The community surrounding Hospice Renfrew can feel good about a weekend that brought in six figures for local end-of-life care.
Walkers and rollers taking part in the annual Hike for Hospice enjoyed a sunny three-kilometre walk from their Albert Street office to Renfrew’s Low Square on Sunday, according to their volunteer coordinator Deborah Coehlo.
The $110,650 trek to Renfrew’s downtown core was led by Stephanie and Brittany Gombik as their family honoured the life of their mother, late community pillar Sandy Gombik, whose On the Clothesline Thrift Store helped a wide range of community charities and organizations over the last six years before she passed away in hospice.
They were joined by several teams competing to raise the most money for the cause. The Eganville Leader team brought in $15,000 to claim bragging rights as top fundraiser this year, followed by the Dunbar Family’s $8,500 contribution.
We asked Coehlo how the hospice does such a great job of grabbing the community’s attention year after year.
Also in attendance on Sunday was a large group of runners who took off on their own five-kilometre run, and a small motorcycle ride took off in memory of Rolly Berard, who also passed away at Hospice.
(written by Kasey Egan)