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Chip Run raises $22,000 for cancer care team

Money will be used to financially support families with cancer-related expenses
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89 motorcycles made the anual “Chip Run” raising $22K for the Smithers Cancer Care Team. (Submitted photo)

The 11th annual “Chip Run,” held July 23, raised $22,000 for the Community Cancer Care Team (CCCT) in Smithers

The event is a 230-kilometre round-trip motorcycle ride, and is growing to be one of the biggest “old school rides” in Northern B.C., according to event organizers.

This year there were 89 bikes.

In 11 years, the run has donated more than $150,000 to the CCCT.

“My brother, Bob Spooner, was the Frito Lay rep out of Smithers, and he delivered chips from Smithers to Kitwanga daily, so that’s why we call it the “Chip Run,” said Lainie Waterhouse, event organizer.

Waterhouse’s brother was only 45 years old when he died from cancer in 2011. The money will be used to provide financial assistance for cancer patients and their families required to travel for diagnosis and/or treatment.

READ MORE: 2021 Chip Run raises $32,000 for cancer care team

“The Chip Run starts in Smithers, and returns to Smithers, with the turn-a-round spot in Kitwanga, exactly like Bob’s usual work route. The ride this year ended at the home of a friend, who hosted a silent auction, music and a barbecue for the riders,” Waterhouse said.

“The first year we got together, it was mostly family and friends on motorcycles, about 13 of us, and we managed to raise 1,500 dollars.

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Participants and volunteers of the Chip Run, enjoyed music and a bar-b-cue after the event. (Submitted photo)