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Denise Bebenek and her daughter, Sarah Grace.

The Donor: Denise Bebenek and family

The Gift: Raising $2.5-million and climbing

The Cause: Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children

The Reason: To fund research into pediatric brain tumours.

Not long after Meagan Bebenek was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumour at the age of 4, her family noticed that she began doing something remarkable.

She started wrapping up her favourite toys to give to school friends and children she met while undergoing treatment at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children. "She'd always tuck something in her knapsack," Meagan's mother Denise Bebenek recalled from the family's home in Toronto. "I think she really felt that she wanted to make sure she reached out to anybody who helped her."

Meagan died in June, 2001, a couple of weeks before her fifth birthday. Even as her family grieved, Ms. Bebenek felt compelled to follow Meagan's example and do something for other children who suffer from similar tumours, which are a leading cause of death for people under 20. "I just kept thinking, Oh my God if this is the No. 1 cause of cancerous death what the heck are we doing. There are too many Meagans waiting," she said.

With the help of her husband, Kevin, and older children, Matthew and Sarah Grace, Ms. Bebenek began organizing an heartfelt fundraising event. She wanted participants to walk from Ontario Place to Sick Kids, about five kilometres, and then circle the hospital, giving it a giant hug.

The first Meagan's Walk was held on Mother's Day of 2002. About 800 people attended, mainly family friends and Meagan's classmates. It has been held on Mother's Day ever since and this year's walk, the 10th, attracted more than 3,000 people. The event has raised roughly $2.5-million in total so far for brain tumour research.

Ms. Bebenek isn't surprised at the popularity of the walk, because it has become a celebration of motherhood and children. And she said that even after 10 years, Meagan's Walk is just getting started. "To me this is just the first chapter," she said. "It is becoming more and more a true reflection of what it has always been all about."

pwaldie@globeandmail.com

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