Don Patterson of Mississauga, Ont., cycled from Vancouver to St. John’s, N.L., to raise awareness about teen obesity and to raise funds for local Ys.
Photograph by: Ed Kaiser , Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON - Concerned about the rising number of Canadian teens who are overweight or obese, Don Patterson booked off four weeks vacation, jumped on a road bike, and did something about it. From June 25 to July 23 the 58-year-old pedalled 7,232 kilometres from Vancouver to St. John’s, N.L.
He did it, he explains, to make people aware of the fact that for the first time in recent memory, teenagers face a lower life expectancy than their parents. They need to become physically active if they want to live longer, he says, but they would get so much more than longevity.
Ten years ago, when Patterson went back to school to get an MBA (masters of business administration), he studied the relationship between active kids and higher academics.
“The basic conclusion was that active kids lead to higher academics, lead to skilled jobs, lead to a stronger economy,” he says. Besides doing better in school, active kids are also less likely to become juvenile delinquents, they’re better time managers and they eat more healthfully, he adds.
The findings inspired him to talk to his local YMCA in Mississauga about developing more teen programs including a teen triathlon that he spearheaded and is now being rolled out in other Ys in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) and being considered by Ys elsewhere.
Patterson’s three kids are adults now, but when they were kids, he remembers they basically grew up at the Y, taking programs from swimming and gym to summer camps, life guarding and camp counselling. He wants all kids to have the same opportunity irrespective of their families’ financial resources, their physical abilities or their cultural background.
The YMCA welcomes all kids and subsidizes those that can’t afford membership fees, but they depend on private and corporate donations to do it, he notes. And that is why the native Edmontonian flew into his hometown last week. He was supposed to be the keynote speaker for the YMCA’s annual donor appreciation dinner, but the event was cancelled because of the big snowstorm.
Undeterred, Patterson, who has raised more than $25,000 so far for the YMCA Strong Kids Campaign to give more kids access to life-enhancing YMCA programs and services, continues to travel to Ys across the country speaking about his trip and the need for donations. Every dollar raised locally goes to the local YMCAs, he explains. He even covered all the costs of his bike trip, which, apart from the cost of the bike, amounted to about $6,000 or $7,000.
The most thrilling part of the trip, apart from the breathtaking scenery, Patterson says, was visiting local YMCAs along the way and having a lot of local kids come out to greet him.
“That really made the trip for me, because you could see where exactly your money is going.”
Some of the guys at the Mississauga Y have been teasing him about doing a fundraising ride from Inuvik in the north to the southern tip of Ontario, “but right now I don’t have any plans,” he says laughing.
Patterson’s journey, including stories, photos and media articles, are chronicled on his personal blog ykids.blog.com. It also includes links to donating to your local YMCA.
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