada (Run for Biodiversity), Victoria Epilepsy and
Parkinson's, and Young Parents Support Network.
"The program, which started in 2006, has made a significant impact on
participating charities and the clients they support," says Cathy Noel,
General Manager of the GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon. "The Marathon
Society is proud of having the charities as our partners to help raise
awareness of the charities, healthy lifestyle and participation and of
course the $989,000 dollars that has been raised. We encourage everyone to
help us to go over the Million Dollar mark, every dollar makes a
difference."
The CPP's Honorary Chair will be Jack Knox from the Times Colonist, who
openly admits he is not a runner. "Associating me with anything
running-related is like having Charlie Sheen as your life-skills coach. I
haven't run with any sense of urgency since 1981, when I was chased by a
biker in Amsterdam," he says. "But I am delighted that the marathon
organizers are using the event as a path to a better community. You don't
need to be a competitive runner to get behind that."
The 34th Annual GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon takes place Sunday,
October 13th, 2013; in addition to the Marathon there is a Half Marathon,
8K Road Race and Thrifty Foods Kids Run. For more details, visit
http://runvictoriamarathon.com.
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