After denying grant, Stouffville council waives fees for Terry Fox Run

YorkRegion.com
Sept. 7, 2016
By Ali Raza

Whitchurch-Stouffville town council passed a motion to waive fees for the Stouffville Terry Fox Run on Tuesday night.

The total in-kind donation stood at $3,760 and was a combination of fees charged by the town for specific services including a downtown banner to promote the run, barricades for the route and the rental fee for Memorial Park.

Stouffville Terry Fox Run committee chair Stacey FitzPatrick says “we’re super happy about it,” as the run is just over a week away.

The committee first requested a grant of $2,300 from council early in February. The grant was denied on the grounds that donating to the charity was an “individual choice,” Councillor Rick Upton said.

“I don’t know it’s up to us to take the taxpayers’ money and donate it to cancer,” he added back in February.

A similar event, the Stouffville Dash for Diabetes, had its request of $1,400 to cover policing requirements approved in the same meeting in February.

The Terry Fox Run, however, did receive a grant from town council in 2015, along with Dash for Diabetes.

Upton told committee chair Stacey FitzPatrick at the February meeting he would “commit personally to raise the money.”

FitzPatrick confirmed that in addition to council waiving the fees, Upton also helped the committee raise money as earlier assured.

“He (Upton) went out and got some donations for us,” FitzPatrick said. “It’s wonderful and we’re happy for the support.”

The 36th annual Stouffville Terry Fox Run is set for Sunday, Sept. 18. The run will begin at Latcham Hall in Memorial Park, close to 1,500 people are expected to participate.

In 35 years, the Stouffville Terry Fox Run has raised $1.7 million for cancer research.

To register, visit terryfox.org/run or www.facebook.com/StouffvilleTerryFox