Imagine pushing a wheelbarrow for over 25 kilometres, with it getting heavier and heavier each step.
For the Baynes Sound Lion's Club, that's just a normal part of what has become an annual tradition. Member Tom Hawtree had the idea of pushing a wheelbarrow from Fanny Bay to Courtenay to raise money for kids with disabilities. The idea was a hit, and the Lions chose the Comox Valley Child Development Association as their recipient and got to work raising funds. The funds raised are presented during their annual telethon, held the first Sunday of November.
That was 42 years ago, and the tradition is still going strong.
Club members start pushing an empty wheelbarrow at the Fanny Bay Community Hall at 9 a.m. The event is a group event, with group members as old as 94 helping out with the walk. One walker in particular, Ann (94) has made the walk a tradition, with her granddaughter dressed up as Treasure, the club mascot. Many other people join in along the way, with drivers tossing coins and bills out of their car windows into the wheelbarrow as they pass by.
People watch the procession from their homes, and Lions walk down their driveways to ask for donations.
"The walkers take rest stops at some establishments along the route where they鈥檙e given snacks and drinks, and encouraged to solicit patrons who generously donate," a release from the Lions says. "And coming into Courtenay, pushing up the last tough hill, people on the sidewalks stop to chat and throw money into the wheelbarrow.
"After four or five hours on the road the group sighs in relief when they reach the Sid Williams Theatre. Everyone in the theatre has waited for the shout, 'They鈥檙e here!' and when the Lions roll the wheelbarrow onstage (during the telethon), the applause rocks the house."
Over the years, members have pushed hundreds of pounds of coins into Courtenay.
鈥淲e walked the whole distance. It was amazing the number of people who stopped. And we were surprised at how much we raised,鈥� said Cec Specht, one of the inagural walkers. Specht walked that year with his wife Cathy, fellow Lion Roy Miller, and Miller's dog. The whole groud 鈥� minus Miller 鈥� had blisters on their feet as they finished the trek. "Roy wore cowboy boots!" Specht said.
Though Specht retired from the walk in 2021 after 39 years, he said he's excited that people are still doing it.
"It's something the valley's gotten used to," he said. "It's symbolic now of the Baynes Sound Lions."
The club is excited to be pushing the wheelbarrow again this year. Lion Jacquie Miller said she keeps doing the walk because, 鈥渨ith every step I see a child.鈥�
Over four decades, the Lions鈥檚 wheelbarrow walk has raised close to $500,000 for the CVCDA. Pam Crowe, the telethon committee chair, told the club at a visit, "You say you're ordinary people, but you're doing something extraordinary."
The telethon is the Comox Valley Child Development Association鈥檚 major fundraiser and happens on Sunday, Nov. 3 at the Sid Williams Theatre from noon until 8 p.m.. The telethon is broadcast on Rogers TV Channel 105. It is a free event, fun for the whole family.
"Let's do it for the kids!"
