Cancer.
It's all touched our lives in one way or another, whether it's directly or indirectly and one Prince George man is no stranger to helping those struggling with the disease.
Ron Gallo has been riding in the Ride to Conquer Cancer for five years with Wheelin' Warriors of the North and while there is a fundraising goal, he went above the minimum target and then some.
He's the Co-Captain for Wheelin' Warriors of the North here in Prince George which has 81 members between team riders and support crew. Each one has to raise a minimum of $2,500 for the B.C. Cancer Foundation.
"My goal now is to shift my focus and help a few others to reach their $2,500 target," he says.
You're probably wondering how much Gallo himself raised: a whopping $15,000.
"The bottom line is a lot of people are looking at me and saying 'thanks'," he says. "But it's not me. It was me with the initiative. Everybody else that purchased my 50/50 tickets, those that stepped up to the plate. There are so many businesses and so many people that just unselfishly open up their wallet and were completely generous. For me asking it, that's one thing; but for people to actually step up and make that donation, that's where the 'thanks' belongs."
The Ride to Conquer Cancer will take place in Vancouver from Aug. 24 to 25 and will start in Cloverdale, B.C. and finish in Hope, totalling 200 km.
There are only three other cities in Canada that are participating in the 2019 ride other than Vancouver: Toronto (June 8-9), Montreal (July 6-7), Alberta (Aug. 17-18).
A map of Day One of the B.C. Ride to Conquer Cancer. (via Ride to Conquer Cancer B.C.)And if you see some of the Wheelin' Warriors of the North wearing a yellow ribbon, it's because they are actually cancer survivors themselves.
"I have come to learn and be friends with so many people that are touched by cancer and I realized that everyone is touched by cancer, myself included," Gallo says. "I was adopted, I never got the chance to meet my biological father and cancer took him before the family could find me. One of my very dear friends has skin cancer herself, but she's lost her husband to a terminal form of cancer."
Gallo adds he couldn't have made it where he is without the support of the Prince George community and all of those who donated to fight cancer and his journey for the Ride to Conquer Cancer.
He says approximately 92 per cent of funds raised go back into the Prince George community.
"I just want to say again a big thank you," Gallo says. "It allows me to be able to wear a polka dot jersey, only one of 10 people that will get to wear that jersey on the ride to conquer cancer and for me, that's huge.
