EAR FALLS -- Despite losing a difficult battle, Sherry Langlais' passion to help others carries on in the community of Ear Falls more than 10 years later.
Memory in Miles is a local non-profit grassroots charity that was started in 2012 by the family of Sherry Langlais. Sherry fought with cancer for three years before losing her battle in 2011, and her family wanted to create a way to honour her and help other families living with cancer.
On Saturday, May 14, the Memory in Miles organization of Ear Falls held its 10th annual walk/run and ATV poker derby.
“The idea was Sherry’s, the cost of travelling to appointments can really get expensive and she wanted to help others in the same position,” says Joanne Langlais, Sherry’s mother.
Joanne said that in her fight, Sherry thought of many ways to help others going through their own cancer battles, from helping buy food for heir families to renting cabins for them to stay in when they had to travel for treatments. From her desires to help came the Memory in Miles organization.
“We get such beautiful cards and letters from people we’ve helped out,” says Joanne.
The Memory in Miles walk takes place every year and raises money by registration and donations. The money is then given to families that have been impacted by a cancer diagnosis to help ease the financial burdens that they are facing.
This year more than $3,400 was raised at the walk, and $817 was brought in from the ATV derby. That combined with other donations, about $5,000 was raised.
There were a few others who helped as well, including Clara Murphy of Balmertown who sold candy bags at the walk. The candy bag sales raised $60. And Bev Drinkwalter of Red Lake made dragonflies, which Sherry loved, to be used for the event.
The walk started at 9 a.m., and a barbecue was held at the arena for when the participants returned. More than 75 people attended the walk. The route was 5 kilometers around town. There was an option of doing a 10-kilometer route for more of a challenge.
The ATV derby started at 12 p.m. There were 50 ATVs registered. The riders started at Fella’s Sport Lounge. The Ear Falls Firefighters Association offered ATV washes at the sliding hill for a $10 donation.
The winners of the ATV derby were Ian Cook in first, Terry Giesbrecht in second, and Axel Johnson in third.
Memory in Miles has helped around 60 families in Ear Falls and Red Lake with the money they’ve raised. Their donations are a big part of the community.
