CAIRO: The American University in Cairo (AUC) hosted yesterday, for the first time, the Terry Fox Run, an annual, non-competitive charity event held in more than 50 countries worldwide at its New Cairo campus. The event aims to raise funds for the Children's Cancer Hospital Egypt 57357 to support cancer research at the hospital. Participants exceeded 1,000 school and university students, celebrities, diplomats and public figures. The daylong event included musical performances by local bands and singers, as well as awareness activities. Held under the patronage of the Canadian Embassy in Egypt and organized by the Children's Cancer Hospital Foundation 57357, in collaboration with the European Union, this year's Terry Fox Run was attended by the Canadian ambassador, the European Union delegation head, AUC executives and the hospital's senior management. “We are all enthusiastic about this event, which is a way of fighting back against cancer," said Nagwa Ibrahim, associate provost for entrepreneurship and research development at AUC, assistant professor and one of the event organizers. “Community service is at the heart of the University's mission, and by helping with fundraising efforts for this run, we are taking one step closer to combating this terrible disease and having a cancer-free world." The race route took participants from outside the Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor Football and Track Stadium around the premises for a distance of four kilometers. In addition to hosting the event at its sports facilities, the University offered arbitration, clinical and security services. Winners received medals and symbolic gifts. Held twice at the Giza pyramids with approximately 1,500 participants each year, the Terry Fox Run in Egypt raised thousands of pounds, which contributed to the establishment of a bio-repository for high-quality cancer related specimens needed for 57357 researchers. “The hospital is organizing a Terry Fox Run for the third year because it has proved to be a tremendous success in terms of raising funds and increasing awareness," explained Mona Saad, a member of the fundraising team at the Children's Cancer Hospital Foundation. “Our past marathons have attracted a huge number of participants, and with the advanced facilities we used this year at AUC's New Cairo campus, we had an extraordinary event." A cancer victim himself, Terry Fox was diagnosed in 1977, at the age of 18, with bone cancer in his right leg, which was then amputated above the knee. He died four years later after running 5,373 kilometers across Canadian provinces to raise funds for cancer patients. Fox's Marathon of Hope inspired lots of people, which led to the establishment of the Terry Fox Foundation. The public foundation maintains the vision of Terry Fox while raising money for cancer research through races, memoriam donations and planned giving. The Terry Fox Foundation hosts the annual run in cities across Canada.
