Acknowledged for consecutive Terry Fox runs

BY FRED LAWRENCE

The Hants Journal

NovaNewsNow.com

One Hants County teacher has been volunteering for the past 27 years to organize the annual Terry Fox Run.

Jane Wentworth has taught at West Hants Middle School for 33 years, and began to help organize the annual run for cancer research shortly after Terry Fox lost his battle against cancer in 1980. Wentworth said she was so inspired by Fox’s drive she felt an obligation to honour his memory through the run held each year at the school.

After receiving a plaque for 10 years of hosting the run, Wentworth started counting back to when it began and realized the event is now in its 27th year. “We received the plaque from the Terry Fox Foundation Nov. 13 and I thought back to the first year it started and it’s actually 27 years,” she said. “And I’ve been involved in every one except for three years when I was away on deferred salary leave.”

Wentworth said through the years the school has raised around $100,000 for cancer research. “That’s a lot of money considering this isn’t a very large community, but the students and staff work very hard to secure pledges and we’ve been bringing in around $5,000 each year for quite a few years. We always had good donations even before that, so it adds up,” she said.

Attendance for the event, Wentworth said, was always good, but has been on the rise. “The last few years we’ve had between 450 and 500 students participating and considering our total student population is 603 (this year), that’s a pretty good number,” she said. “Students attending school here are at the age where they want to take part in these things, and that motivates others to join as well,” she said.

Students, teachers, parents and community members that take part in the annual event walk four miles along the old railway bed in Scotch Village. Wentworth said the trail is much safer than walking along busy roads and participants get to take in the incredible scenery en route. “We also have help from the RCMP, who make sure all of the students make it back to the starting point and get back to school safely and they also help with traffic control. They have been great to work with and very helpful,” she said, adding the School Board has been very encouraging as well. “The staff and students should be commended for their support and for helping to collect the pledges and getting everything to the office. It’s fine to organize, but without the support it’s not going to happen,” she said.

Preparation starts early

Every year Wentworth starts to prepare for the annual run in early summer. Notes are sent to all teachers, school newsletters and flyers promoting the event are forwarded along with pledge sheets and other particulars. “Once I have everything back from the staff, I can order the large plastic jugs of water donated by McDonald’s, book the buses, confirm with the students’ Leadership Team (similar to student council) and make all the other necessary arrangements so it’ll all come together, hopefully, without any problems.”

Wentworth said, for her, the best part of the event “is to know you’re helping a really good cause. My parents both had cancer and I know how important it is to have people working toward a cure, especially when it has touched your family. Then it becomes very near and dear. “Many of the students know what I’m talking about as a lot of them have been affected by cancer either through knowing someone who has, or they have a relative who has cancer.”

The four-mile walk is a challenge for some students, Wentworth said. “Some of them come back and complain about being exhausted and I ask them, ‘What about Terry Fox? He was sick with cancer and ran on one leg thousands of miles and died trying.’ “That usually gets their attention. I think it’s good to talk about it because it helps keep Terry’s memory alive.”

Wentworth has other ways to motivate students. “I tell them if an old lady like me can do it, they should be able to also.”

She adds that students get a good workout during the event as some walk the course while others run to see who can cross the finish line first. “It has become a bit competitive so when the students make it to the end they ask, ‘Did I win?’, but it’s not about who wins or who comes in first; it’s about raising awareness of who Terry Fox was and taking advantage of the opportunity to get outdoors for some great exercise.”

Wentworth is due to retire at the end of this school year and will pass the torch to her protégé and former student, Jody Eisnor, who now teaches at the school. Eisnor said, “I’m trying to learn as much from Jane as I can and I’m honoured to be asked to take over organizing the Terry Fox Run.”

Admitting she has big shoes to fill replacing Wentworth, Eisnor said, “it scares me a little, but I know I have help from the staff and parents so I’m also excited at the same time.”