During the first week of July, almost 2,000
cyclists will be snaking their way through the French-speaking countryside in a
well-known stage-race. Among them will
be Chris Karambatsos, Andrew Rubin, Luc Chayer, and Philip Swain, collectively
representing the FCM Recycling team.
However, none of this will happen in France.
The two-staged annual Ride to Conquer Cancer takes place in Montreal and
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. This
charitable event has raised more than $32 million for cancer research across
the province since its inception in 2008. In 2013 alone, it raised $6.3 million
for specialized cancer therapy services at the Jewish General Hospital in
Montreal. These funds go towards
supporting new technologies in the areas of molecular diagnostics, functional
imaging, biomarkers, molecular target discovery and validation, and advanced
targeted radiation therapy.
The FCM Recycling team’s goal is to raise
$20,000 this year. “We managed to raise
this much last year for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, so
we know the target is achievable. We
have less time for fundraising this year but we’re off to a stronger start, and
have $6,000 banked already,” explains Karambatsos.
That sum includes a small donation from
Call2Recycle as one of many corporate sponsors. FCM Recycling,
which specializes in diverting end-of-life electronics and electrical equipment
from landfills at six processing facilities across Canada, has
collaborated with Call2Recycle for several years and for the last two years,
won a coveted “Leader in Sustainability” award.
According to Karambatsos though, neither recycling nor fundraising are
likely to be the big issue for 2014: “This winter has been so bad that the guys
and I haven’t had much opportunity to train.
We need to make sure we can survive two days of 100km rides, so we’re
hoping that spring arrives on-schedule!”