In 10 years, Mortgage Alliance has raised $1.5mln for the Canadian Cancer Society by riding motorcycles from Vancouver to St. John's
The 10th annual Mortgage Alliance Rally of Hope completed yet another successful coast-to-coast motorcycle run in support of the Canadian Cancer Society, raising $135,000 and counting this year alone.
The Rally of Hope concludes a decade-long run during which a whopping $1.5mln has been raised.
“We started this 10 years ago in 2008 and we rode across the country, raising $85,000 in the first year,” said Mortgage Alliance CEO Michael Beckette. “We’ve done it every subsequent year, except last year, and we got people from all across the country to ride with us. It’s a whole two weeks and about 12 hours a day across the country. In some of the smaller centres across the country, they’ll put on events for us, like barbeques, lunches, and other things to contribute to raising funds for us.”
Mortgage Alliance broker Kris Budisa rode from his home base of Vancouver to Winnipeg this year, however, he’s been involved with the Rally for Hope for all 10 of its years. He says that while the hours are tough, the stories participants hear from onlookers help them realize that riding from Vancouver to St. John’s is a worthwhile cause.
“You meet all sorts of people across the country, and they always want to come up to you and tell you how cancer has affected their lives,” said Budisa. “Typically, it’s five to eight hours on the road every day, so it’s physically and mentally tiring. This year we had extreme heat out west from Vancouver to Calgary, and it cooled off in Winnipeg. Out east, it got colder and there was more rain.”
While the Mortgage Alliance family have been the Rally for Hope’s primary participants, brokers from across the industry have also taken part.
The Rally for Hope resonates outside of the industry, too.
“It’s hard work to get on the road at 7AM every morning,” said Beckette. “It’s a lot of work but the events people put on across the country are really special for us. Every year we go, certain things happen that are very emotional. People chase us down and stop us to thank us. People from restaurants help us and donate everywhere we stop. We are doing something to raise money, but we benefit because we get support from all across the country. There are some heart-wrenching stories I can tell you about of people chasing us down who have kids with cancer. One lady who works for Mortgage Alliance raised more than $6,000 by shaving her head.”
Ultimately, Mortgage Alliance has decided it’s taken the Rally for Hope as far as it can go. Raising nearly $2mln over a decade is impressive, and now the organization intends to tackle a another challenge in a bid to make a difference in the lives of many.
“We’re closing the chapter on this but we’ll find something else to support,” said Beckette. “We think it’s come to its logical conclusion, but we’ll find something just as exciting for next year. The Rally of Hope is not just 14 days. For us, the whole year is dedicated to support the rally and raise funds. Our golf tournament is dedicated to supporting the rally; our gala is, again, dedicated to supporting the rally. Our fundraising efforts aren’t just restricted to those 14 days.”
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