The donors: Shlomit Shteyer and colleagues
The gift: Raising $127,000 and climbing
The cause: Toronto’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
When Shlomit Shteyer joined Toronto-based technology company BlueCat Networks Inc. two years ago, she wanted to know if her colleagues did any charity work.
Ms. Shteyer had been planning to participate in the Ride to Conquer Cancer, a two-day cycling event from Toronto to Niagara Falls, Ont., that raises money for Toronto’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. Her brother had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a type of blood cancer, and she’d heard about the ride while being tested at Princess Margaret as a possible bone marrow donor. Now, she wondered if anyone at the company would join her in the ride. Her colleagues not only formed a team, they also helped her buy a bike and come up with a training plan.
BlueCat’s 10-member team, captained by Ms. Shteyer, raised $82,000 last year in their first ride. The team is back again this year, with Ms. Shteyer as captain, and they’ll be lining up on Saturday for the start of the 11th annual ride. So far, they’ve raised $45,000.
“It means a lot to me,” Ms. Shteyer said of the support from her colleagues. “It’s very emotional.” Her brother, who lives in Israel, is in remission but Ms. Shyteyer plans to keep raising money for cancer research. “I hope to do the ride again, for sure.”
Paul Waldie