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Local principal to ride 100 km for Hospice Dufferin

May 26, 2016   ·   0 Comments

Dan LaCute, principal of Orangeville’s St. Andrew Elementary School, will be riding 100 kilometres from the Brampton Fairgrounds in Caledon on Sunday, June 26, for the 12th annual Healing Cycle Ride.

The ride supports hospice palliative care in Ontario. Maureen Riedler, executive director of Hospice Dufferin, says they help patients and their families deal with life-limiting illnesses through various support programs. “Those programs include volunteer visiting, yoga therapy, we have breathing counselling. So it’s a wide variety of psycho-social support.”

Registration fees for the event are $65 for adults and $45 for children, with increasing prices of $5 for both at the beginning of June. Mr. LaCute is part of Team HD (Hospice Dufferin), one of several teams to pledge donations at www.thehealingcycle.ca by going onto the team section. Donors of $25 or more will be given a tax receipt.

A member of Hospice Dufferin’s board of directors, Mr. LaCute encourages anyone to donate to Team HD, as 85 per cent of donations go directly to Hospice Dufferin.

Those who don’t want to ride the full 100 kilometres can do a 50, 25 or 10 km ride. Cyclists for the 100 km will depart the Fairgrounds at 8 a.m. The other start times are 10 a.m. for 50 km, 11 a.m. for 25 km and 11:30 a.m. for the 10 km ride. Routes will be marked with police cruisers and volunteers to close off the road or a lane.

Team HD currently has eight-registered riders, but Mr. LaCute says they are looking for more to join or sponsor, as Hospice Dufferin pays the majority of operating costs. “We have to fund-raise 75 per cent for our operating costs. With only 25 per cent being covered through government support it’s just not enough to do what we need to support on the average 400 clients a year.”

The cycle ride, along with two other events called Hike for Hospice and Hit the Road, which takes place on June 5, helps fundraise the operating costs.

Ms. Riedler says Mr. LaCute is an example for his students to give back to the community. “I think as a principal and as a community member, Dan teaches his kids about giving to community. I don’t think he recognizes that because it’s so much part of who he is and his life.”

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