So many reasons to support Terry Fox Run

There are so many good reasons to take part in this year’s Terry Fox run, coming up Sunday.

Joan King, Joe Pillitteri, Megan Dyck, and Debbie Eke are just a few of those reasons.

Joan King is the organizer of the annual run, and each year, finds ways to help Niagara-on-the-Lake, this town of about 20,000, come in near the top of the fundraising list for municipalities across Canada. Of course she she gives credit to the incredible amount of time and effort put into fundraising by Pillitteri and his Team Pillsy, however it takes a great deal of time and effort to organize the run, and she has been doing that since 2007.

Since NOTL’s first run, the town event has raised a total of $1.6 million.

Pillitteri, a local business owner and stand-up comic, is committed to doing whatever he can to raise funds for the Terry Fox Foundation.

His annual fundraising comedy show at the community centre sold out quickly again this year — it always does — likely because it’s an event that is “as much about community as it is about Terry Fox,” says Pillitteri. “It’s for a good cause, but it’s also an opportunity to see other people we know. My dad’s a good example of that. He’s the butt of a lot of my jokes, but he is always happy to see us (his family) as part of the community, and to look around and see so many people he knows laughing and having fun.”

Joe’s Team Pillsy, which he created, stands at a total raised since then of $720,000, and he’s calling 2025 his “ride or die” year, when he’s committed to hitting his $1 million goal.

And to do that, he gives credit to his two sisters, Eileen Pillitteri Smith and Caroline Martinelli, as well as good friend Colleen O’Gorman for their organizational skills that make his annual event a success.

“We’re going to get there,” he says of his goal, “and I can’t do it without them.”

Megan Dyck is one of the reasons Pillitteri says he is more committed than ever to fundraising this year. For readers who don’t know Megan, she is an incredible teenager, brave beyond words in the face of a rare and aggressive cancer, unheard of in children, as she lives out what time she has left thinking of others and doing her best to make a difference in this world.

Pillitteri says learning about Megan “was a reminder of how important it is that we keep going” with fundraising efforts.

Due to the rarity of her type of cancer, Megan was able to be part of a clinical study made possible by the Terry Fox Foundation, and although it was not effective in Megan’s case,  says Pillitteri, it meant meant a lot to her and her family that it was offered to her. “When all you have is hope, every bit of hope matters,” he says.
Anything that creates hope can make a big difference.”

And knowing Megan and what she has endured, he says, “makes me want to do as much as we can to help people live a full life, inspires me to keep doing what I’m doing.”

Pillitteri also knew Debbie Eke, and was says he was inspired by her positivity. A much-loved and very special woman, beautiful inside and out, she was a volunteer with the Canadian Cancer Society, knocking on doors during its April fundraising campaign. And after training to work with palliative care patients, she volunteered for more than 20 years with Hospice Niagara, before courageously facing cancer herself. She died last October, and this year, the local Terry Fox Run will be held in her honour, for her devotion to helping others.

“Debbie and I were close,” Pillitteri says, recalling meeting her for the first time when she knocked on his door for the Cancer Society. “She was such a sweetheart. And even when she found out she had cancer, she always had such a positive outlook.”

She always “looked like a million dollars,” he adds, and never gave any indication of how sick she was.

Sarah Pillitteri, Debbie Eke's daughter, has been volunteering to help King with the run. She will be at Simcoe Park with her family Sunday — husband Mike Pillitteri, Joe's cousin and part of Team Pillsy from the beginning, their three kids, and her dad, Dave Eke, as Debbie is honoured at the run. 

Megan and Debbie’s journeys are heartbreaking, and represent just two on a list far too long of those we know and love who have either lost a battle with cancer, fortunately recovered, or are in the midst of fighting for their lives.

For each and every one of them, and for the many people who will face cancer at some time in their future, the Terry Fox Run gives each of us an opportunity to contribute to cancer research in his name. It will be held in Simcoe Park this Sunday, Sept. 15. Registration is at 9 a.m., with the run beginning at 10 a.m.

Register or donate here or scan to take you directly to the site.                                                             

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