Forest Park Elementary School students dash across the finish line at Beban Park's natural turf fields to conclude a School District 68 three-day relay in honour of Terry Fox. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

Terry Fox fundraiser

SD68 students step up in honour of Terry Fox

Sep 25, 2025 | 4:24 PM

NANAIMO — Students punched beyond their weight class to draw attention to the legacy of Canadian Legend Terry Fox.

Marking the 45th anniversary of the Marathon of Hope, all 38 schools within Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools (NLPS) participated in a three-day, 90 kilometre running relay, concluding on Thursday, Sept 25 at Nanaimo’s Beban Park.

Frank J. Ney Elementary fifth grade students Jules Walker Renney and Van Kirby represented their school, tasked with waiting for the hand-off from École Hammond Bay students, then meeting up with Rutherford school runners.

As it turns out, Walker Renney said they were informed to slow down a bit to stick to the itinerary.

“We got to speed up a bit at the end, but yeah, I liked it, it was really cool to be chosen for the 45th anniversary,” Walker Renney said with a wide smile.

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Kirby said it was an honour to help build on the legacy of a Canadian hero.

“It was pretty fun and I liked how they had all the cars near us to keep us safe,” Kirby said.

Van Kirby (L) and Jules Walker Renney (R) represented Frank J. Ney Elementary school at the NLPS relay event on Thursday, Sept 25. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

While he wasn’t a relay participant, Ladysmith Secondary School’s Griffyn Dmytar provided an integral support role to the cause.

The ninth grade Ladysmith resident raised an impressive $1,500 toward the Terry Fox Foundation through the district-wide relay event.

“It’s definitely a lot of money for a kid to raise and it took a lot of time, but in the end it’s always a great ending.”

Dmytar had a little more incentive to raise so much money.

He’s a cancer survivor, who was born with Neuroblastoma at nine-days-old.

A baseball-sized tumor was successfully removed from near Dmytar’s kidneys.

While Griffyn Dmytar wasn’t a relay event participant, he was more than happy to take in the festivities on Thursday, Sept. 25 at Nanaimo’s Beban Park. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

“I wanted to inspire people to raise money, so I went door-to-door asking if they would like to donate to the Terry Fox Foundation and people would donate $20 bucks, or however much they wanted,” Dmytar told NanaimoNewsNOW.

Soaking in the positive atmosphere at Beban Park’s sports fields, Dmytar said it was a proud day for him to see NLPS students and staff work together for such an important cause.

“I really like being here, it’s great,” he concluded.

Hundreds of students turned out for the conclusion of the relay event in honour of Terry Fox. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Emphasizing the importance of keeping the legacy of Terry Fox alive, NLPS board chair Naomi Bailey said this movement unites Canadians from across the country.

Hard work, perseverance, courage and strength represented who Fox was, Bailey said.

“Terry Fox was an incredibly resilient soul and resilience is one of the things that we’re trying to build in our students; carrying those values forward is part of who Terry Fox was,” Bailey said at the event.

More than $900 million has been raised worldwide to support the Terry Fox Foundation to fund cancer research initiatives.

Fox, of Port Coquitlam, B.C., died on June 28, 1981 of cancer after running nearly 5,400 kilometers the previous year to raise funds and awareness for cancer research.

Jacquie Poulin, SD 68 asst supt, organized the three-day Terry Fox relay event. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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