LITTLE CURRENT—A Little Current resident is staggered by the generosity of Manitoulin Island residents to help those in need after he far surpassed any fundraising goal he had to help a good friend of his who is battling cancer for a second time.
As has been previously reported, Bill Slaght of Little Current had set a goal of bicycling 1,000 kilometres during the month of August and asked the Island community to donate one, five or 10 cents for each kilometre ridden.
Mr. Slaght was raising funds for his friend Sean Coleman, also a Little Current resident.
“I’m flabbergasted, it is incredible how caring a community the Island is,” stated Mr. Slaght. “Even for a little fundraiser I did, when you consider the tremendous public help the Manitoulin Secondary School Robotics team received in fundraising to be able to participate in the world robotics championship in Houston earlier this year. It’s incredible.”
“I am very impressed with where we live and the care people have for others on the Island,” said Mr. Slaght. “I am still waiting on a couple of donations to come in, but we are at $10,500, will soon be at $11,200 and this will become $12,200 as the Grace Bible Church has presented Sean with a cheque for $1,000. The church said they wouldn’t have done it if not for my efforts at fundraising for Sean and his family. We have received so many donations from groups like the Gore Bay Rotary Club and Orr’s Valu-Mart holding a fundraising barbecue.”
Mr. Slaght finished his 1,000-kilometre bicycle ride on August 26. “We completed the ride with a 203-kilometre ride to finish it up,” he said, noting he took a trip around Manitoulin Island to finish the campaign starting in Little Current and hitting many communities around the Island before returning home.
