LITTLE CURRENT—Bill Slaght of Little Current is off to a great start in his fundraising bike ride to help a good friend who is going through health difficulties.
“I was able to ride 52 kilometres my first day,” said Mr. Slaght, who is planning to cycle 1,000 kilometres through the month of August and has challenged, “everyone to donate one, five, or 10 cents” for every kilometre he bikes in the month of August.
In a post online Mr. Slaght explained, “You may or may not know Sean Coleman and the story of his battle with cancer. He has had a tough battle and still continues to battle. This man is a very good friend of mine and would always lend a hand to anyone who needed. His expertise in marine mechanics always had people stopping for advice or to have Sean tinker with their watercraft. On top of this he gave eight years to minor hockey as an executive member as well as coaching multiple teams. You would always see him at fundraising events for minor hockey trying to keep the cost of hockey low for local families. Now it’s time to help him out.”
“Sean has put a lot of his life into local minor hockey and in helping others whenever he could,” said Mr. Slaght. “Sean is paralyzed from the waist down. We have tried to do stuff to help him out before, but he feels it is being a burden on people.”
“He is going through his second battle with cancer,” said Mr. Slaght. Mr. Coleman is a marine mechanic and his wife Danielle is a physiotherapist assistant. The couple has two boys.
“Along with all his work and support for minor hockey, Sean would do a lot of stuff for other people, he has always been one to help others,” said Mr. Slaght. “He was always doing something for someone. I know he helped me a lot over the years on my boat.”
Mr. Coleman, who is in his late 40s, “had his first bout with cancer nine years ago, which went into remission but came back.”
“I just feel it is time to give back to a guy that has helped out so many other people over the years,” said Mr. Slaght.
On his Facebook post Mr. Slaght noted that he would post his bicycle rides, “from my Garmin device to a platform called Strava.” In challenging everyone to donate toward his ride he said, “Your generosity can make a difference. My goal for the month is 1,000 kilometres.”
To add to the fundraising campaign Orr’s Valu-Mart in Little Current is holding a barbecue in front of the store this Friday, August 18. One hundred percent of all the proceeds raised through the event will be going to the Coleman family, said Andrew Orr.
